This is a rough outline of how the sytem works. In case of doubt, take expert advice from a chartered surveyor who specialises in the subject.
If you own commercial or industrial real estate in the UK it will be necessary to pay an annual amount of money called "Business Rates". This is collected by the Local Authority who pass half of it on to the Government and keep the rest. The mechanism is different in Scotland and Northern Ireland - see later - but the principle is the same.
Undeveloped land is not rated but land for commercial use eg a car park, may well be. There again, it might not be. If you never get a rating demand for your land you could complain to the Rates Department in the Town Hall or just keep quiet and hope for the best. No prizes for guessing what most people do.
Every property has a Rateable Value ("RV") which is set by the District Valuer ("DV") every few years. The RV is the DV's opinion as to what the open market rent should be. He will be influenced by what the rent of the property is but in my experience the RV tends to be realistic but may well lag by several years if rents are rapidly increasing or declining - as is the case with many retail outlets.
The DV is employed by the Government who also set the RV and the poundage - thank God. In the 1980's the Local Authorities could set their own rates and many of the Marxist Republics set out to destroy local industry by raising rates to ludicrous levels so as to foment a rising by the workers prior to a communist revolution (I am not joking - this really was their agenda)
The rate in the pound (the poundage) is now about 50p so if your RV is £50,000, the rates payable will be £25,000pa approximately
Unless otherwise stated in the lease, the occupier pays the rates but if you buy an occupied property it is vital that you check this - a mistake here will be really expensive.
Most Local Authorities seem to send out demands twice a year but will let you (or the occupier) pay monthly
Yes. You can do this yourself but I strongly advise using a chartered surveyor who specialises in the subject.
See Empty Rates
See Rates Relief
Very similar to England and Wales but not identical
The system is totally different but the same in effect (you would expect that). There are a couple of different rates collected by different bodies but the amount paid in Rates will boil down to about half the rent. So if the rent is £100,000 pa somebody (the tenant usually) will be paying about £50,000 pa in rates.
If you do business in Northern Ireland, you need to check this carefully. This is an article explaining how business rates are calculated in Northern Ireland.
Bob Cory
Modified on 19/08/2019 at 09:06:51 by ℗ Bob Cory