Property Attribute Data (PAD) is the VOA's own record of your property's characteristics. Requesting it is free and essential for a strong appeal.
What is PAD?
The VOA holds a record for every property showing its type, floor area, number of rooms, and other details used to set the council tax band. You can only request PAD for your own property — the VOA won't release neighbours' PAD under taxpayer confidentiality — but checking your own PAD against publicly available data (like EPC floor areas) for comparable properties can reveal errors, for example if the VOA recorded your property as having more rooms than it actually does.
Valuation Office (part of HM Revenue & Customs)
ctinbox@voa.gov.uk
[YOUR FULL NAME]
[YOUR ADDRESS]
[YOUR POSTCODE]
[TODAY'S DATE]
Subject: Request for Property Attribute Data — [YOUR ADDRESS, YOUR POSTCODE]
Dear Sir or Madam,
I am writing to request the Property Attribute Data (PAD) held by the Valuation Office for my property:
[YOUR FULL ADDRESS INCLUDING POSTCODE]
I would be grateful to receive the following information as held on your records:
- Property type (detached, semi-detached, terraced, flat, maisonette)
- Number of storeys
- Total floor area (internal measurements)
- Number of rooms
- Year of construction
- Whether the property has a garage, parking, or garden
- Any extensions or alterations recorded
- The measurements used for the council tax banding assessment
- Any other property attributes held on file
I understand that this information is used in the determination of council tax bands and I am requesting it to help me understand whether my property's current band is correct.
As this is a request for information about my own property, I understand this falls under UK GDPR/the Data Protection Act 2018 as a subject access request, and I would ask that you respond within one calendar month as required.
If any part of this request is unclear, please contact me at the address above or by email at [YOUR EMAIL].
Yours faithfully,
[YOUR FULL NAME]
Tips for a successful PAD request
- • This request covers your own property only. The VOA is bound by taxpayer confidentiality and will not release PAD for neighbouring or comparable properties, even where similar information is published elsewhere.
- • When you receive your PAD, check for errors — incorrect room counts, wrong property type, or inflated floor area.
- • Include the PAD data in your appeal letter as evidence if it reveals an error.