Council Tax appeals

You think we've made a mistake about your Council Tax

The first step is to contact the Council Tax team if you think we have made a mistake with your bill. We'll check and get back to you as soon as we can.

You disagree with a decision we have made about your Council Tax

if you disagree with a decision we make about any of the following:

• a reduction or exemption you have applied for
• the person responsible for paying
• a completion notice we've issued for a newly-built property

then you can make a formal appeal. There's no special form - you just need to contact the Council Tax team, say you want to make an appeal, and explain exactly why you think our decision is wrong. 

What happens next if you make an appeal

If you make an appeal, we'll review the information and tell you our decision within 2 months. You must keep paying the amount on your bill until you hear from us. We will send you a new bill if the amount due changes.

You can  appeal to the independent Valuation Tribunal if you still disagree with our decision or we don't respond within 2 months.

You disagree with the level of charge/discount set by Cheshire East Council

You cannot appeal against the level of Council Tax discount Cheshire East Council has chosen to apply. You can only challenge how the decision has been made in the court by a legal procedure called Judicial Review. You may need to seek specialist legal advice before proceeding with this.

You think your council tax banding is wrong

Don’t contact us if you think that your Council Tax valuation band may be wrong. We have no control over banding and don’t deal with appeals.  Contact the Valuation Office Agency direct.

Council Tax bands are set by the Valuation Office Agency (VOA). If you think your property is in the wrong Council Tax band, you can challenge your Council Tax band online at the VOA website. You'll need to tell the VOA why you think your Council Tax band is wrong, for example, if similar houses in your street are in a different band. 

There are companies offering to help people appeal against their banding in return for a fee. This isn’t illegal, but it's free to make an appeal and you can do it yourself. 

What happens next if you contact the Valuation Office Agency

The VOA will change your band if they agree it's wrong. We'll then send you a new Council Tax bill for the new amount. Until then, you must keep paying the amount shown on your bill.

To challenge a VOA decision, you can   appeal to the independent Valuation Tribunal.