18 October 2002
Rating assessments on some six million square feet of office
accommodation in London Docklands soon to be agreed
The Valuation Office Agency - London City Group -
is on the verge of finalising the rating assessments on some six
million square feet of office accommodation in the heart of London
Docklands, prior to the tenant's occupation. Businesses will now
have some certainty about their expenditure so that they can better
plan their future financial strategies.
This form of "prior agreement" has been
made possible thanks to the co-operation of landlords and agents.
Don Baker, London City Group Manager, said:
"This is part of Agency's broader modernisation
agenda, which aims to produce more reliable and acceptable assessments
and reduce the number of rating appeals. We want to forge better
links with ratepayers and agents. Businesses occupying large property
portfolios such as chain stores and high value property will benefit
from changing their approach to dealing with rating assessments.
"In future their agents should work to secure
the correct rateable value in advance of a revaluation rather
than serving appeals against assessments of their properties after
new rating lists have been prepared.
"This will avoid businesses having to bear
the burden of overpayment of rates for the period between the
date the new rating list come into effect and the time when their
appeals are settled and they are fully reimbursed by the local
authority".
Notes for editors:
- The Valuation Office Agency is an executive agency
of the Inland Revenue. Its main responsibilities are assessing
rateable values for the purpose of non-domestic rating and setting
council tax bandings in England and Wales. It is also involved
in establishing capital values for the Inland Revenue in connection
with capital gains tax and inheritance tax as well as carrying
out a range of property related services for other government
departments and public sector bodies. It has around 4,000 employees
and a network of offices throughout England, Wales and Scotland,
which provide a local service.
- The modernisation of the rating system is starting
to take effect for the purposes of the next revaluation due to
come into effect 1 April 2005. We want to ensure that ratepayers:
- fully understand the rating system and the revaluation
process
- provide the information we need to prepare accurate
assessments
- receive advance information from us about emerging
levels of value
- have the opportunity to discuss those levels of
value with us
- have confidence in, and therefore accept, the assessments
we produce
- do not need to make appeals following the revaluation
3. To achieve the above, we have a number of initiatives:
- we have set up the National Ratepayer's Valuation
Forum which is designed to bring us closer to business ratepayers
at national level
- we are running pilot schemes to test the usefulness
of Local Ratepayer Valuation Forums which are intended to help
Valuation Officers "demystify" the rating system for
local businesses
- we have redesigned and simplified the form - rent
return - we send to occupiers to obtain details of rental and
other information we need to carry out our valuations
- we are developing a facility for transferring large
amounts of rental information electronically to the Valuation
Office from the rating agents or their clients
- we are working on preparing summary valuations
to go out to ratepayers in advance of the next revaluation, providing
them with much more information about their
- proposed rating assessments
All these initiatives have been the subject of extensive
consultation with ratepayers, their representatives, relevant professional
bodies and other interested parties.
MEDIA ENQUIRIES
Tel 020 7506 1927
Email: roger.charles@voa.gsi.gov.uk
Out of office hours (evenings and weekends) 07860 359544
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