Business rates represent one of the largest overhead costs for commercial property occupiers across the UK. Many businesses overpay rates year after year, unaware they could challenge their assessments through the appeals process. As experienced RICS chartered surveyors, we've helped countless clients achieve substantial business rates reductions through professional valuations and compelling appeal evidence, saving thousands of pounds annually.
Understanding how commercial property valuations support business rates appeals is crucial for property owners and occupiers looking to minimize operating costs. The Valuation Office Agency (VOA) determines rateable values, but these assessments aren't infallible. Professional surveyor input can identify errors, provide market evidence supporting reductions, and navigate the complex appeals process successfully.
Understanding Business Rates and Rateable Values
Business rates in England and Wales are calculated based on a property's rateable value—an estimate of annual rental value at a specific valuation date set by the VOA. This rateable value multiplied by the applicable multiplier (set by government annually) determines your business rates liability.
How Rateable Values Are Determined
The VOA uses various valuation methods depending on property type and available evidence:
- Rental Comparison: Analyzing actual rents for similar properties
- Receipts and Expenditure: For trading properties like hotels, based on profitability
- Contractor's Basis: For specialized properties with limited comparable evidence
- Profits Method: For properties valued based on trading potential
Understanding which method the VOA applied to your property helps identify potential vulnerabilities in their assessment and opportunities for successful appeals.
Revaluation Cycles
Business rates undergo periodic revaluation—currently every five years in England. Each revaluation establishes new rateable values reflecting market conditions at a specified antecedent valuation date. However, properties can appeal outside revaluation cycles if circumstances change significantly.
Common Grounds for Business Rates Appeals
Successful appeals typically rely on one or more of the following grounds, all supported by professional property valuation evidence.
Incorrect Property Description
The VOA's property records sometimes contain errors regarding size, facilities, or other characteristics affecting value. If your property's actual specifications differ materially from VOA records, you have grounds for appeal.
Common errors include:
- Incorrect floor areas (particularly for irregular buildings)
- Wrong property use classification
- Outdated descriptions failing to reflect alterations or subdivisions
- Incorrect recording of facilities, parking, or amenities
- Errors in location or address details
Market Evidence Supports Lower Value
If comparable properties in your area are assessed at lower rateable values despite being similar, this suggests your assessment is excessive. Our valuation services gather comprehensive market evidence demonstrating discrepancies and supporting reductions.
Property Condition Issues
Poor property condition, disrepair, or obsolescence affecting rental value should be reflected in rateable values. Professional building surveys document condition issues, while valuations quantify their impact on rental value.
Changes in Circumstances
Significant changes affecting property value since the last assessment may warrant appeals, including:
- Major road schemes affecting access or visibility
- Loss of parking facilities
- Environmental changes (new industrial neighbors, increased traffic)
- Planning restrictions limiting property use
- Local market decline affecting rental values
The Business Rates Appeal Process
Understanding the appeals process helps you navigate it effectively and maximize success chances.
Check, Challenge, Appeal System
The Check, Challenge, Appeal (CCA) system governs business rates appeals in England. This three-stage process requires specific evidence at each stage:
- Check: Request VOA reviews their assessment and provides underlying evidence
- Challenge: Submit formal challenge with supporting evidence demonstrating why assessment is incorrect
- Appeal: If challenge is unsuccessful, appeal to independent tribunal
Gathering Evidence
Successful appeals depend on compelling evidence. Professional chartered surveyors provide:
- Detailed property descriptions and measurements
- Market analysis with comparable rental evidence
- Professional valuation opinions on correct rateable value
- Condition surveys documenting property issues
- Expert reports addressing specific VOA arguments
- Tribunal representation if proceedings become necessary
Timing Considerations
Different deadlines apply depending on appeal grounds. Following revaluations, specific windows allow challenges. For material changes of circumstances, appeals must be lodged within specified periods after the change occurs. Acting promptly ensures you don't miss appeal opportunities.
The Role of Professional Valuations
Professional property valuations from RICS registered valuers form the cornerstone of successful appeals, providing objective evidence the VOA and tribunals respect.
Rental Analysis
We gather comprehensive rental evidence for comparable properties, analyzing lease terms, rent-free periods, and other factors affecting headline rents. This evidence demonstrates market rental values and supports rateable value opinions.
Tone of the List Analysis
Rateable values should maintain consistency with comparable properties on the rating list (the "tone"). Our analysis identifies properties with similar characteristics but lower assessments, providing powerful evidence your assessment is excessive.
Property-Specific Factors
Professional valuations consider all factors affecting your property's rental value:
- Location advantages and disadvantages
- Property condition and required repairs
- Layout efficiency and functional obsolescence
- Compliance issues affecting value
- Market trends affecting the property sector
Overpaying Business Rates?
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Request a Free AssessmentCost-Benefit Analysis of Appeals
Many businesses hesitate to pursue appeals, concerned about costs. However, the financial benefits typically far exceed professional fees, particularly for higher-value properties or multi-site businesses.
Potential Savings
Successful appeals deliver ongoing annual savings throughout rating periods—typically five years. A modest rateable value reduction of £10,000 could save £5,000 annually (depending on multipliers), or £25,000 over five years.
Fee Structures
Many rating surveyors, including our practice, offer conditional fee arrangements (no win, no fee) for business rates appeals. You pay professional fees only if appeals succeed, eliminating financial risk while accessing expert support.
Backdated Reductions
Successful appeals often result in backdated rate reductions, potentially recovering overpayments from previous years. These refunds can be substantial, particularly for long-standing incorrect assessments.
Multi-Site and Portfolio Strategies
Businesses operating from multiple properties benefit enormously from coordinated business rates strategies. Reviewing entire portfolios often identifies multiple appeal opportunities, delivering significant aggregate savings.
Consistent Approach
Portfolio-wide reviews ensure consistency in rateable value assessments across similar properties. Where some properties in a portfolio are assessed favorably while others aren't, clear appeal opportunities exist.
Economies of Scale
Multi-property reviews benefit from economies of scale. Analysis and evidence gathering for one property often supports appeals for similar properties, reducing per-property costs while maximizing overall savings.
Working with Rating Specialists
While general practice surveyors understand property valuation, rating specialists bring specific expertise in business rates legislation, VOA practice, and tribunal procedures.
Rating Surveyor Expertise
Specialist rating surveyors understand:
- VOA valuation methods and evidence requirements
- Rating legislation and case law precedents
- Effective negotiation strategies with VOA caseworkers
- Tribunal procedures and evidence presentation
- Sector-specific rating considerations
Negotiation and Settlement
Most appeals settle through negotiation with the VOA rather than proceeding to tribunal. Rating specialists' relationships with the VOA and understanding of acceptable settlement positions facilitate efficient resolutions.
Recent Legislative Changes
Business rates legislation evolves, creating new appeal opportunities or changing procedures. Professional advisors track these changes, ensuring you benefit from new provisions.
Recent changes include enhanced rights to challenge assessments, modified appeal deadlines, and new relief schemes. Staying informed about these developments ensures you don't miss opportunities for rate reductions.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I know if my business rates assessment is too high?
▼Professional reviews compare your rateable value against comparable properties and analyze whether VOA records accurately reflect your property. Many businesses are overcharged without realizing it. We offer free initial assessments to identify potential savings opportunities.
What are typical success rates for business rates appeals?
▼Success rates vary based on appeal grounds and evidence quality. With professional support and solid evidence, success rates typically exceed 60%. Even unsuccessful appeals at challenge stage may succeed at tribunal if cases are properly presented.
How long does the appeals process take?
▼Timeline varies significantly. Simple factual corrections might resolve within weeks, while contested valuations can take 12-24 months, particularly if tribunal hearings become necessary. However, successful appeals often result in backdated reductions, compensating for the time investment.
Can appealing my business rates assessment result in it being increased?
▼Generally, no. The VOA cannot increase rateable values through the appeal process simply because you challenged them. However, if they discover errors in your favor that they hadn't previously identified, they might correct these separately. Professional advisors assess risks before proceeding.
Do I need different advice for business rates appeals versus property valuations?
▼While property valuation skills underpin business rates work, rating specialists bring additional expertise in VOA procedures and rating legislation. Many firms, including ours, offer both general valuation services and specialist rating advice.
Are there any reliefs or exemptions that might reduce my business rates?
▼Various reliefs exist including small business relief, rural rate relief, charitable relief, and temporary reliefs during vacancy or property alterations. Professional advisors ensure you claim all applicable reliefs in addition to pursuing valuation-based reductions.
What happens to my rates during the appeal process?
▼You must continue paying business rates at the current assessment level during appeals. If successful, you'll receive refunds for overpayments during the appeal period. Don't withhold payment hoping to offset potential refunds—this can result in penalties and recovery action.
Conclusion
Business rates represent substantial costs for commercial property occupiers, but they're not set in stone. Professional review by RICS chartered surveyors frequently identifies appeal opportunities that deliver significant ongoing savings, often with minimal financial risk through conditional fee arrangements.
The combination of property valuation expertise, market knowledge, and understanding of rating procedures enables specialists to build compelling appeals that succeed in reducing rateable values and protecting businesses from excessive tax burdens. Whether you occupy a single property or manage extensive portfolios, professional business rates advice pays for itself many times over through achieved savings.
Don't accept inflated business rates assessments when evidence might support substantial reductions. The appeals process, while sometimes complex, is accessible with expert guidance, and the financial benefits can be transformative for businesses operating on tight margins.
At Commercial Valuation Surveyors, our team combines property valuation excellence with specialist rating knowledge. We've achieved hundreds of successful appeals, saving clients millions collectively in unnecessary business rates. Our approach focuses on robust evidence, professional negotiation, and if necessary, compelling tribunal representation.
Could your business benefit from lower rates? Contact our expert team today for a no-obligation review of your business rates position and discover how our comprehensive services can reduce your property overheads and improve your bottom line.