Empty property rate relief for small properties (up to £18,000 RV) is to be extended for a further year covering 2010-2011

All properties under £6,000 RV will enjoy exemption from business rates liability for 12 months from October 2010 to October 2011.

All qualifying properties that have an RV between £6,001 and £11,999 RV will see increases in SBRR which were due to implemented at -1% off your bill for every £120RV your assessment is below £12,000 RV.  These increases in relief will be published later in the month.

Every area within the Rating List has it’s own characteristics.  With the collection of Regency period 2star hotels in Eastbourne there have been years of neglect where the Valuation Office have never been given the correct data to ensure that the assessments are fair.  Many unqualified agents who prey on hard pressed hoteliers have allowed the continuation of the simple £x/double bedroom assessment method to continue unchallenged.

Our clients, comprising West Rocks Hotel, Savoy Court Hotel, The Heatherliegh Hotel and the Marine Parade Hotel had the foresight to engage Roderick Bisset BSc MRICS to review their assessments, you can see by the table below this proved to be a very valuable exercise

What is surprising is that two of these hotels had their assessments appealed on previous occasions.

If you own licensed premises and there have been changes in your area then you owe it to yourself to get a second opinion.  In Eastbourne a Travelodge was established on the seafront in 2007 giving each hotel the circumstances to make a second rating appeal in order to be reassessed again.  The argument being if my hotel is worth £50,000 on 1 April 2005 then it must be worth less after 2007 as the increased competition from such an efficient operator such as Travelodge has had a material impact on my trade.

Roderick Bisset says, “Eastbourne hoteliers are wary of anyone that offers advice in respect of business rates due to the areas special problems with rogue advisors in the past.  The trust is gone but for the few that have engaged us to work on their behalf the rewards have been obvious.  Sadly with such a short amount of time before the 31 March 2010 deadline many hoteliers will probably miss out.”

Bisset Moffatt Hill Chartered Valuation Surveyors always look out for these changes in physical circumstances so their clients can achieve effective reductions in their business rates.  For more information call our Crawley office on 01293 440066.

Empty rates became payable at 100% liability for properties left vacant for longer than 3 months (6 months for industrial properties) by virtue of the Rating (Empty Properties) Act 2007.

From 1 April 2009, empty rate relief was granted to vacant commercial properties with a Rateable Value under £15,000 RV. In the 9 December 2009 Pre Budget Report, the Chancellor confirmed that the empty rate relief scheme will run for a further year in 2010/2011.

The criteria have been adjusted upwards so properties with a Rateable Value of up to £18,000 RV will not have to pay empty rates.

For further information on your empty rates liability contact Simon Moffatt (moffatt@bmh.co.uk) or call 08000 710 014

Currently on the 2005 Rating List if you have 1 property with a Rateable Value below £10,000 you are entitled to SBRR.  The level of SBRR is levied at 1% off your rates bill for every whole £100 RV below £10,000.  This relief extends until the Ratepayer reaches 50% off his bill when his RV is £5000 or below.

From next year in the 2010 Rating List this limit has been increased to £12,000 RV.  For every whole £120 RV below £12,000 you will receive 1% off your rates bill.  The maximum relief is 50% off when you reach £6,000 RV.

All Ratepayers that think they qualify must apply in writing to their local authority again after 1 April 2010.  The Government do not expect you to make annual applications but for the first year in a Revaluation you must apply.

Businessrates.com can appeal and reduce your Rateable Value, no savings – no fee.

We can also provide advice to reduce your non-domestic rates bill by reviewing a range of reliefs on your current rates bill, comprising rural rate relief, community and amateur sports club relief, charitable relief, hardship relief and empty rates relief.

Contact Simon Moffatt for more advice (moffatt@bmh.co.uk)

This means that as the rateable values rise between the 2005 and 2010 Rating Lists the rate in the pound, known as the NNDR, must come down.  This year the NNDR is £0.481 for small businesses and larger businesses pay £0.485 see inside for details on what comprises a large and small business.

If you require further advice on your current or level of future rates liability then contact us on 08000 710 014

Currently, it is intended that 2p will be levied on all commercial properties with a Rateable value in excess of £50,000. However, this is subject to review and is dependant upon the impact the new rateable values will have on businesses when it is introduced next year. The good news is that it supposedly will apply to only 20% of business premises in London. The bad news is that it is expected to run for at least 25 years until the GLA borrowing is repaid! We’ll keep all our London clients posted on further developments.

If you are large then any increases in liability are phased in more quickly than those of small businesses.

The actual rate in the pound, known as the National Non Domestic Rate Multiplier (NNDR) utilises two different rates, the basic rate for small ratepayers whilst the large Ratepayers face the basic rate plus top up.

If your Rateable Value is near in value to the small/large threshold of £18,000 RV (inside Greater London £25,500 RV) then extra care is required to make sure you do not waste an opportunity to become a Small Ratepayer.  Contact Roderick Bisset at our Crawley bisset@bmh.co.uk

• We need to confirm the current rent you paying (if any) and the commencement date.
• We need to know any alterations or changes to your premises.
• We are happy to come and see you to get this information.

The Valuation Office Agency will publish the Draft Rating List with details of your provisional rating assessment on the 1st October 2009.  Bisset Moffatt Hill will thereafter write to our clients with details of the assessment with our recommendations.

Since 1990 most vacant business properties have been entitled to a 50% empty property relief after an initial period of three months at 100% relief. Qualifying industrial properties have been entitled to 100% relief for the period they are vacant.

The relief was designed to allow a reasonable time for properties to be marketed and re-occupied. It also reflected the historical fact that business rates were a local property tax paying for services such as street lighting refuse collection etc. These days however business rates are not a local tax for services, but a national tax on property.

Hence as it’s a tax on property rather than occupation, there is little justification for having empty property relief. This is particularly so as a number of landlords have kept industrial units empty to avoid creating low rent precedents and have taken benefit from the minimal cost in doing so.

Consequently in his February Budget speech, the then Chancellor, Gordon Brown, announced that Empty Property relief would be restricted to 3 months for shops and offices and 6 months for industrial property, with exemptions for charities. The relief will be 100% exemption for the initial period. After this you will pay full-occupied rates.

At present the only exemption is for property occupied by charities or registered clubs who will be entitled to 100% relief on vacant.

The qualifying period for empty rates will start from the date the property became vacant not 1st April 2008. Therefore if you have a vacant property you will need to consider your options prior to 1st April.

Finally this change may benefit tenants who occupy units on an estate where landlords are deliberately not letting properties to maintain high rental values. Landlords will find that the costs of keeping units empty will increase significantly. They may be forced to let units at lower rents- rather than leaving them empty. Unfortunately only time will tell if this is the case. We will update you as more news comes in so watch this space!

In the last ten years, BMH has grown to operate out of two regional centres in the Gatwick and Heathrow areas.  Both centres have a specialist, qualified team that provide the full range of business rate reduction and property leaseholder services.

Says Director Simon Moffatt “Going back to 1996, Rod (Bisset), Stephen (Hill) and I were each carving out successful careers as Chartered Surveyors for a leading rating practice in central London.  However we were becoming fairly disillusioned with the approach to client service.  I remember watching the film ‘Jerry Maguire’ and nodding my head when Tom Cruise said it was all about providing a better service to a smaller number of clients.  That’s why we founded BMH. Ten years down the line, looking after every single client is as important today as it was at the beginning.”

Moffatt continues: “There are still thousands of businesses that do not realise they could be eligible to reduce their overheads through a review of their business rates and property occupation costs.  It is our mission to communicate to as many of them as possible that professional, qualified help is available – and that we are as keen to act for them now as we were ten years ago.”