The next business rates revaluation for non-domestic properties in England, Scotland and Wales will come into effect on 1 April 2017. 

It will be seven years since the last revaluation and nine years since the antecedent valuation date, when rental and other transactional information was gathered in order to set the current Rateable Values (RVs). A lot has changed in that time.

The Valuation Office Agency (VOA) was tasked with collecting and analysing information on over 1.8m properties across England and Wales. But the length of time which has passed since the current RVs were set, and the series of economic events that have taken place in between, have led to diverse swings in property values across all sectors and areas of the UK. Consequently, there is scope for error in valuation and accuracy.

The Draft Rating List will be published in September 2016. This next 12 months should be used to identify any factual errors in the RVs ahead of the new Rating List coming into effect. The Draft Rating List will be published ONLINE only, but information for properties valued on the basis of building costs or by reference to receipts will NOT be made public.

Businesses can benefit from professional advice as Robert Harlow, Director of Professional Services from national commercial property consultancy Lambert Smith Hampton (LSH), comments: “We assist our clients to manage their business rate liabilities. As well as helping with the submission of information to ensure revaluations are accurate, we can provide estimates of the likely rates payable from 1 April 2017 onwards so that businesses can plan ahead.

“We can also help businesses check the draft rateable values for accuracy once they are issued; explore opportunities for challenging the new rateable values and make appeals as appropriate.”

The countdown to 1st April 2017 maybe underway but Welsh companies can still look at ways to establish business rates liabilities that are fair and accurate.