The Valuation Office Agency (VOA), which is an agency of Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs, updates the rateable values on business properties every five years. This revaluation occurs to make sure that individual rateable values continue to reflect any changes that have occurred in the property market since the last valuation happened. Every non-domestic property has a rateable value unless it is exempt from paying business rates.
The VOA collects information on how much different types of property are rented for, and bases the new rateable values on this rental information. About six-months before each revaluation comes into effect, the VOA publishes the intended new rateable values in a Draft Rating List, and this gives time for changes to be made before the 1st April effective date. The VOA also sends to businesses a summary valuation, which explains what factors have been taken into consideration when deciding what each rateable value has been set at. Details of most summary valuations can be seen on the Valuation Office Agency website.
For the 2005 rating list the independent Government valuers used by the VOA referred to market rental values as at 1st April 2003. The 2010 rating refers to market rental values as at 1st April 2008. All the businesses in Leicester are entered into a rating list, which shows their full address and what the rateable value has been set at. The rating list is available for inspection either at our office, or the VOA’s:
To confirm the gross amount of rates payable, each business has its rateable value multiplied by a "Multiplier" set by the Government each year. The multiplier cannot increase by more than the rate of inflation each year, and from 2005/06 there are two separate multipliers:
- The small business multiplier – 46.2p (for 2013/14) where the rateable value is under £18,000, and where the property qualifies for small business rates.
- The standard multiplier – 47.1p (for 2013/14) where the rateable value is £18,000 or over, or where the property does not qualify for small business rate relief.
The higher multiplier is used to finance the cost of the small business rate scheme.
You can appeal against the rateable value of your property by contacting the Valuation Office Agency. You must however note that rates are still payable in relation to the initial value even if an appeal is underway.
