Official Statistics

Non-domestic rating: challenges and changes statistical commentary

Published 2 November 2023

About this release:

This release includes statistics on challenges made by ratepayers (or their representatives) against the England and Wales 2023 non-domestic rating (NDR) lists, which came into effect on 1 April 2023. It also includes statistics on reviews of rating assessments (known as “reports”) that have either been initiated by the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) or a billing authority when new information becomes available. This release will also continue to include statistics relating to challenges made against the 2017 non-domestic rating lists while numbers remain at a significant level. These statistics do not include the number of appeals registered under the Check, Challenge, Appeal (CCA) system because these are the responsibility of the independent Valuation Tribunal Service (VTS) in England and Valuation Tribunal for Wales (VTW) in Wales. However, both the VTS and VTW publish their latest statistics on their respective websites.

Responsible statistician

Anna McReady

Statistical enquiries

statistics@voa.gov.uk

Date of next publication

February 2024

1. CCA and non-CCA cases in England

1.1. CCA England cases raised against the 2023 rating list

Figure 1: Checks in England against the 2023 rating list from 1 April 2023 to 30 September 2023

Source: Checks, Challenges and Changes against the 2023 local rating list, England and Wales, Table EW23_1_1

Figure 1 shows that 30,950 Checks have been registered since the start of the 2023 rating list (1 April 2023 to 30 September 2023). Of these, 18,790 have been resolved, and 12,160 remain outstanding.

Figure 2: Challenges in England against the 2023 rating list from 1 April 2023 to 30 September 2023

Source: Checks, Challenges and Changes against the 2023 local rating list, England and Wales, Table EW23_1_1

Figure 2 shows that 2,530 Challenges have been registered since the start of the 2023 rating list (1 April 2023 to 30 September 2023). Of these, 180 have been resolved, 210 have been marked incomplete (does not contain all the detail required in legislation) and 2,140 remain outstanding.

Figure 3: Checks against the England 2023 rating list by case status and month, 1 April 2023 to 30 September 2023

Source: Checks, Challenges and Changes against the 2023 local rating list, England, Table EW23_3_2

In the latest quarter (July to September 2023), 19,730 Checks were registered, up from 11,230 the quarter before and 14,450 Checks were resolved, up from 4,350 the quarter before. The number of Checks received against the 2023 list is considerably higher than those received in the first six months of the 2017 list. This is because CCA was introduced as a new system in 2017 and it took ratepayers time to become familiar with the process. Although the number of Checks received at the start of the 2017 list were low, they did increase over time.

Figure 4: Challenges against the England 2023 rating list by case status and month, 1 April 2023 to 30 September 2023

Source: Checks, Challenges and Changes against the 2023 local rating list, England, Table EW23_3_2

In the latest quarter (July to September 2023), 1,830 Challenges were registered, up from 710 the quarter before and 150 Challenges were resolved, up from 30 the quarter before. Challenges take longer to clear as it is necessary to exchange and discuss evidence with ratepayers. There is a statutory deadline of 18 months to clear Challenge cases.

1.2 CCA England cases raised against the 2017 list

The 2017 rating list closed on 31 March 2023, however there are still cases progressing through the CCA process where ratepayers submitted Checks before the list closed.

Figure 5: Checks in England against the 2017 rating list from 1 April 2017 to 30 September 2023

Source: Checks, Challenges and Changes against the 2017 local rating list, England, Table E17_1_1

Figure 5 shows that 848,160 Checks have been registered since the start of the 2017 rating list (1 April 2017 to 30 September 2023). Of these, 840,830 have been resolved and 7,330 remain outstanding.

Figure 6: Challenges in England against the 2017 rating list from 1 April 2017 to 30 September 2023

Source: Checks, Challenges and Changes against the 2017 local rating list, England, Table E17_1_1

Figure 6 shows that 179,560 Challenges have been registered since the start of the 2017 rating list (1 April 2017 to 30 September 2023). Of these, 122,140 have been resolved, 19,950 have been marked incomplete and 37,470 remain outstanding.

Figure 7: Checks against the England 2017 NDR list by case status and month, 1 April 2017 to 30 September 2023

Source: Checks, Challenges and Changes against the 2017 local rating list, England, Table E17_2_1

Figure 7 shows the number of Checks registered and resolved each month. There is a large spike in Checks registered from January to March 2023 due to an increase in the number of ratepayers submitting Checks prior to the 2017 list closure on 31 March 2023. A spike in Checks resolved is then shown in April 2023 and Checks resolved have remained high up to June 2023. From 1 April 2023 new Checks against the 2017 list are registered in limited circumstances only.

In the latest quarter (July to September 2023), 70 Checks were registered, down from 2,510 the quarter before and 10,730 Checks were resolved, down from 82,060 the quarter before.

Figure 8: Challenges against the England 2017 NDR list by case status and month, 1 April 2017 to 30 September 2023

Source: Checks, Challenges and Changes against the 2017 local rating list, England, Table E17_2_1

In the latest quarter (July to September 2023), 26,540 Challenges were registered and 6,200 Challenges were resolved.

Challenges registered in the latest quarter are around 4 times higher than the preceding 12-month average. This is a consequence of the spike in Checks registered from January to March 2023 (Figure 6), prior to the list closure on 31 March.

Figure 9: Resolved CCA cases by case type and outcome against the England 2017 NDR list, 1 April 2017 to 30 September 2023

Source: Checks, Challenges and Changes against the 2017 local rating list, England, Table E17_3_1

Figure 9 compares the proportion of resolved Check, Challenge and Appeal cases which resulted in a rateable value (RV) increase, decrease, or no change.

• For Checks, 79% result in no change to RV, 18% result in a decrease and 2% result in an increase to RV.
• For Challenges, 65% result in no change to RV, 34% result in a decrease and 0.5% result in an increase to RV.
• For Appeals, 40% result in no change to RV, 60% result in a decrease and 0.1% result in an increase to RV.

1.3. Non-CCA England cases raised against the 2010 rating list

The number of appeals outstanding for the 2010 list was 750 at 30 September 2023, down from 1,890 at the end of the previous quarter. This represents a steady decline over the past year, down from 5,980 outstanding appeals at 30 September 2022 in England. These outstanding appeals now make up a very small proportion (less than 1%) of those outstanding at the close of the 2010 list.

Outstanding appeals include those awaiting listing, re-listing or decisions from the Valuation Tribunal which are outside of the VOA’s statutory responsibility. There are also some highly complex cases relating to specialist properties where a longer time frame is necessary to settle the appeals.

2. CCA and non-CCA cases in Wales

2.1. CCA Wales cases raised against the 2023 list

Figure 10: Checks in Wales against the 2023 rating list from 1 April 2023 to 30 September 2023

Source: Checks, Challenges and Changes against the 2023 local rating list, England and Wales, Table EW23_1_1

Figure 10 shows that 670 Checks have been registered since the start of the 2023 rating list (1 April 2023 to 30 September 2023). Of these, 350 have been resolved, and 320 remain outstanding.

The CCA process was only adopted in Wales from the 2023 list and Welsh challenges before this are on a different basis, as such the number of Challenges registered in Wales under the CCA system are relatively low.

30 Challenges have been registered since the start of the 2023 rating list (1 April 2023 to 30 September 2023). Of these, less than 5 have been resolved, 10 have been marked incomplete, and 20 remain outstanding.

2.2. Non-CCA Wales challenges raised against the 2017 rating list

The 2017 rating list closed on 31 March 2023, however there are cases that have been submitted and have not yet been resolved. For Wales, a challenge is defined as a proposal by the ratepayer to alter the rating list, typically attributable to a challenge to the assessed rateable value or a change of circumstance of the property as well as physical changes in the locality.

Figure 11: Non-CCA challenges in Wales against the 2017 rating list from 1 April 2017 to 30 September 2023

Source: Challenges and Changes against the 2017 local rating list, Wales, Tables W17_1_1, W17_1_2 and W17_1_3

Figure 11 shows that 42,210 challenges have been registered since the start of the 2017 rating list in Wales (1 April 2017 to 30 September 2023). Of these, 35,920 have been resolved, and 6,290 remain outstanding.

Figure 12: Non-CCA challenges against the Wales 2017 NDR list by case status and month, 1 April 2017 to 30 September 2023

Source: Checks, Challenges and Changes against the 2017 local rating list, Wales, Tables W17_1_1 and W17_1_2

Figure 12 shows the number of challenges received against the Wales 2017 list by quarter. There were 20 challenges registered in the latest quarter (July to September), down from 50 last quarter, and 1,410 challenges resolved in the latest quarter, up from 1,130 last quarter.

2.3. Non-CCA Wales cases raised against the 2010 rating list

The number of appeals outstanding for the 2010 list at 30 September 2023 was 80, down from 130 at the end of the previous quarter. These include those awaiting listing, re-listing, or decisions from the Valuation Tribunal which are outside of the VOA’s statutory responsibility, and also some highly complex cases relating to specialist properties where a longer time frame is necessary to settle the appeals.

3. Customer registrations and property claims for the CCA system

Before anyone can access more detailed valuation data about a property, they must prove that they have a legal interest in the property under the non-domestic rating legislation, for example, as an owner or occupier or both. To do this, they are required to register to use the CCA system and then can ‘claim their property’ through the VOA’s online service by providing proof of their relationship to the property, such as a copy of a business rates or utility bill. Once the VOA confirm the interested person’s relationship to the property, the claim is approved, and the interested person can view or request the detailed valuation for that property. The interested party can then start the CCA process. More information is available on GOV.UK.

Figure 13: Customer registrations by customer type and month, 1 April 2017 to 30 September 2023

Source: Customer registrations and approved property claims for the Check, Challenge, Appeal process

The number of ratepayers (split by interested persons (IPs) and agents) registering for CCA each month is shown in Figure 13. More than 90% of customer registrations are from interested persons rather than agents. A seasonal pattern is visible in the graph; customer registrations are generally higher at the start of the year and gradually decrease as the year goes on.

The recent business rates revaluation saw an increase in the number of customer registrations following the publication of the 2023 draft rating lists on 17 November 2022. Further increases in customer registrations were seen between January and March 2023, particularly in March ahead of the 2023 rating lists coming into effect on 1 April 2023. From 1 April 2023 ratepayers in Wales adopted the CCA process for the 2023 rating list. Customers were able to register for CCA before 1 April, therefore the data shown in figure 13 for recent months includes customer registrations relating to properties in both England and Wales.

Figure 14: Approved property claims by month and country, 1 April 2017 to 30 September 2023

Source: Customer registrations and approved property claims for the Check, Challenge, Appeal process

The number of approved property claims by month is shown in Figure 14. The lag between Figure 13 and Figure 14 reflects the time it takes for a customer registering for CCA to claim a property and then have their claim approved by a Valuation Officer. In March 2023 there was a spike in approved property claims prior to the closure of the 2017 list on 31 March.

4. Further Information

More information about this release can be found in the Background Information document.

More detailed information on the 2017 and 2023 local rating list is available at gov.uk/correct-your-business-rates.

Further information on the area codes used in this can be found on the ONS website.

More information on statistics at the VOA can be found on the Agency’s website: About VOA statistics.

Timings of future releases are regularly placed on the VOA research and statistics calendar.

We will keep the format of this document under review to continue improving the presentation of our statistics, and welcome feedback from users on the value of the information provided in this commentary – please forward any comments to the Statistics Inbox.