The Court of Appeal has reduced the rating assessment of a vacant office building in Blackpool to a nominal figure of Rateable Value £1 on the basis that, in the real world, there was no demand for the property at the relevant date, and that the hypothetical basis of valuation for rating did not mean that demand was to be assumed where none existed. The decision in Telereal Trillium v Hewitt (VO) gives significant guidance about the approach to valuation of large vacant buildings. ...Read More

Regulations have been laid before Parliament to introduce penalties for ratepayers who give inaccurate information in connection with a business rates appeal. The draft Non-Domestic Rating (Alteration of Lists and Appeals) (England) (Amendment) Regulations (2018) will introduce penalties of £500, reduced to £200 for small businesses, where inaccurate information is supplied "knowingly, recklessly or carelessly" in connection with a business rates appeal. ...Read More

The Government has announced details of the legislation it proposes to introduce to reverse the effects of the decision of the UK Supreme Court in Woolway (VO) v Mazars LLP (2015) UKSC 53. The proposal to reverse the effects of this court decision, which resulted in properties that had previously been assessed as one for business rates becoming assessed as more than one, was announced by the Chancellor in the Autumn Statement 2017. The Government has now produced a consultation paper setting out how it proposes to reverse the effects of that decision. ...Read More

The Upper Tribunal (Lands Chamber) has published an important judgment, dealing with appeals against rating assessments, where those appeals had been struck out by the Valuation Tribunal for England, and where the Valuation Tribunal had refused to reinstate the appeals. The case of Simpsons Malt Ltd and Others v Craig Jones (VO) and Others (2017) UKUT 0460 (LC) will be of importance to surveyors, Valuation Officers, the Valuation Tribunal, and others dealing with business rates appeals. ...Read More

The Upper Tribunal (Lands Chamber) has determined that staircases and areas of demountable decking that were attached to racking in a warehouse are not rateable. The Tribunal found that the decking, and the staircases that gave access to it were not rateable items of plant and machinery and did not for part of the hereditament for rating purposes. ...Read More

The Upper Tribunal (Lands Chamber) has dismissed an appeal seeking a reduction in the rating assessment of a shop in the Touchwood shopping centre in Solihull for the effects of the opening of the new Resorts World complex nearby in 2015. The Tribunal found that the ratepayer "had not achieved anything approaching the required level of evidence to show that there has been any effect on rental levels at Touchwood as a result of the opening of Resorts World". ...Read More

The Autumn Budget 2017 contains some good news for business ratepayers because the increase in business rates next year in England will be less than expected. The Chancellor has announced that business rates will be uplifted in line with CPI, rather than RPI, from next April. This is expected to reduce the Uniform Business Rate for small businesses next year from 48.4 pence to 48.0 pence, a reduction of about 1%. There were other business rates announcements that will be of interest to ratepayers over the longer term, but still no sign of real fundamental reform. ...Read More

The September 2017 Retail Prices Index (RPI) figure has been announced and shows a 3.9% increase over the previous year. This sets the upper limit by which next year's Uniform Business Rate (UBR) multiplier can increase in England and Wales. ...Read More

The Lands Tribunal for Northern Ireland has issued its decision in respect of a rating appeal relating to Belfast International Airport. The Tribunal has reduced the assessment of the airport from Net Annual Value ("NAV") £3,000,000 to NAV £2,300,000. The reduction in the assessment reflects allowances made by the Tribunal for overcapacity and for location and additional operating costs. ...Read More

Scottish Government has confirmed a number of reforms to the business rates system following recommendations of the Barclay review. The Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Derek Mackay, gave details of the proposed reforms and of a number of other recommendations made by the review that Scottish Government will consider implementing. The key change is to three-yearly revaluations from 2022 onwards. ...Read More