Quite possibly. Council tax bands were set in 1991, in a hurry, and in England they have never been reassessed. A large number of homes have sat in the wrong band for over thirty years — and the only way to find out is to check.
Check your band free →Instant · no email · England & WalesWhen council tax replaced the poll tax in 1993, every home in England and Wales had to be put in a band based on its value on 1 April 1991. There were millions of homes and very little time, so many were banded quickly — sometimes from little more than a drive-past estimate rather than a proper valuation.
England's bands have never been redone since. Wales was revalued once, to 2003 values. So a rushed 1991 guess can still be setting your bill today — and if your neighbours' near-identical homes were guessed a band lower, you are simply paying more for the same house.
Bands are public. Look at homes near you of the same type and similar size. If several of them sit in a lower band than yours, that is the clearest sign your band is out of line — and it is exactly the evidence the VOA listens to. A flat tells you nothing about a house, and a much smaller home tells you little, so compare like with like.
Because bands are set on 1991 values, not today's prices, a past sale of your home — brought back to 1991 money — tells you which band it should be in. If that lands below your current band, the value evidence is on your side. If it lands on your band, your band is probably right. If it lands above, a challenge could backfire, so it is worth knowing before you act.
What "wrong" looks like: your home is a terraced house in Band F, but the terraces either side — same size, same age — are in Band E, and your 1991 value works out to Band E too. That is a strong case. We check both of these for you, for free.
If the evidence points to a lower band, you can challenge it yourself, free, on GOV.UK. Our step-by-step guide to challenging your band walks through exactly how. If the evidence doesn't support a lower band, it is better to know that too — a challenge can push a band up as well as down, though that is rare.
Check your band now →We read every band on your street from the official list