Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council - Your Council Tax Bill

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Your Council Tax Bill - Explanatory Notes

DUDLEY METROPOLITAN BOROUGH COUNCIL
YOUR COUNCIL TAX BILL - EXPLANATORY NOTES

(THESE NOTES FORM PART OF YOUR BILL)

1. Valuation Bands

Your property, be it a house, bungalow, flat, maisonette, mobile home or houseboat, has been placed into one of 8 valuation bands by the Listing Officer of HM Revenue & Customs according to its value at 1st April 1991:

Band	Range of Values
A	up to & including £40,000
B	£40,001 - £52,000
C	£52,001 - £68,000
D	£68,001 - £88,000
E	£88,001 - £120,000
F	£120,001 - £160,000
G	£160,001 - £320,000
H	over £320,000

The band which applies to your property is shown on the bill. If you wish to appeal against your banding you should read section 6 below.

2. Discounts

The full council tax bill for a property assumes that it is the main home of two adults. If it is the main home of only one adult, the bill is reduced by a quarter (25%). If it is no one's main home (e.g. it is empty, or used as a second home) the bill is reduced by half (50%). However, the following people (this may include the person liable for payment) are ignored ("disregarded") when counting the number of adults living in a property:

full-time students, student nurses, foreign language assistants, apprentices and Youth
Training trainees
patients resident in a hospital
people who are being looked after in care homes
people who are severely mentally impaired
people staying in certain hostels or night shelters
18 and 19 year-olds who are at or have just left school/college
care workers working for low pay, usually for charities
people caring for someone with a disability who is not a spouse, partner, or child under 18
diplomats and members of visiting forces and certain international organisations
members of religious communities
people in prison (except those in prison for non-payment of council tax or a fine)

Discounts have been granted based on existing council tax records and will be shown on the front of your bill. If you have not been allowed a discount but think you are entitled to one, you should let me know. If you have been allowed a discount to which you are not entitled, YOU MUST TELL ME AS SOON AS POSSIBLE or a penalty of £50 may be imposed.

3. Exempt Properties

Some properties are exempt from council tax, including those occupied only by either students, under 18 year olds or the severely mentally impaired, "granny annexes" occupied by elderly/disabled relatives; and those which are unoccupied and:

unfurnished (exempt for up to 6 months)
owned by a charity (exempt for up to 6 months)
require or are undergoing major repair to make habitable, or undergoing structural
alteration (exempt for up to 12 months, or 6 months after work substantially completed,
whichever is the shorter)
left empty by someone who has gone into prison, or who has moved to receive personal
care in a hospital or home or elsewhere
left empty by someone who has moved in order to provide personal care to another person
left empty by someone who has died (exempt for up to 6 months after probate/letters of
administration granted)
have been repossessed
the responsibility of a bankrupt's trustee
occupation is forbidden by law / planning conditions
waiting to be occupied by a minister of religion
left empty by a student owner
consist of an empty caravan pitch or boat mooring
cannot be let separately because of planning controls

Exemptions have been granted based on existing council tax records and will be shown on the front of your bill. If your property has not been treated as exempt but you think it should be, you should let me know. If it is being treated as exempt but should not be, YOU MUST TELL ME AS SOON AS POSSIBLE or a penalty of £50 may be imposed.

4. People with Disabilities

If you (or someone living with you) have special needs as a result of disability and so need a room, an extra bathroom or kitchen, or use a wheelchair indoors, you may be entitled to a reduction. In most cases where a reduction is granted, your bill will be based on the band immediately below that shown for your property in the valuation list. However, properties in Band A receive a reduction of 1/6th of the council tax for that band. Please contact me for an application form if you are not already receiving this reduction and think you may qualify.

5. Benefit

Council tax benefit ensures that people in receipt of income support, job seekers allowance income-based or pension guarantee credit will normally pay no council tax, and that other people on low incomes will have their bills reduced. Details on how to claim council tax benefit are available from my Benefits staff at the Council House, Dudley, telephone (01384) 818100 or at www.dudley.gov.uk.

6. Appeals

Appeals concerning your banding should be made to the Listing Officer (not the Council) at Kidderminster Valuation Office, Crown House, Bull Ring, Kidderminster, Worcestershire, DY10 2AA. Telephone (01562) 620100. You may appeal about your banding if:

you have been liable for your property for less than 6 months and can demonstrate that its value at 1st April 1991 would have been such that it should be in a different band;

you believe that your property's value has altered enough to merit an alteration in band, e.g. as a result of a change in the physical state of the area or the demolition/conversion of part of the property.

Please remember that all council tax valuations are based on April 1991 values; general changes in the level of house prices since then are not grounds for appeal. More detailed information is available from the Listing Officer at the above address.

If you think you are not liable for council tax (e.g. you are not the resident or owner, or your property qualifies for exemption), or a mistake appears to have been made in calculating your bill, you should let me know in writing. If agreement cannot be reached, you will be told how to make a formal appeal.

Making an appeal does not allow you to withhold payment of council tax. If your appeal is successful, you will be credited with the amount of any overpaid tax.

7. Data Protection

Any information you provide will be used to help us administer our council tax records. It may be shared with other Council services and partner organisations to prevent and detect fraud, ensure our records are kept accurate and to help us to identify services you may be entitled to or be interested in. Further information on how we use our data is available on the Council’s website at www.dudley.gov.uk or by calling us at (01384) 818000.

M.S.WILLIAMS
Director of Finance

Director of Finance, Dudley M.B.C, P.O. Box 3, Priory Road, DUDLEY DY1 1HG
revenue.finance@dudley.gov.uk www.dudley.gov.uk

Telephone (01384) 818000
If you require a large print of these notes

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