Valuation Office Agency
Executive Summary
This covers procedures for the 2010 Rating List England and 2017 Rating list Wales and previous rating lists. It covers proposal forms and requirements, rights to make proposals and grounds of proposals, service of notices, transfer to representatives, insolvency of occupier and service of copies of proposals on other parties. Also included proposals outside the VO area, statutory requirements for Wales, invalidity procedures (including invalidity notices, invalidity at VT, late identification if invalidity)
1.0 Relevant Legislation
England (2010)
The Non-Domestic Rating (Alteration of Lists and Appeals) (England) Regulations 2009 (SI 2009/ 2268) (Appeal Regulations)
The Valuation Tribunal for England (Council Tax and Rating Appeals) (Procedure) Regulations 2009 (SI 2009 / 2269) (Procedure Regulations)
The Non-Domestic Rating (Material Day for List Alterations) 1992 (SI 1992/556)
Wales (2017 and earlier)
The original procedures as per the 2010 Rating List still apply
The Non-domestic (Alteration of Lists and Appeals)(Wales) Regulations 2005 [WSI 2005 No.758 (W.63)]
2.0 Propsoal Forms (England 2010 and earlier, Wales 2017 and earlier)
2.1VO proposal forms
Although no statutory proposal form has been prescribed by law, a standard form has been produced by the Valuation Office. Occupiers, Owners and BAs should be encouraged to use the official Valuation Office form whenever they wish to make a proposal.
For 2017 rating list in Wales the standard form for use by persons who wish to make proposals is Form VO7012. A Welsh version is available if requested in the Welsh language.
2.2 Agents proposal forms
Some of the larger firms of rating surveyors and organisations such as the Solicitors Law Stationery Society (Oyez Printing) have devised their own proposal forms based on the VOs versions. Although they may differ in certain ways from the VO forms they should be accepted provided all the information statutorily required is supplied
2.3 Proposals in the form of a letter
A letter may be accepted as a valid proposal if it fulfils all the statutory requirements and purports to be a proposal.
It is important, therefore, that any letter so identified should be processed as a proposal and attached to a blank proposal form, the required coded data should be entered in manuscript in the Official use only panel on the blank proposal form. The data should be input on RSA and a copy kept in EDRM.
Any letter which does not meet all the statutory requirements should be returned to the sender. It should be accompanied by a covering letter VO 7043 enclosing a blank proposal form and a set of guidance notes on the completion of a Proposal to Alter the Rating List. A copy of the ratepayer letter should be made and retained by the VO. The proposal form should be pre-stamped in the top left-hand corner with the correct VOs address and telephone number
All proposals should be able to stand in their own right and be clear as to its grounds and reasoning. If there is ambiguity or there is confusion then the proposal should be made invalid and the invalidity procedures followed
2.4Proposals which have a schedule of properties attached
Current provisions generally require a proposal to deal with one hereditament only. The exceptions are where a proposal seeks a split or merger of hereditaments or where the proposal relates to hereditaments within one building or curtilage and the maker of the proposal makes it in the same capacity for each hereditament (for exampleowner) - see Regulation 6(4) The provisions apply equally to email and hard copy proposals.
Consequently, proposals served on the VO in a schedule format whereby properties are merely listed and rely on shared information such as grounds, proposers name and similar information are not valid, unless the hereditaments fall within the same building or curtilage.
However, if email proposals are served in schedule formation but on printing each stands on its own and does not share common information, such proposals will not offend and should not be invalidated (unless the proposals are defective in some other way). Emails containing (or comprising) multiple proposals which do not print out as individual stand alone proposals are not valid.
Invalidity procedures under Regulation 8 (SI 2009/2268 pre 2017 amendments) should be followed by treating the schedule as an invalid proposal against the first item in the list of properties
2.5 Petitions
A document in the form of a petition should be carefully examined to decide whether it contains all the necessary information to constitute a valid proposal. Although it is considered unlikely that a petition, signed by a number of signatories, will constitute a valid proposal, nevertheless such a document must not be ignored.
If it is the clear intention of the signatories to such a document to seek a reduction in their individual rating assessments, it will almost invariably be necessary to write to each of them individually, enclosing a set of guidance notes on the completion of a Proposal to Alter the Rating List and an official proposal form with a request for it to be completed and returned to the VO within any statutory time limit.
2.6 Additional proposal forms
The VO should supply an additional proposal form to any intending proposer who requests one for his/her own retention.
2.7Proposal forms for occupiers, owners and agents - 2017 Wales and 2010 Rating Lists
Occupiers and owners may be provided, free of charge, with a quantity of proposal forms corresponding to the number of hereditaments occupied or owned by the person(s) or business organisation concerned.
Where an agent is duly authorised to act on behalf of a number of individual occupiers or owners, the agent may be supplied free of charge with the number of proposal forms corresponding to the number of clients he/she represents
2.8 Bulk supplies of proposal forms
A reasonable quantity of proposal forms may be supplied free of charge, on request, to ratepayers associations, chambers of commerce and/or trade, and similar local organizations for use by their own members.
Before supplying the forms, however, the VO should arrange to discuss with the Chairman, or another officer of the organization concerned, the grievance(s) giving rise to the request for the proposal forms and to explain the basis of rating assessments.
Such a discussion may prevent the making of misconceived or frivolous proposals. If, following a discussion, the organization decides that its members still wish to make proposals, the VO should encourage the use of VOA online proposal application. If this is not suitable for any reason the VO should supply the necessary number of forms ensuring that each one is stamped with the office address and phone number of the Valuation Officer for the Billing Authority in which the hereditament concerned is situated.
Professional firms, such as surveyors, estate agents and solicitors, should similarly be encouraged to use the VOA website or web-services systems but may be supplied, on request, with no more than 50 blank proposal forms at any one time, free of charge. Where a firm indicate that they are acting for a particular group of occupiers, or for the owner(s) of a number of properties, either in the locality or nationwide, the firm may be supplied, free of charge, with the number of forms corresponding to the number of properties involved. A corresponding number of forms for retention by the firm as their own copies may be supplied, if requested.
In all other cases, the applicant should be asked to write to CEO (Customer Services) where the request will be dealt with on anindividual basis.
BAs should be asked to issue blank proposal forms only to individual ratepayers and to forward to the VO any requests they receive for bulk supplies of proposal forms.
2.9 Completion of proposal forms before issue
Before a proposal form is issued to an intending proposer it should be completed in the top left-hand corner with the correct VOs address and telephone number. The VOs address should be inserted by means of a rubber stamp using a black ink pad. A clear legible impression should be made.
Normally, no other entry should be made on the blank proposal form. All the relevant information to be entered on the form is to be inserted only by the maker of the proposal. All the information which the proposer supplies constitutes part of the proposal itself.
If exceptionally, the VO wishes to make any notes o