Non Domestic Rates Bill 2023

Appeal My Rates UK

On October 24th 2023 a new law was passed that has several significant impacts for all business rates payers. The key changes are these:

There will now be a revaluation every three years, it was previously set at five years. This means that the next change in rateable values will occur on 1st April 2026. In many ways this is better for businesses as the changes in rental values will be more quickly reflected in rateable values but we will have to see if it does indeed make the system fairer over time. 

The other major change is to do with the requirement on rateapayers to keep the Valuation Office informed of any changes to a property which may affect its rateable value and a requirement to notify the Valuation Office when a rateapayer begins to occupy a property. Notification is required within 60 days of a notifiable event and must be done on the Valuation Office portal. This will mean that all ratepayers will now have to have a Gateway account with the VOA. The penalties for non compliance with this new law can be quite severe so we will be offering all of our clients a service to help them manage this. The VOA will also have to be sent an annual return to confirm any changes or no changes.

What are your fees to help me?

As always, our advice to existing clients on all matters relating to rates is free.