Believe it or not, the next important date in the business rate cycle is less than 6 months away!
When the 2015 rating revaluation was postponed to 2017, it was as daunting as it was unprecedented in the modern system. Five-yearly revaluation cycles have been the norm since 1990.
Fast forward to the present day, and the rating landscape has changed almost beyond recognition:
Government Gateway, Check, Challenge, Appeal (CCA), major legal decisions such as Monk, Mazars, and most recently the Iceland case, to name a few, and finally the increasing realisation that we are moving ever closer to at least a partial self-assessment system!
One could be forgiven for not appreciating that the antecedent valuation date (AVD) for the 2021 rating revaluation is April 1, 2019.
The AVD is the date at which rental evidence is taken to set values for rating assessments. Consequently, any new leases, lease renewals, and rent reviews agreed over the 12 months from October 2018 to October 2019 will have a critical bearing on the levels of rating assessments for 2021.
The changes to the rating system have made challenging the rateable value so much more onerous, and we need to be fully prepared for next time more than ever before.
Roger Hannah & Co. will actively be collating rental evidence through not only our rating team but also the agency, landlord, and tenant departments. This will ensure we are in as strong a position and as prepared as we can be as we move forward to the next revaluation.
The valuation office has made challenging assessments that much harder, and we are keen that all agents work together in sharing information, collaborating in discussions, and taking a united front to obtain the best results for our respective clients.
Please contact Dave Comer, Head of Rating, for further information or advice, or visit the Business Rates Homepage.