What we do

The Valuation Office Agencys rating and council tax valuations provide the base valuation data for the collection of around 51 billion of local taxation a year.

The work of the VOA encompasses:

  • compiling and maintaining lists of rateable values of the 1.7 million non-domestic properties in England, and the 100,000 in Wales, to support the collection of around 25 billion1 in business rates;
  • compiling and maintaining the lists of council tax bandings of some 23 million domestic properties in England and 1.3 million in Wales, to support the collection of around 26 billion2 in council tax;
  • determining local housing allowances across some 150 Broad Rental Market areas for housing benefit purposes and registering some 60,000 Rent Act 1977 fair rents in England;
  • delivering a range of statutory and non-statutory valuation and surveying services to central and local government departments and the wider public sector; and
  • providing valuation advice to HMRC in connection with capital gains, inheritance tax and other tax compliance work.

Local Taxation Work

In the autumn of 2010, Ministers announced there would not be a council tax revaluation in England in the lifetime of this Parliament. The council tax bandings for England therefore continue to be based on the lists that came into force in 1993, reflecting property valuations at 1 April 1991. The council tax lists for Wales were revalued and came into force in 2005, based on 1 April 2003 values.

A revaluation of non-domestic properties across England and Wales (based on April 2008 values) came into force in April 2010 and the Valuation Office Agency now maintains these new lists and handles any appeals against them. The next non-domestic revaluation in England and Wales is due to come into effect in 2015 and the Agency has begun early preparation for this.

  1. Source HM Treasury estimates for 2010-11 (The Budget).
  2. As above.