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Part three: rateable values and appeals
In this section we will tell you:
- what your rateable value means
- what you can do if you think your rateable value is wrong
Q22 What is a rateable value?
Apart from properties which are exempt from business rates, each non-domestic property has a rateable value. Valuation officers of the VOA set the rateable values. The VOA is a part of Her Majesty’s Revenue & Customs. It draws up and maintains a full list of all rateable values.
The rateable value broadly represents the yearly rent the property could have been let for on the open market on a particular date. For the revaluation that came into effect on 1 April 2005, this date was set at 1 April 2003.
Changing a building - for example by adding an extension or demolishing part of it - may have an effect on its rateable value which can, in turn, affect the amount you pay in business rates.
Q23 What if my rateable value is nothing like the rent I pay?
The rateable value is a valuation officer’s assessment of what your property would fetch in rent if it was available on the open market on a particular date. It may be different from the rent you pay for a number of reasons, for example, your own rent was agreed at a different time.
Q24 I have received a form from the VOA asking lots of questions about my property - what is this?
Your local VOA office may send you a form to fill in. The VOA uses the information you give on this form to help them value your property and others. They can send you a form at any time, but they are most likely to send you one during the run-up to a revaluation.
By law, if you receive a form, you must fill it in and return it to the VOA. If you do not, you could have to pay a civil penalty fine. A leaflet explaining more about the civil penalty and what it means for you is available from your local valuation office.
The information you give the VOA on the form will help to make sure that the valuation of your property, and other similar properties, is accurate, and that your bill is correct. This may avoid the need to appeal later on.
Q25 How can I find out what my rateable value is?
Your rateable value will be shown on your business rates bill.
You can also find out your rateable value from:
the VOA’s website www.voa.gov.uk. If you do not have access to the Internet, you should be able to use facilities at your local library
your local valuation officer (look under ‘Valuation Office’ in your phone book)
the business rates section at your local authority
your rating adviser (if you have one).
Q26 What if I think my rateable value is wrong?
If you think your rateable value is wrong, you can make a proposal to alter it.
Q27 On what grounds can I make a proposal to alter my rateable value?
You can make a proposal if you think any of the following applies.
- The rateable value shown in the rating list (either following a revaluation or when the property is first valued) is wrong.
- A valuation officer’s change to your rateable value is wrong.
- A decision by a valuation tribunal (VT), lands tribunal or higher court has affected your own valuation (see below).
- Your property should be exempt, or part of it should be considered as a domestic property.
- Your property should be considered for rating as more than one property, or several properties should be considered as one property.
- There is another sort of error in the list entry, for example the address is wrong or the date of an alteration is wrong.
You can also make a proposal if there has been a material change of circumstances which has affected the value of your property. Material changes of circumstances include:
- a physical change to the building (for example, if part of it is demolished or destroyed)
- a physical change in the local area (for example, if there have been major road works or flooding in the area)
- a change in the use of the building
- a change in the use of a neighbouring property.
Q28 When can I make a proposal?
If you decide to make a proposal, in most cases you have until 31 March 2010 to do so.
However, where an alteration made by a valuation officer is inaccurate, or takes effect from the wrong date, you have six months from the date of the alteration to make a proposal.
If your proposal is based on other valuation tribunal, lands tribunal or higher court decisions, you can make a proposal up until 30 September 2010.
It is also important to act quickly if you make a proposal following a material change of circumstances, because the valuation must be based on the facts as they stand on the day you make your proposal. So, for example, if you make a proposal because you have been affected by disruption caused by local building works, but you only make a proposal after the work has finished, it is very unlikely that the rateable value of your property can be reduced.
Q29 How will my proposal affect the amount I have to pay in business rates?
If your rateable value changes as the result of your appeal, and the amount you have to pay is altered because of this, your council will let you know by sending you a revised bill.
In the meantime, you must keep up your payments as shown on your original bill. If you don’t, your council will take recovery action (see part two). When the proposal is settled, your council will refund, with interest, any difference between the amount you have already paid and any reduction resulting from the proposal. The council will not pay interest if a liability order has been issued against you (see Q19).
Q30 Are there limits on backdating?
This will depend on the circumstances of your appeal. In many cases, your rateable value will be changed from the start of the 2005 list, ie 1 April 2005. Other alterations only take effect from the date a proposal is made or when the circumstances giving rise to the alteration first occur. Your local valuation officer can advise you further when you make your proposal.
Q31 How do I make my proposal?
It costs nothing to make a proposal. If you decide to, you can do so in a number of ways.
- You can ask the valuation officer for a form. He or she will send you one together with some advice on how to fill it in.
- You can get a form from the VOA's website at www.voa.gov.uk. You can fill this in and send it to the valuation officer over the Internet.
These are the easiest ways to make a proposal. But you do not have to use either of these methods. You can write to the valuation officer to make your proposal, but you must include the following information:
- your name and address, and whether you are the owner or occupier of the property
- the address of the property
- a full statement of the reasons why you think the current value is wrong (for example, because of local building works)
- the sort of change you want to see to the value (what you think the new value should be).
In most cases, you will also have to provide details of the rent you pay. It is advisable to contact your local valuation officer to confirm whether rental information is required.
It is very important that you give as much information as you can to support your proposal. If you don’t, the valuation officer may reject it.
Q32 What happens next?
Once you have made your proposal, your local valuation office will acknowledge your proposal and confirm what will be done next. If necessary, a visit may be arranged to your premises. Most cases are settled by agreement between ratepayers and their local valuation office. If it is not possible to resolve the matter through discussion, it may be heard by an independent valuation tribunal (see part four).
Q33 Will transitional arrangements be affected if I make a proposal?
If transitional arrangements already affect your bill, you may find that a change in your property’s rateable value following a proposal makes no difference to the amount you pay until a later year. This is because the change in rateable value may not lead to a lower bill than the one you are already paying as a result of limits in the transitional scheme.
It is important to bear this in mind when you make a proposal, especially if you are considering using the services of a rating adviser (see part five below) who should be able to tell you how a change in the rateable value will affect your actual bill.
Q34 The VOA has sent me a transitional certificate. What is this?
There may be cases where a change in your rateable value cannot be fully backdated and this can affect your entitlement to transitional relief. In these cases the valuation officer may send you a transitional certificate showing what the backdated rateable value would have been, or ask you if you want one. This certificate allows the council to issue a new bill calculated based on that rateable value and taking full account of any transitional relief that might apply to it.
You may also receive a certificate if your property has changed on 1 April 2005 or has been split into two or more properties or joined with another property on any day from 1 April 2005. Again, your local council will use the value shown on the certificate to work out the correct amount of transitional relief that should apply to your bill.
Published 2 July 2007
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