Free check · England only · No sign-up
We compare your home with similar properties nearby and show you the evidence for and against a challenge. Most bands are right. We will tell you when yours looks right too.
Why we’re here
Council tax bands in England are tied to property values on 1 April 1991. Most bands are correct, but errors and inconsistent streets do exist—and residents often have no simple way to tell the difference.
Looking at one neighbour is not enough. Neither is typing today’s house price into an inflation calculator. A useful screen has to compare like with like, show where the records came from and refuse to make a confident claim when the evidence is thin.
Check your home freeA careful screen
The neighbour evidence decides the result — it’s the only evidence the VOA accepts. The valuation check is background: it can raise a visible warning, but it never changes the verdict either way.
We look for nearby homes of the same type and a similar size and age, then compare their official bands. You can see every comparable we used.
Where reliable sales exist, we estimate their value in 1991 money. The VOA does not accept a house-price index as proof, so this check decides nothing — it’s shown as background, with a plain warning on your report if it disagrees with the neighbours.
These are not your odds of winning. They describe cases the Valuation Office formally reviewed, not all homes and not everyone who considered challenging. Of the 12,000 band reviews the Valuation Office resolved in 2023–24:
41%
of band reviews ended in a reduction
59%
changed nothing at all
<1%
ended with a higher band
The share ending in a reduction has been climbing for a decade — 41% in 2023–24. Band increases are so rare (fewer than 1% in every year on record) that they would be invisible on this chart.
Across all challenge routes the reduction rate was 27%. So most people who challenge get nothing — which is precisely why we screen first and tell you when not to bother.
How to challenge a council tax band
Source: Valuation Office Agency, Council Tax: challenges and changes in England and Wales, March 2024 (29 August 2024). England & Wales, 1 April 2023 – 31 March 2024. Chart redrawn from Figure 6, Table CTCAC4.2 of the same release.
Simple process
No paperwork and no sales call. Start with one postcode and inspect the result before deciding anything else.
Choose your exact home from the address list. No account, email address or payment details are required.
We look for genuinely similar homes nearby and compare their council tax bands with yours.
You see what supports a challenge, what argues against one and what information could not be verified.
If you’ve paid council tax here for less than 6 months, you have a legal right to challenge your band.
This is the part almost nobody knows. Everyone else has to prove their band is wrong before the Valuation Office will even look. You don’t. You file, and they must review your case and give you a written decision — usually within 2 months. If they say no, you can appeal to an independent tribunal, for free.
So if our check comes back uncertain, the maths is different for you: filing costs you time, not money, and you keep a right of appeal. That is not true for anyone past the 6-month mark.
Honest caveat: a statutory right is a right to be heard, not to win. Only 19% of proposals ended in a reduction in 2023–24 — precisely because anyone can file one, evidence or not. We’ll still tell you when the evidence points the wrong way.
You qualify if
Source: GOV.UK / VOA — Challenge your Council Tax band — when you have a legal right
Straight answers
Green is not a guaranteed win, and amber is not a disguised sales lead. The wording changes with the evidence.
We show the comparable addresses and why they passed our checks. This is a reason to investigate, not a promise that the VOA will reduce the band.
We tell you when comparable homes support the current band. That can save you from spending time on a weak challenge.
Missing or contradictory records produce an honest inconclusive result. We do not turn a data gap into a sales opportunity.
The check is always free. You only pay if we find a case worth making — and even then, you can always file it yourself for free with the VOA.
£29.99 · 0% commission if you win
We build the case. You send it.
Anyone happy to spend 10 minutes sending one email.
Free · then 25% of a win
Pay nothing unless your band comes down.
People who want zero risk and don't mind sharing the win.
If your band is reduced, we invoice 25% of the one-off backdated refund (not future savings — claims firms take a share of years of savings; we never do). No card required. Cancel any time before we submit your filing.
Every figure we use comes from a public source. Here they all are — including the free official route, so you can skip us entirely.
Common questions
No. In England, bands are based on what a home could have sold for on 1 April 1991. A modern sale price cannot by itself prove that a band is wrong. We use historic valuation work only as a safety check; comparable neighbouring homes are what can support a case.
No. This is an independent screening service. The Valuation Office Agency keeps the official list and makes every final decision. We link to the official records so you can check our work and use the free official route yourself.
Yes. A review can confirm the current band, reduce it or identify that a property should sit higher. That is why the free check looks for evidence against a challenge as well as evidence for one.
We say that the evidence is incomplete. We will show what was found and what was missing rather than pretending that an uncertain result is a likely win.
No. Checking and challenging through the VOA is free. Our screening is also free. Any paid service is optional and only concerns organising or handling evidence after the check finds a credible case.
Free council tax screening
Start with your postcode. We will show the evidence we can verify and say plainly when it is not enough.
Check your band free