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Know Business Rates

Business rates are a tax on the right to occupy commercial premises and are a significant financial burden for most organisations.

The amount you pay is based upon the Rateable Value of your property, which is set by the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) using rental market evidence and is re-assessed typically every five years - a process known as revaluation.

Revaluation

The latest Business Rates revaluation came into effect on 1 April 2017 – two years later than originally scheduled - and introduced new rateable values for all commercial properties in England and Wales.

The next revaluation is due to take place on 1 April 2023 and will be based on rental values as at 1 April 2021. It will be the first for six years, with the 2021 revaluation for England and Wales postponed due to COVID-19.

Download our interactive map to identify the winners and losers from the 2023 revaluation

New appeal system

The Government also introduced a new appeal system to coincide with the 2017 Business Rates revaluation, known as 'Check Challenge Appeal'.

Ratepayers and their advisors will now have to follow this three-stage process, which has been widely criticised for being unnecessarily bureaucratic and complex, if they wish to challenge their rateable values in the future:

  1. Check:
    The ratepayer or agent can request details of the information relied upon by the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) to determine the new rateable value and ‘Check’ it for factual errors, with any amendments submitted as a formal declaration. Once receipt of the ‘Check’ has been formally acknowledged, the VOA has up to 12 months to decide whether to accept the proposed changes and amend the rateable value. If no agreement can be reached, the ratepayer or agent can officially ‘Challenge’ the rateable value within four months of receiving the VOA’s decision, or after 12 months have elapsed.
  2. Challenge: 
    In order to ‘Challenge’ the rating list entry, the ratepayer or agent must prepare a detailed submission setting out the reasons for disputing the rateable value, including an alternative valuation backed by supporting evidence. If no agreement can be reached, the ratepayer or agent can ‘Appeal’ to the Valuation Tribunal for England within four months of receiving the VOA’s decision, or 18 months have elapsed.
  3. Appeal: 
    The Tribunal will consider whether the VOA has made the correct decision in respect of the challenge, based on the evidence put forward at the ‘Challenge’ stage – no fresh evidence will be permissible unless formal agreement is sought from the VOA. If the Tribunal disagrees with the VOA’s decision, it may conclude that the ratepayer’s proposed rating list entry is correct, or alternatively it may substitute its own. The ratepayer or agent cannot change the grounds of the ‘Challenge’ (even though some may have been resolved) and cannot introduce fresh evidence without the formal agreement of the VOA. A fee of up to £300 will also be levied (refunded where the Tribunal outcome is in favour of the appellant).

 

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Appeals management

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Rates management

Appeals management

Our business rates appeals management service aims to mitigate our clients’ business rate liabilities in a careful and professional fashion, reducing business rates payable to the absolute minimum.

Each new rating list often provides grounds to appeal against the rateable value assigned to your commercial property, but it's not simply a case of submitting an appeal and hoping for a reduction in liability.

Our approach to business rates appeals management

Effective appeals management relies on being able to identify which properties to appeal, which to negotiate and which to prosecute before the relevant tribunal.

We will review your complete portfolio in a careful and professional manner and recommend appeals that we believe to have the highest success rate, with the aim of securing a fully backdated refund and the maximum reduction in rate liability going forward. Unlike some representatives, we will not expose you to unexpected increases in liability.

We use bespoke software and electronic exchanges with the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) and the Valuation Tribunal to manage your appeals.

Challenging business rates assessments and securing available reliefs

At each stage of the process, we’ll address a number of questions. We’ll also provide regular updates on progress as the appeals process can be long and bureaucratic.

Pre-revaluation representations:

  • Is there an opportunity to influence the Valuation Office Agency to reduce the impact of forthcoming rating revaluations?
  • Would it be beneficial to work with the Rating Contact scheme?
  • Is there scope to make an informal challenge to the draft Compiled List rateable values?

Initial assessment review:

  • Has the property been assessed on the most appropriate valuation basis?
  • How does the assessment compare with rental evidence?
  • What is the change in value between two Rating Lists?
  • Have physical alterations affected the rateable value of the property?
  • Are there physical alterations in the locality that affect the property’s value?

Appeal management:

  • Will an appeal against the business rates assessment lead to a reduced liability?
  • If an appeal is merited, when should it be submitted?
Our business rates appeals management service aims to mitigate our clients’ liabilities in a careful and professional fashion, reducing business rates payable to the absolute minimum.
Our business rates appeals management service aims to mitigate our clients’ liabilities in a careful and professional fashion, reducing business rates payable to the absolute minimum.

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Business Rates Appeal: Thames Valley Police Training College

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Get in touch

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Paul Nash

Senior Director - National Head of Rating

020 7198 2150

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Mark Clapham

Senior Director - Head of Rating - Birmingham

07841 684816

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Melanie Oates

Director - Rating

0191 338 8304

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