Everything you need to gather before challenging your council tax band. Print this page and tick off each item as you collect the evidence.
Tip: Our Full Appeal Pack (£29.99) gathers all essential and strong evidence automatically and assembles it into a ready-to-submit pack. The checklist below is for those who want to do it themselves.
At least 3 properties in your postcode or nearby street that are similar to yours (same type, similar size) but in a lower council tax band. Include their full addresses and bands.
Where to get it: Our free checker shows this instantly. Or check gov.uk/council-tax-bands.
Your full address, current council tax band, and the date you moved in.
Where to get it: Your council tax bill or gov.uk/council-tax-bands.
State which band you think your property should be in, based on the evidence.
Where to get it: Compare your property against the 1991 band value ranges and your comparable properties.
EPC certificates show the total floor area in m² for your property and your neighbours. If your property is smaller than neighbours in the same or lower band, that supports your case.
Where to get it: Our Full Report includes this. Or search at get-energy-performance-data.communities.gov.uk.
An actual sale of your property or a genuinely comparable one within this specific window is the evidence the VOA accepts as most directly relevant to the April 1991 valuation date — stronger than an estimate derived from later data.
Where to get it: Search at gov.uk/search-house-prices (free) or your solicitor's file from that period.
If you don't have a sale in the 1989-93 window, an estimate derived from later Land Registry data and the ONS House Price Index can still support a case — but it's a screening signal, not primary evidence the VOA is required to accept.
Where to get it: Our Full Report calculates this using Land Registry price paid data and the ONS House Price Index.
The VOA's own record of your property's characteristics — the data they used to set your band. You can only request this for your own property (the VOA won't release neighbours' PAD under taxpayer confidentiality). Errors in your own PAD can be strong evidence.
Where to get it: Send a PAD request letter to ctinbox@voa.gov.uk. Our Full Appeal Pack includes the template.
If the Valuation Tribunal has already reduced bands for similar properties in your area, cite these decisions. This is powerful precedent evidence.
Where to get it: Our Full Report searches our database of 6,700+ VTE decisions. Or search at appealsearch.valuationtribunal.gov.uk.
Photos showing that your property is similar in size, type, and condition to comparable properties in a lower band.
Where to get it: Take your own photos or use Google Street View.
If your property has had extensions or alterations since 1991, or if comparable properties have, this can affect the valuation. Note: extensions added after 1991 are not relevant unless the property has been sold since.
Where to get it: Check your local council's planning portal.
If your property is in a conservation area or is listed, this can constrain its value and may mean your band should be lower.
Where to get it: Check historicengland.org.uk or your local council's planning department.
Our Full Appeal Pack gathers all this evidence automatically, generates a personalised appeal letter, and gives you everything ready to submit to the Valuation Office.
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