Valuation Office Agency Advice and Appeals

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Practical help when your business rates assessment is wrong. The Valuation Office Agency decides how a non-domestic property is entered in the rating list and what rateable value should be applied. If the VOA’s information is wrong, the consequences can be significant. You may be paying business rates on too much floor space, on a property you no longer occupy, or on an assessment that does not reflect how the premises are actually divided and used.

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Business Rate Advisors Ltd investigates disputed assessments, prepares the necessary evidence and deals directly with the VOA on behalf of businesses, landlords and property owners. Clients deal directly with Steve Adams or Mark Allen throughout their case.

 

What can be wrong with a VOA assessment?

A rating assessment can appear straightforward while still containing important errors. Common problems include:

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• An excessive rateable value

• Incorrect floor areas or measurements

• The wrong property description or use

• Two or more occupations assessed as one property

• One occupation divided into several assessments

• A demolished or substantially altered property remaining in the rating list

• The wrong effective date being applied

• A former occupier or landlord being billed because the rating list has not been corrected

• Valuation evidence that does not properly reflect the property’s location, condition or characteristics

 

We begin by establishing what is actually wrong and whether there is a proper evidential basis for asking the VOA to alter the rating list. 

 

VOA Check and Challenge. 

For properties in England, most disputes about a rating assessment are dealt with through the VOA’s Check, Challenge, Appeal process. A Check is not simply a request for the VOA to reduce the rateable value. It is the stage at which the facts of the assessment are examined and, where necessary, corrected. This can include the property’s floor areas, physical layout, occupation, use and effective date. ​If the matter is not resolved at Check, a Challenge may be required. A Challenge must set out the alteration being sought, the grounds on which it is sought and the evidence relied upon.

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We can:

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• Review the existing rating assessment and VOA valuation

• Examine plans, measurements, leases and occupation arrangements

• Research relevant rental and comparable evidence

• Identify factual or valuation errors

• Prepare and submit the Check

• Draft the full Challenge statement and valuation case

• Respond to enquiries raised by the VOA

• Review the VOA’s decision and advise on the next step

• Prepare a case for the Valuation Tribunal where appropriate

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A weak or incomplete submission can delay a case or result in it being rejected. Our role is to make sure the issue is clearly identified and supported by the right evidence from the outset. 

 

Challenging an excessive rateable value. 

A high business rates bill does not automatically mean that the rateable value is wrong. The assessment must be considered against the statutory valuation basis and the available market evidence.

 

We look beyond the headline figure.

Depending on the property, our review may include:

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• The VOA’s floor areas and valuation scheme

• The rental value at the relevant valuation date

• Actual rents paid for the property

• Incentives, rent-free periods and service charges

• Comparable properties relied upon by the VOA

• Differences in size, location, access, condition and specification

• Ancillary or inferior accommodation

• Physical factors affecting the property’s rental value

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Where the evidence supports a reduction, we prepare a properly reasoned valuation case rather than simply asking the VOA to reconsider the figure. Separating a property into individual assessments. A property may need to be split where different businesses separately occupy and control clearly defined parts of the premises. A formal lease can be helpful, but the real question is usually who is in rateable occupation of each area. The VOA will consider matters such as exclusive possession, access, physical separation, day-to-day control and the purpose for which each part is occupied. 

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We regularly assist where:

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• A building is shared by separate businesses

• Individual workshops or industrial units have distinct occupiers

• Offices are let as separately controlled suites

• Part of a property has been sublet

• A landlord retains one area while a tenant occupies another

• Separate businesses use different floors or sections of a building

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We assess the occupation on its facts and prepare the plans, tenancy information, photographs and supporting statement required by the VOA. A split can result in each occupier receiving their own assessment and business rates account. Depending on the resulting rateable values and each occupier’s circumstances, this may also affect entitlement to Small Business Rate Relief. Relief is decided separately by the local council and is not guaranteed merely because a property has been split. 

 

Property mergers

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Separate assessments are not always correct either. Where adjoining areas are occupied by the same business and operate together as one property, there may be grounds for asking the VOA to merge them into a single assessment. This commonly arises where a business has expanded into a neighbouring unit or where historic rating entries no longer reflect the present layout and occupation. We review the physical connection, occupation and use of the areas before advising whether a merger should be pursued.

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Removing a property from the rating list

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A property may need to be deleted from the rating list if it has been demolished or is undergoing works so substantial that it is no longer capable of beneficial occupation.

Being empty, run-down or in need of repair is not necessarily enough. The nature and extent of the works must be considered carefully.

 

We can review:

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• Structural alterations and reconstruction

• Strip-out and redevelopment works

• Demolition

• Removal of essential facilities

• Planning and building-control records

• Dated photographs and contractors’ evidence

• The date from which the property became incapable of occupation

 

Where the facts support deletion, we prepare the application and evidence required to establish the correct effective date.

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What evidence will we need?

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The evidence depends on the issue, but it commonly includes:

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• The latest business rates bill

• The VOA property reference and valuation

• Floor plans or measured surveys

• A lease, licence or tenancy agreement

• Rent details

• Photographs or videos

• Details of who occupies each part of the property

• Dates of occupation, vacation or building works

• Planning applications and building-control documents

• Builders’ quotations, schedules of work or invoices

• Previous correspondence with the VOA or council

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Do not worry if you do not have everything. Send us what is available and explain the problem in your own words. We can then identify what further evidence is likely to be needed. 

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Why use Business Rate Advisors Ltd?

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Business rates cases often involve more than a single valuation figure. A VOA alteration can affect council bills, relief entitlement, backdated liability and ongoing enforcement action. We consider the wider position rather than treating the assessment in isolation. 

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Direct contact with an experienced adviser

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You will deal directly with Steve Adams or Mark Allen, not a call centre or an unqualified case handler.

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Evidence-based submissions

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We examine the documents, occupation and physical facts before deciding what alteration should be requested.

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Clear advice about prospects

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Not every high assessment can be successfully challenged. We will tell you whether we believe there is a reasonable basis for proceeding and what the risks may be.

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Representation throughout England and Wales

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We assist businesses, landlords and property owners across a wide range of retail, office, industrial, leisure and specialist properties.

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Request a free initial review

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Send us your latest business rates bill, the property address and a brief explanation of what you believe is wrong.

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If you have a VOA valuation, floor plan, lease, photographs or previous correspondence, please include those as well.

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We will review the initial information and explain whether we may be able to help.

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Call Steve Adams on 07415 048643

Call Mark Allen on 07376 443943

Office: 01225 667747

Request a Free Review