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