Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what formula is used by Valuation Office Agency assessors to determine rateable value.

The Rateable Value (RV) of any non-domestic property represents the annual rent a property would achieve if let on the open market at a valuation date which is set in law. For the current RVs, effective from 1 April 2017, the set valuation date is 1 April 2015.

The VOA uses a hierarchy of internationally recognised valuation approaches for assessing RV:

• Rental comparison basis: analysis of rental evidence for similar properties to arrive at a rate for the property being valued. This is the most common method, used where a rental market exists and the nature of the property allows for comparison e.g. shops, offices and factories.

• Receipts & expenditure basis: used in the absence of good quality rental information to identify the economic surplus notionally available for rent/RV. Typical properties valued using this method include hotels, caravan parks and race courses.

• Contractor’s basis: used when there are no reliable rents and the motive for occupation is not for profit e.g. hospitals, schools and prisons. The value of the land and replacement building costs (adjusted for age and obsolescence) are annualised to provide a notional rent/RV. The annualised rate is known as the ‘decapitalisation’ rate and is specified in legislation at each revaluation.