What evidence the VOA accepts (and what it ignores)
The Valuation Office Agency's evidence rules are picky — Rightmove and Zoopla don't count. Here's what does.
The rules
Your Council Tax band reflects what your property would have sold for at the statutory valuation date: 1 April 1991 for England and Scotland, 1 April 2003 for Wales. Any evidence you submit must speak to that date — not 2026.
The VOA published explicit guidance in November 2024 on what they will and won't accept. The short version:
- 1Comparable bandsLower-band neighbours, from the VOA's own list. The single most persuasive evidence.
- 21991 / 2003 sale pricesHistoric sales of comparable homes at the valuation date.
- 3Plans, surveys, photosShowing the property's features as at the valuation date.
- 4Records of changesExtensions, conversions, demolitions — with dates.
- Rightmove & Zoopla estimates
- A house-price index on its own
- Nethouseprices, Mouseprice & co.
- Cost of recent renovations
- “My bill is too high”
Accepted
- Bands of comparable properties — directly, from the VOA's own list. The single most persuasive evidence.
- 1991 (or 2003) sale prices of comparable properties. Historic Land Registry data, archived estate-agent records, local newspaper listings.
- Surveys, plans, photographs showing the property's features at the valuation date.
- Documentary evidence of changes — extensions, demolitions, conversions — with dates.
Not accepted
- Rightmove and Zoopla valuations. Modern AVMs are explicitly rejected.
- Nationwide House Price Index on its own. The VOA may use it as part of a deflator calculation paired with direct comparables, but a price-index argument alone fails.
- Nethouseprices, Mouseprice, OneDome and other property-data sites. Same reason as Zoopla — the prices are modern.
- Cost of recent renovations. Doesn't affect the 1991 value.
- Your council tax bill being unaffordable. Council Tax Reduction (means-tested) is the route for that — not a band challenge.
How to find 1991 prices
The Land Registry “Price Paid” data goes back to January 1995. For an early-1995 sale of a comparable home, you can deflate the price using the Nationwide regional house-price index to estimate the 1991 value. This is a recognised technique.
For sales before 1995, the British Newspaper Archive holds local property listings from 1989–1992 — often with asking prices. Pair these with the deflator and you have credible 1991 evidence.
Long-established local estate agents sometimes hold archive records. A polite phone call costs nothing.
What “strong evidence” looks like in practice
A submission the VOA will take seriously usually includes:
- 3–6 comparable properties, all within 250 metres, of the same type and similar age.
- Their current bands (from the VOA website).
- At least one 1991-era price reference for a comparable, with a clear explanation of where it came from.
- A short cover letter that ties it all together — route requested, address, current band, requested band, evidence summary.
That's the standard our challenge pack hits. If you have the time, you can absolutely assemble this yourself for free. If you don't, the £39 saves the half-day of work and the email back-and-forth getting the format right.
- GOV.UK — Challenge your Council Tax band
- GOV.UK — How Council Tax bands are assessed
- Valuation Office Agency (VOA)
Links open on GOV.UK. We explain the rules in plain English; the official guidance is always definitive.
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