Business Rates - Property Valuation
Apart from properties that are exempt from business rates each non-domestic property has a rateable value which is normally set by the valuation officers of the Valuation Office Agency (VOA), an agency of the Inland Revenue. It draws up and maintains a full list of all rateable values, available on their website at www.voa.gov.uk. The rateable value of a property broadly represents the yearly rent the property could have been let for on the open market on a particular date. All non-domestic property is re-valued every five years and for the revaluation that came into effect on 1st April 2005, this date was set as 1st April 2003.
The Valuation Officer may send you a form to fill in. The information supplied on the form is used to help them value non-domestic property. A form can be sent to any property at any time, but it is most likely to be sent during the run-up to a revaluation. You must, by law, fill in and return any form received.
The valuation officer may alter the value if the circumstances of the property have changed. The ratepayer (and certain others who have an interest in the property) can also appeal against the value shown in the list if they believe it is wrong. Further information about making appeals can be found on the VOA website or from your local valuation office.
Successful appeals against values shown in the rating list that came into force on 1st April 2005 will normally be backdated to that date, although there are exceptions to this. Further information about these arrangements may be found on the VOA website.
The values of all properties, in respect of which rates are payable to the Borough Council, are shown in the local rating list. Copies of the local list may be inspected in the following places.
- District Valuer’s Office, Kings Wharf, 20-30 Kings Road, Reading, RG1 3ER
- Bracknell Forest Borough Council, Easthampstead House, Town Square, Bracknell, RG12 1AQ
- The Valuation Office Agency web site at www.voa.gov.uk
Rating advisers
Ratepayers do not have to be represented in discussions about their rateable value or their rates bill. Appeals against rateable values can be made free of charge. However, ratepayers who do wish to be represented should be aware that members of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS - website www.rics.uk) and the Institute of Revenues Rating and Valuation (IRRV – website www.irrv.org.uk) are qualified and are regulated by rules of professional conduct designed to protect the public from misconduct. Before you employ a rating adviser, you should check that they have the necessary knowledge and expertise, as well as appropriate indemnity insurance. Take great care and, if necessary, seek further advice before entering into any contract.
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