Changes To Business Rates: How Could They Affect You?

A recent announcement by the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) and draft regulations released by the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) are set to introduce changes that are likely to increase business rates while reducing the opportunities for ratepayers to appeal.

Announcement by the VOA

The VOA has announced that, following last year's Supreme Court decision in Woolway (VO) v. Mazars LLP [2015] UKSC 53, it will be changing the way in which it values non-domestic properties with more than one occupier for the purposes of business rates. Those affected are likely to see an increase in their business rates bill.

In summary, where an occupier uses two or more distinct spaces within a building which are not contiguous or interconnected and can only be accessed via the common parts (for example, floors 2 and 4 of a multi-let office block), the VOA will treat those areas as separate premises for the purposes of calculating business rates. Previously