The Upper Tribunal (Lands Chamber) has found that the risk of future flooding was not a "material change in circumstances" such as to justify a proposal to alter the rating assessment of the property concerned so as to reflect that risk. The appeal concerned a car supermarket at Hessle Dock in Hull, where the last flooding took place in 2013, but the site was subsequently recategorised by the Environment Agency as having a "high risk" of flooding and flood insurance was refused. ...Read More

The Supreme Court has ruled on a long-running dispute relating to the service of a Completion Notice, by Westminster City Council, in respect of a new office building in Kingsway, London. The effect of the notice was to deem the property complete for the purposes of business rates, and thereby to trigger a liability for empty rates. The Supreme Court found that the notice was validly served, despite being handed to a third party not authorised to accept service. The decision in UKI (Kingsway) Limited (Respondent) v Westminster City Council (Appellant) may well have ramifications beyond the field of business rates. ...Read More

In 2015, following the tragic crash on its "Smiler" ride, visitor numbers to Alton Towers fell significantly. The ratepayer, Merlin Entertainments, sought a reduction in its rating assessment on the basis that the fall in numbers represented a "material change of circumstances". The Upper Tribunal (Lands Chamber) has dismissed the ratepayer's appeal, and its decision offers important guidance on identifying when changes fall within the category of "material changes", justifying an alteration to a rating assessment, and when they do not. ...Read More

The Upper Tribunal (Lands Chamber) has struck out an appeal made by a ratepayer because the Appellant failed to provide a Statement of Case to support its appeal. The decision is one of a series of Upper Tribunal decisions which appear to seek to reshape the way in which appeals against business rates assessments are conducted. ...Read More

The Upper Tribunal (Lands Chamber) has issued an important, and unusual, decision in which it clarifies the role of expert witnesses before the Tribunal and rules regarding the fee arrangements for such experts. ...Read More

The Upper Tribunal (Lands Chamber) has issued its decision in respect of an appeal made by the Home Office seeking to reduce the rating assessment for its offices in Marsham Street, London. The appeal was a successful one, but hard-pressed commercial ratepayers may be permitted a wry smile that even the Government is finding its own rates burden excessive. ...Read More

The Valuation Tribunal for England has issued a significant decision concerning the use of an office building by live-in guardians. The VTE has determined that the owner of the building remained in paramount occupation and that the building was not used "wholly for the purposes of living accommodation". The building therefore remained an office hereditament for the purposes of non-domestic rating and should be assessed accordingly. ...Read More

The Administrative Court has found that a rates mitigation scheme operated by Principled Offsite Logistics Limited represented beneficial occupation of property, capable of satisfying the tests of rateable occupation. In its decision in R (on the Application of Principled Offsite Logistics) v Trafford Borough Council, the Court found in favour of Principled on the question of whether its occupation of a property at Stretford Mall in Manchester was beneficial, but declined to quash a decision by Trafford Borough Council to lay information in respect of the property on the basis that it was unoccupied. The decision is an important one for landlords of vacant properties and for those operating rates mitigation schemes in respect of such properties. ...Read More

The Upper Tribunal (Lands Chamber) has reinstated a business rates appeal that had been struck out by the Valuation Tribunal for England. The decision in The Appeal of Benchmark Furniture Limited (2018) is the latest in a line of cases where the Upper Tribunal has reinstated appeals wrongly struck out by the Valuation Tribunal for England. ...Read More

The Valuation Tribunal for England has issued an important decision in respect of Completion Notices served to bring new or altered properties into the rating list. The Tribunal has determined that where parts of a building are not "new" such Notices cannot be effective and cannot be used to bring property which had previously been deleted from the rating list back into the list. The decision is a significant one for those undertaking alterations to properties and for billing authorities. ...Read More