Local Government, Planning and Land Act 1980

Valuation

28 New valuation lists

In section 68 of the [1967 c. 9.] General Rate Act 1967 (" the 1967 Act") the following shall be substituted for subsection (1) (new valuation lists to be prepared every 5 years)—

“(1) In the case of each rating area, new valuation lists shall be prepared and made by the valuation officer so as to come into force on 1st April in such year as the Secretary of State may by order from time to time specify.

(1A) An order under this section shall have no effect until approved by resolution of each House of Parliament.”.

29 Ascertainment of rateable value of non-industrial buildings

(1) In section 19 of the 1967 Act in subsection (2) (ascertainment of rateable value of houses and other non-industrial buildings) for the words from " consisting" to " other land " there shall be substituted the words " which is a dwelling-house, a private garage or private storage premises. ".

(2) In subsection (6) of that section the definition of “house " shall be omitted and at the end of the subsection there shall be added—

• “' private garage ' means a building having a floor area not exceeding 25 square metres which is used wholly or mainly for the accommodation of a motor vehicle (and for this purpose ' building' includes part of a building);

• ' private storage premises ' means a hereditament which is used wholly in connection with a dwelling-house or dwelling-houses and wholly or mainly for the storage of articles of domestic use (including bicycles and similar vehicles) belonging to persons residing there”.

(3) After subsection (6) of that section there shall be added—

“(7) For the purposes of this section a hereditament that is not in use shall nevertheless be treated as a dwelling-house, a private garage or private storage premises if it appears that, when next in use, it will be a hereditament of that description.”.

(4) The Secretary of State may by regulations make a scheme for the purpose of giving transitional relief, in such manner, in such cases and subject to such conditions as may be prescribed by the regulations, to persons liable to rates in respect of hereditaments of which the net annual values are, in consequence of this section, ascertained in accordance with section 19(3) of the 1967 Act instead of in accordance with section 19(2); and a scheme may make different provision for different cases and for different rate periods.

(5) The power to make regulations under subsection (4) above shall be exercisable by statutory instrument, which shall be subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament.

30 Valuation and adjusted valuation

(1) After section 19 of the 1967 Act there shall be inserted—

“19A Time by reference to which valuations to be made.

(1) Any net annual value to be ascribed to a specified hereditament under section 19 of this Act in a new valuation list coming into force on 1st April in any year shall be ascertained by reference to such earlier time as the Secretary of State may by order specify, but on the assumptions set out in subsection (2) below.

(2) The assumptions referred to in subsection (1) above are that at the time specified in the order—

(a) the hereditament was subsisting in the same state as at the time when the list comes into force;

(b) any relevant factors (as defined in section 20(2) of this Act) were those subsisting at the time when the list comes into force; and

(c) the locality in which the hereditament is situated was in the same state, so far as concerns the other premises situated in that locality and the occupation and use of those premises, the transport services and other facilities available in the locality, and other matters affecting the amenities of the locality, as at the time when the list comes into force.

(3) Where an order under subsection (1) above operates for any year, any net annual value to be ascribed to an unspecified hereditament in the new valuation list coming into force on 1st April in that year—

(a) shall be the same value as was ascribed to the hereditament in the old list, that is, the valuation list in force immediately before the coming into force of the new valuation list, or

(b) (if no such value was ascribed) shall be the value which would properly be ascribed to the hereditament if the old list were still in force and were altered in pursuance of a proposal made on the date of the new valuation list coming into force.

(4) In this section " specified hereditament" means a hereditament of such a class as may be specified in the order under subsection (1) above and " unspecified hereditament" means a hereditament not of such a class.

(5) This section does not apply to a hereditament which is occupied by a public utility undertaking and of which the value falls to be ascertained on the profits basis.

(6) An order under this section shall have effect for the purposes of all lists coming into force on the 1st April to which the order relates.

(7) An order made under this section shall be subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament.

19B Adjusted rateable values.

(1) In a case where the Secretary of State so provides by order in relation to a new valuation list to come into force on 1st April in any year, the rateable value of a specified hereditament or of an unspecified hereditament (depending on which the order provides) shall be arrived at by taking, instead of the net annual value, that value as adjusted by a method prescribed in the order.

(2) Any method so prescribed shall be such as in the Secretary of State's opinion will preserve the ratio which he estimates will exist, immediately before the coming into force of the new valuation list, between the rateable values of specified hereditaments in England and Wales as a whole and the rateable values of unspecified hereditaments in England and Wales as a whole.

(3) Before prescribing a method, the Secretary of State shall consult—

(a) such associations of local authorities, as appear to him to be concerned; and

(b) any local authority, and any other body of persons, with whom consultation appears to him to be desirable.

(4) In this section " specified hereditament" and " unspecified hereditament" have the same meanings as in section 19A of this Act.

(5) An order made under this section shall be subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament.”.

(2) In section 20(1) of the 1967 Act (valuation according to tone of list) for the words " the year before that in which the valuation list came into force " there shall be substituted the words " the relevant year ".

(3) After section 20(1) of the 1967 Act there shall be inserted: —

“(1A) Subject to subsection (1B) of this section, in subsection (1) of this section 'the relevant year' means the year before that in which the valuation list came into force.

(1B) Where an order under section 19A(1) of this Act operates for any year, then, in relation to a hereditament which is an unspecified hereditament within the meaning of that section, in subsection (1) of this section ' the relevant year' means—

(a) the year before that in which there came into force the last valuation list in which the net annual value ascribed to the hereditament was ascertained in accordance with section 19 of this Act, or

(b) (if no net annual value, ascertained in accordance with section 19 of this Act, has been ascribed to the hereditament) the year before that in which there came into force the last valuation list in which a net annual value, ascertained in accordance with section 19 of this Act, would have been ascribed to the hereditament if it had been subsisting on 1st April 1973.”.