Non-domestic rating: challenges and changes statistical commentary
Published 31 October 2024
Applies to England and Wales
© Crown copyright 2024
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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/non-domestic-rating-challenges-and-changes-2017-and-2023-rating-lists-september-2024/non-domestic-rating-challenges-and-changes-statistical-commentary
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 continues to include statistics relating to challenges made against the 2017 non-domestic rating lists.
Tables on assessment reviews (known as “reports”) were removed from the quarterly Challenges & Changes publication from June 2024, and replaced with comparable information in the annual Stock release. Please refer to the note in the details section of the landing page for further information.
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
Date of next publication
February 2025
1. CCA and non-CCA cases in England
1.1. CCA England cases raised against the 2023 rating list
Figure 1: Checks and Challenges in England against the 2023 rating list from 1 April 2023 to 30 September 2024
Source: Checks, Challenges and Changes against the 2023 local rating list, England and Wales, Table EW23_1_1
Figure 1 shows that 100,540 Checks were registered in England since the start of the 2023 rating list (1 April 2023 to 30 September 2024). Of these, 85,840 were resolved, and 14,700 remained outstanding.
Some of the resolved Checks will progress to Challenges and as such, 18,020 Challenges were registered since the start of the 2023 rating list (1 April 2023 to 30 September 2024). Of these, 2,760 were resolved, 2,590 were marked incomplete (does not contain all the detail required in legislation) and 12,670 remained outstanding.
Figure 2: Checks against the England 2023 rating list by case status and month, 1 April 2023 to 30 September 2024
Source: Checks, Challenges and Changes against the 2023 local rating list, England, Table EW23_3_2
In the latest quarter (July to September 2024), 19,170 Checks were registered, up from 18,270 the quarter before and 15,910 Checks were resolved, down from 17,570 the quarter before. There was a spike in Checks registered in September 2023 relating to properties within the office sector.
Figure 3: Challenges against the England 2023 rating list by case status and month, 1 April 2023 to 30 September 2024
Source: Checks, Challenges and Changes against the 2023 local rating list, England, Table EW23_3_2
In the latest quarter (July to September 2024), 5,620 Challenges were registered, up from 4,840 the quarter before and 890 Challenges were resolved, up from 880 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 4: Checks and Challenges in England against the 2017 rating list from 1 April 2017 to 30 September 2024
Source: Checks, Challenges and Changes against the 2017 local rating list, England, Table E17_1_1
Figure 4 shows that 848,400 Checks were registered since the start of the 2017 rating list (1 April 2017 to 30 September 2024). Of these, 848,380 were resolved and there were 20 cases still outstanding. Some of the resolved Checks will progress to Challenges and as such, 195,300 Challenges were registered since the start of the 2017 rating list (1 April 2017 to 30 September 2024). Of these, 155,080 were resolved, 22,910 were marked incomplete and 17,310 remained outstanding.
Figure 5: Checks against the England 2017 NDR list by case status and month, 1 April 2017 to 30 September 2024
Source: Checks, Challenges and Changes against the 2017 local rating list, England, Table E17_2_1
Figure 5 shows the number of Checks registered and resolved each month. There were several spikes between March 2020 and March 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic and Government imposed restrictions on businesses. There was also 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. Following this, the spike in Checks resolved was shown in April 2023 and Checks resolved 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 2024), 20 Checks were registered, down from 30 the quarter before and 20 Checks were resolved, equal to 20 the quarter before.
Figure 6: Challenges against the England 2017 NDR list by case status and month, 1 April 2017 to 30 September 2024
Source: Checks, Challenges and Changes against the 2017 local rating list, England, Table E17_2_1
In the latest quarter (July to September 2024), 5,030 Challenges were registered, up from 2,310 the quarter before and 5,830 Challenges were resolved, down from 6,130 the quarter before.
In August 2020, the VOA received 22,330 Challenges against the 2017 list; this was a consequence of the prior rise in Checks (Figure 5) and is attributed to the Covid-19 pandemic. The VOA resolved 52,490 Challenges in December 2021 due to the enactment of the Rating (Coronavirus) and Directors Disqualification (Dissolved Companies) Act 2021. For further details please refer to Non-domestic Rating: Challenges and Changes, 2017 Rating List, March 2022.
During the quarter of July to September 2023, the VOA received 25,970 challenges, over double that of the quarter prior. This is a consequence of the prior rise in Checks (Figure 5) due to the closure of the 2017 rating list. In July 2024, the VOA received 4,570 Challenges against the England 2017 list. This is the regulatory last date to submit a material change of circumstance Challenge following a Check that was submitted prior to the list closing on 31 March 2023.
Figure 7: Resolved CCA cases by case type and outcome against the England 2017 NDR list, 1 April 2017 to 30 September 2024
Source: Checks, Challenges and Changes against the 2017 local rating list, England, Table E17_3_1
Figure 7 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, 19% result in a decrease and 2% result in an increase to RV.
For Challenges, 63% result in no change to RV, 36% result in a decrease and 0.5% result in an increase to RV.
For Appeals, 39% result in no change to RV, 61% result in a decrease and 0.1% result in an increase to RV.
2. CCA and non-CCA cases in Wales
2.1. CCA Wales cases raised against the 2023 list
Figure 8: Checks and Challenges in Wales against the 2023 rating list from 1 April 2023 to 30 September 2024
Source: Checks, Challenges and Changes against the 2023 local rating list, England and Wales, Table EW23_1_1
Figure 8 shows that 3,050 Checks were registered since the start of the 2023 rating list (1 April 2023 to 30 September 2024). Of these, 2,720 were resolved, and 330 remained outstanding.
Some of the resolved Checks will progress to Challenge and as such, 550 Challenges were registered since the start of the 2023 rating list (1 April 2023 to 30 September 2024). Of these, 80 were resolved, 90 were marked incomplete, and 370 remained outstanding.
Figure 9: Checks against the Wales 2023 rating list by case status and month, 1 April 2023 to 30 September 2024
Source: Checks against the 2023 local rating list, Wales, Table EW23_3_4
In the latest quarter (July to September 2024) 640 Checks were registered, down from 650 the quarter before and 640 checks were resolved, down from 730 the quarter before.
Figure 10: Challenges against the Wales 2023 rating list by case status and month, 1 April 2023 to 30 September 2024
Source: Challenges against the 2023 local rating list, Wales, Table EW23_3_4
In the latest quarter (July to September 2024) 210 Challenges were registered, up from 150 the quarter before and 30 Challenges were resolved, down from 40 the quarter before. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10.
The profile of Checks and Challenges against the Wales 2023 list is broadly comparable to the England 2023 list (see Figure 2) since Wales adopted the CCA process for the first time with the 2023 rating list, though with some difference possibly attributable to ratepayers’ time becoming familiar with the system. Challenges take longer to resolve as it is necessary to exchange and discuss evidence with ratepayers, and hence it is expected that rates for Challenges against the Wales 2023 will remain lower for some time.
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 were submitted and have not yet been resolved. For the 2017 list in 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 2024
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 42,370 challenges were registered since the start of the 2017 rating list in Wales (1 April 2017 to 30 September 2024). Of these, 41,010 were resolved, and 1,360 remained outstanding.
Figure 12: Non-CCA challenges against the Wales 2017 NDR list by case status and month, 1 April 2017 to 30 September 2024
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 30 challenges registered in the latest quarter (July to September 2024), up from 20 last quarter, and 490 challenges resolved in the latest quarter, down from 660 last quarter.
Wales also saw a spike in challenges due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Due to Wales using the non-CCA process for the 2017 rating list, these challenges were withdrawn rather than cleared following the enactment of the Rating (Coronavirus) and Directors Disqualification (Dissolved Companies) Bill.
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 2024
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.
There was a spike in the number of customer registrations following the publication of the 2023 draft rating lists on 17 November 2022 as part of business rates revaluation. 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 2024
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/find-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.