The Community Charges and Non-Domestic Rating (Demand Notices) (England) Regulations 1990

Regulation 2(3)

SCHEDULE 2MATTERS TO BE CONTAINED IN RATE DEMAND NOTICE

1.  A statement of the address and description of each hereditament to which the notice relates (“relevant hereditament”) as it appears in the local non-domestic rating list of the authority.

2.  A statement of the rateable value shown in the list of each relevant hereditament.

3.  A statement of the non-domestic rating multiplier applicable for the relevant year.

4.  A statement of the days (if any) on which, for the purposes of calculating the payments required to be made under the notice, it was understood or assumed that the conditions mentioned in section 45(1) of the Act(1) were or would be fulfilled in relation to any relevant heredidament, and a statement that as regards those days the chargeable amount is one half of that which it would be if the ratepayer were in occupation of the hereditament.

5.  A statement of the days (if any) on which, for the purposes of calculating the payments required to be made under the notice, it was understood or assumed that–

(a)the chargeable amount would fall to be calculated under section 43(5) or 45(5) of the Act,

(b)the chargeable amount would fall to be calculated under section 43(4) or (5) of the Act as modified by paragraph 9 of Schedule 7A to the Act(2),

(c)the chargeable amount would fall to be calculated by reference to section 44(2) and (2A) of the Act as substituted by section 44A(7) or (9) of the Act(2), or

(d)rules under section 47(1)(a) or 58(3)(a) of the Act would apply;

together with a statement of the manner in which the chargeable amount for those days was calculated and of the amount by which the aggregate amount demanded under the notice is reduced or increased as compared with the amount which would have been demanded if section 43(4), without modification, and (so far as is relevant) section 44(2) without substitution, or (as the case may be) section 45(4), applied to the calculation of the chargeable amount for those days.

6.  Explanatory notes in the following terms–

“EXPLANATORY NOTES

Rateable Value

The rateable value of most non-domestic property is fixed by the Inland Revenue valuation officer.

It normally represents the annual rent for which in his opinion the property could have been let on the open market calculated at 1st April 1988 values. For composite properties which are partly domestic and partly non-domestic the rateable value relates to the non-domestic use only.

If the ratepayer disagrees with the value he may at any time before 1st October 1990 propose to the valuation officer that it be changed. After that date a proposal by the ratepayer to change the value may only be made in certain circumstances. The valuation officer may alter the value if he believes that the circumstances of the property have changed. If in any case the ratepayer and the valuation officer do not agree, the matter will be referred as an appeal to the Valuation and Community Charge Tribunal. Further information about how to propose a change in a rateable value is available from valuation offices.

Rating List

The local rating list is a list of values of all property in respect of which rates are paid to the local authority. It is prepared and kept up to date by the valuation officer. Copies are held at valuation offices and the offices of the charging authority, where it may be inspected by the public.

National Non-Domestic Rating Multiplier

The national non-domestic rating multiplier is the rate in the pound by which, outside the City of London, the rateable value is multiplied to produce the annual rate bill for the property. The multiplier for 1990/91 was set by the Government so as to raise from private businesses and the nationalised industries broadly the same total amount in rates in real terms as in 1989/90. In subsequent years the multiplier may rise by the amount of the increase in the retail prices index or such lesser amount as the Government may determine.

Transitional Arrangements

Transitional arrangements will operate between 1990/91 and 1994/95 in order to phase in the effect of the new non-domestic rating system introduced on 1st April 1990. The arrangements may be extended beyond 1994/95. The following is a brief description of the arrangements as they apply outside the City of London.

Properties with higher rate bills

For 1990/91, with some exceptions, no rate bill will rise by more than 20% in real terms where the property has a rateable value of £10,000 or more on 1st April 1990 (£15,000 or more in Greater London), or by more than 15% in real terms where the rateable value on 1st April is below these thresholds. To determine whether the transitional arrangements apply, the new rate bill is compared with the rate bill in 1989/90 (calculated, for most properties, by multiplying the general rate poundage by the rateable value of the property on 15th February 1989) increased by 20% or 15% as the case may be and further increased by thE annual rise in the retail prices index at September 1989 (7.6%). Where the new bill exceeds this transitional limit, the limit applies.

For subsequent years up to 1994/95, the transitional arrangements will continue to apply to a property if the full rate bill for that year exceeds the transitional bill for the previous year plus 20% or 15% as above and adjusted by the annual increase in the retail prices index at September in the previous year.

Transitional protection will cease if at any time the ratepayer changes (or, where there are joint owners or occupiers, where all of them have changed) and the full bill will then become payable.

Properties with lower rate bills

For 1990/91, again with some exceptions, no rate bill will fall by more than 10. 5% in real terms where the property has a rateable value of £10,000 or more on 1st April 1990 (£15,000 or more in Greater London), or by more than 15.5% in real terms where the rateable value on 1st April is below these thresholds. To determine whether the transitional arrangements apply, the new rate bill is compared with the 1989/90 bill (calculated as for properties with higher bills) first reduced by 10.5% or 15.5% as the case may be and then increased by the rate of inflation (7.6%). Where the full new rate bill is below this transitional limit, the limit applies.

For 1991/92 the transitional arrangements will continue to apply if the full rate bill for the year is lower than the transitional bill for the previous year minus a given percentage and adjusted for inflation. The percentage will be 13% for properties above the rateable value thresholds mentioned above and 18% for other properties, and inflation will be measured as for properties facing higher bills. For subsequent years the appropriate percentages have not yet been fixed.

Composite Properties

In order to establish whether the above transitional rules apply to composite properties, the valuation officer has assessed the non-domestic proportion of the 1989 rateable value. If the ratepayer disagrees with this apportionment he may appeal against it. Further information may be obtained from valuation officers.

Low rateable value properties

The transitional arrangements do not apply to properties with a rateable value on 1st April 1990 below £500, with the exception of hereditaments consisting of advertising rights.

Rate Reliefs etc.

In calculating whether the transitional arrangements apply all rate reliefs are left out of account and it is assumed that the property is subject to full rather than empty property rates.

Changes in rateable value

There are special rules to deal with changes in the rateable value of the property on or after 1st April 1990 or where existing properties merge or split. Further information about these and other aspects of the transitional arrangements may be obtained from the charging authority.

Unoccupied Property Rating

Non-domestic properties which are unoccupied may be liable to empty property rates. Rates are charged at 50% of the full rate bill or of the transitional bill where the transitional arrangements apply. Liability begins after the property has been empty for 3 months. Certain types of property, for instance factories and warehouses, are exempt from empty property rates. There are special rules for cases where part of a property is left temporarily unoccupied.

Charitable and Discretionary Relief

Charities are entitled to relief from rates on any non-domestic property which is wholly or mainly used for charitable purposes (or, if unoccupied, it appears that when next in use will be wholly or mainly used for these purposes). Relief is given at 80% of the full rate bill or of the transitional bill where the transitional arrangements apply. Charging authorities have discretion to remit all or part of the remaining 20% of a charity’s bill on such property.

Authorities also have discretion to remit all or part of any rate bill in respect of property occupied by certain bodies not established or conducted for profit.

The Local Government Finance System

Non-domestic rates collected by charging authorities (the Corporation of London, London borough councils, district councils and the Council of the Isles of Scilly) are, subject to certain special arrangements for the City of London, paid into a central pool, together with rates on certain properties which are collected by the Secretary of State and Crown contributions in aid of rates, which is redistributed to charging authorities in proportion to their population of community chargepayers. Authorities pay their share of redistributed rate income into a collection fund. Standard spending grant (otherwise known as revenue support grant) is also credited by the Government to the fund to support the spending of local authorities for the area, as is income from community charges. The fund is used to defray the expenditure of the charging authority and of other local authorities in the area, known as precepting authorities. The amount of standing spending grant is calculated on the basis that (subject to special arrangements in the early years sometimes called the “safety net”) a standard level of service can broadly be provided everywhere in England for the same community charge. As regards the City of London there are special arrangements in relation to business rate income to enable this to happen. The Government also provides specific grants to local authorities to help with particular kinds of spending.”.