Business Rates and VOA Administration: What Businesses Need to Check

Direct answer: Business rates cases often stall because council billing issues and VOA valuation issues are treated as if they were the same. The council manages the bill, liability, payments and most reliefs; the Valuation Office Agency maintains the rating list and rateable value.

Council responsibilities

• Issuing business rates bills

• Recording occupation and liability dates

• Allocating payments and credits

• Deciding most relief and exemption applications

• Recovery action and payment arrangements

VOA responsibilities

• Maintaining the local rating list

• Setting rateable values

• Correcting property descriptions and assessment details

• Administering Check, Challenge and Appeal procedures

Monthly account-checking checklist

1. Match each occupied property to the correct council account.

2. Confirm the rating-list address, description and rateable value.

3. Reconcile payments against each bill.

4. Record occupation, vacation and lease-event dates.

5. Check relief awards and expiry dates.

6. Track council and VOA reference numbers separately.

7. Diary every response and appeal deadline.

Documents to keep

• Bills and account statements

• Leases, licences, completion statements and break notices

• Dated occupation and vacation evidence

• Floor plans, measurements and photographs

• Relief applications and decisions

• VOA Checks, Challenges and supporting evidence

• Payment receipts and correspondence logs

Practical example

A council bills a company for two units, but the VOA list shows a single merged assessment. The council cannot simply divide the rateable value itself. The business may need a VOA property-split application supported by plans and occupation evidence, followed by council rebilling once the rating list changes.

Common administrative errors

• Payments allocated to the wrong year or account

• Duplicate property assessments

• Old occupiers remaining liable after assignment or vacation

• Relief omitted or ended on the wrong date

• Council correspondence sent to the wrong address

• Missing VOA deadlines because reference numbers were not tracked

Official sources

• GOV.UK: Introduction to business rates

• GOV.UK: Find a business rates valuation

• GOV.UK: Check your rateable value

Related business rates guides

• Business Rates Enforcement Agents

• Business Rates Reduction Case Study

• Free Business Rates Advice

Get administrative support

Our VOA Appeals and Valuation service can review the rating-list position, while our wider business-rates team can address council billing and liability issues.

Call to action: Send us the current bill, rating-list link, lease dates and recent correspondence. We will separate the council and VOA issues and create a clear action list.

Author: Steve Adams, Business Rate Advisors LtdReviewed by: Business Rate Advisors LtdLast updated: 17 August 2026

General information for businesses in England; not legal or valuation advice.

Councils and the small business rate relief scam

Small business rates relief is a critical life saver to many small businesses who own or rent small commercial properties which is why the latest trend some councils are employing is shocking.

In this scenario the council will claim that your property is empty even though you occupy it. The council will charge you full business rates and you will not be entitled to any lockdown grant money that the government set aside for you. Instead, you will receive nasty demand notices and summons to court, shortly followed on by enforcement bailiffs unless you pay the bill.

So how on earth do you stop this horrible situation from happening to you.

The best way to counter this situation is to send the council evidence of trading along with some photos of the inside of your commercial property. It would also be beneficial to ask that the council sends someone out to visit your property to confirm occupancy.

If this fails, you could then contact your MP and ask that they confirm to the council that your commercial property is occupied. Provide the evidence you sent to the council to your MP.

With a large uplift in empty property cases that we have been receiving, Business Rate Advisors has challenged the council’s stance and forced them to apply the small business rates relief on the majority of cases, saving the business owner thousands of pounds.

Do not let the council bully you into accepting you have to pay business rates on a commercial property by claiming that it is empty when you occupy it. You are entitled to the business rates relief, and we can help you get it.

I provide free business rates and council dispute advice, so if you need some help, let me know.

Steve Adams – 07415048642 / 01225667747 or email steve.adams@businessrateadvisors.co.uk

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