Yes — a business rates revaluation is automatic. The Valuation Office Agency (VOA) updates the rateable values of non-domestic properties in England and Wales every three years without anyone requesting it, and the 2026 revaluation took effect on 1 April 2026, pricing each property at what it could have been let for on 1 April 2024. What does need your action is different: check the new value against your own evidence, keep the VOA's property record current, and challenge the value through Check, Challenge, Appeal where it is wrong. Council guidance put the cut-off for change requests to the old list at 31 March 2026; the 2026 list itself now runs on the standard process.
- Revaluations are automatic: the VOA reprices every non-domestic property every 3 years.
- The 2026 revaluation took effect on 1 April 2026, from 1 April 2024 rental values.
- You never request a revaluation; you request a check and challenge.
- Council guidance set 31 March 2026 as the cut-off for change requests to the old list.
- Five multipliers apply in 2026-27, including 38.2p for small retail, hospitality and leisure premises.
Why this matters
A revaluation rebuilds your bill from the ground up, and nobody rings to ask first. The 2026-27 bill that landed this spring carries a new rateable value, one of five multipliers and transitional caps on how fast increases arrive — and the value stays until the next revaluation on the three-year cycle. Owners who never checked the new figure can spend three years paying against facts that were never tested; Appeal My Rates UK reads the new value against your property's own facts, and running a business rates eligibility check alongside confirms the reliefs your property now qualifies for.
Is a business rates revaluation automatic or do I request it?
The automatic part and the requested part split cleanly:
- Automatic: the VOA revalues every non-domestic property in England and Wales every three years, and the new values take effect on 1 April of the revaluation year. Your council then bills against them.
- Automatic: the government publishes the future values before they bite, so the figures behind your 2026-27 bill were available in draft in advance.
- Yours to do: check the new rateable value against your own records and the local market evidence from 1 April 2024.
- Yours to do: report changes to your property details — floor areas, parking, use — through a business rates valuation account.
- Yours to do: a check and challenge where the value is wrong, on the standard grounds.
The 2026 revaluation: values from 1 April 2024
Every rateable value on the current list is the VOA's estimate of what the property could have been let for on 1 April 2024 — the valuation date — even though the bills built on it started on 1 April 2026. The draft list was published in advance so ratepayers could check the new figures, and council guidance told ratepayers to have change requests in before 31 March 2026. Once the list took effect, corrections run through Check, Challenge, Appeal like any other case.
What changed on the bill: five multipliers from 1 April 2026
From 1 April 2026 your bill is built from one of five multipliers. Council guidance for 2026-27 sets them as follows: retail, hospitality and leisure businesses with a rateable value under £51,000 pay 38.2p, other businesses at that size pay 43.2p; RHL businesses valued between £51,000 and £499,999 pay 43p against 48p for others; and properties at £500,000 or more pay 50.8p, a premium set 2.8p above the standard multiplier. Which multiplier applies to you is decided by rateable value and use, not by application.
Transitional caps on the increases
Where the revaluation would have pushed a bill up, council guidance caps the yearly increase in 2026-27 at 5% for rateable values of £20,000 or less, 15% for £20,001 to £100,000 and 30% above £100,000, with the caps changing over 2027-28 and 2028-29 as the new values phase in. Reductions from the revaluation arrive in full from 1 April 2026. Businesses still receiving Supporting Small Business Relief from the 2023 revaluation have had it extended for 12 months.
Why revaluations happen without you asking
- The cycle is set in law. Revaluations moved to a three-year rhythm to keep bills closer to the property market.
- The VOA gathers the evidence itself. Rental market evidence up to the valuation date is collected and analysed across every non-domestic property.
- The draft list is published in advance, so checking the figures before they take effect is expected of ratepayers, not offered as a service.
- Multipliers and reliefs are reset alongside the values, again without a request from you.
What you request instead: a check and challenge
Where you believe the 2026 value is wrong, the route is a check, then a challenge if the facts stay disputed, then an appeal to the Valuation Tribunal for England if needed — the same Check, Challenge, Appeal process that governs every other valuation case. Appeal My Rates UK runs these cases for owners across England, and the deadline that matters most is the 4 months after a check decision to file a challenge. Keep paying the bill as issued while any case runs.
Related questions
What if my new rateable value is wrong?
Ask the VOA to check the facts behind it, and challenge with grounds where the value does not stand up. Wrong floor areas, wrong descriptions and property changes the VOA does not know about are the usual starting points — Appeal My Rates UK assesses which ground fits your case free of charge.
Did transitional relief soften my 2026 increase?
If the revaluation raised your bill, the caps above apply, phasing the increase over three years from 2026-27. If it lowered your bill, the reduction applied in full from 1 April 2026.
When is the next revaluation?
On the three-year cycle, the next list is due to take effect on 1 April 2029, with values expected to be set from a valuation date two years earlier, as the 2026 list was.
FAQ
Is a business rates revaluation automatic?
Yes. The VOA revalues every non-domestic property in England and Wales every three years, and no request from you starts or stops it. The 2026 revaluation took effect on 1 April 2026.
What date are the 2026 rateable values based on?
1 April 2024. Each value is the rent the property could have been let for on that date, even though bills built on it started on 1 April 2026.
Can I request a revaluation of my property?
No. What you can request is a check of the facts behind your value, a challenge where they are wrong, and an appeal to the Valuation Tribunal for England if the challenge fails.
When was the deadline to change my value before the 2026 list?
Council guidance put it at 31 March 2026. After the list took effect on 1 April 2026, corrections run through the standard Check, Challenge, Appeal process.
How many business rates multipliers apply in 2026-27?
Five. Small retail, hospitality and leisure premises under £51,000 pay 38.2p, small other businesses 43.2p, standard premises 43p or 48p depending on use, and properties at £500,000 or more pay 50.8p.
Do revaluation increases arrive in full?
No. Transitional caps phase increases in over three years: 5% for rateable values of £20,000 or less, 15% for £20,001 to £100,000 and 30% above £100,000 in 2026-27. Reductions arrive in full.
How often are business rates revaluations held?
Every three years. The 2023 and 2026 lists set the pattern, and the next revaluation is due to take effect on 1 April 2029.
Can Appeal My Rates UK check my new rateable value?
Yes. Appeal My Rates UK assesses your 2026 value against the property’s facts free of charge and confirms the fee basis in writing before any challenge is filed.
One last thing
The valuation date is the trap to watch. Your 2026 value reflects the rental market at 1 April 2024 — almost two years before the bill arrived — so how your market has traded since does not, on its own, move the value. Only a material change after the list was compiled does, and that is exactly the evidence a challenge needs to carry. The government did put a £4.3 billion support package behind the 2026 revaluation over three years, so some of the pressure you may have felt this year was deliberate policy rather than your valuation alone. Appeal My Rates UK will assess your case free and confirm the fee basis in writing before anything is filed — start at our contact page.
Related guides
- When a VOA reclassification triggers a business rates appeal
- How long does a business rates appeal take?
- How a rent review affects your business rates valuation
