Laurentiu Tarbuc v Dawn Bunyan (List Officer)
[2024] EWHC 897 (Admin)
Doreen Clark v Dawn Bunyan (Listing Officer)
13 March 2024
[2024] EWHC 486 (Admin)
High Court
Someone's Council Tax went up because the size of their house was wrongly measured at first. The court said the government agency was right to correct the mistake and raise the tax, even though the original mistake was made years ago.
Key Facts
- •Doreen Clark appealed a Valuation Tribunal for England (VTE) decision upholding a Council Tax band increase for her property from Band E to Band F.
- •The increase was based on a revised measurement of the property's size, revealing an earlier underestimation.
- •The appellant argued against the VTE's methodology (RCA measurement), the Listing Officer's power to revise the list based on size discrepancies, and the VTE's handling of comparable properties and contextual factors (school expansion, road conditions).
- •The property, a chalet bungalow built in 2006, was initially assessed based on a reduced covered area (RCA) of 137m² leading to Band E classification.
- •A later investigation revealed an RCA of 165.29m², justifying the band increase to F.
Legal Principles
Council Tax banding is determined by a property's notional sale value on April 1, 1991 (AVD), considering its state on a 'relevant date'. Hypothetical sales, based on comparable properties, are used for properties built after 1991.
Council Tax (Situation and Valuation of Dwellings) Regulations 1992, reg 6
Listing Officers can amend the valuation list to correct banding errors, including those based on incorrect size measurements. This correction applies prospectively, not retrospectively.
Council Tax (Alteration of Lists and Appeals) (England) Regulations 2009, reg 3(1)(b)(i); Zeynab Adam v Johnson (LO) [2014] EWHC 1110 (Admin); Listing Officer for Cornwall v Dannhauser [2018] EWHC 3162 (Admin)
Appeals from the VTE to the High Court are limited to points of law. The High Court will not interfere with the VTE's factual findings unless they are irrational or based on an incorrect legal principle.
Valuation Tribunal for England (Council Tax and Rating Appeals) (Procedure) Regulations 2009, reg 43(1); Pengelly v The Listing Officer [2014] EWHC 4142 (Admin); Ramdhun v Valuation Tribunal of England [2014] EWHC 946 Admin
Increased traffic due to school expansion is generally not considered a material change affecting a property's value for Council Tax purposes unless it fundamentally alters the road's character.
Chilton-Merryweather (LO)
The VTE, as a specialist body, has discretion in choosing valuation methodologies and considering evidence, including the 'tone of the list'.
Domblides v Listing Officer [2008] EWHC 3271 (Admin)
Outcomes
The appeal was dismissed.
The appellant's grounds of appeal did not raise points of law that warranted overturning the VTE's decision. The VTE's factual findings and application of legal principles were deemed appropriate. The Listing Officer acted within her powers in correcting the previously inaccurate Council Tax band.