From 1 April 2017, the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) has updated the rateable value of all business properties. This is known as a revaluation.
The VOA generally reassesses all rateable values in England and Wales every five years, based on their open market rental value on a fixed date, although the last revaluation was in 2010. This revaluation is based on rental values on 1 April 2015. Rateable values are used by councils to calculate your business rates bill.
Revaluation is done to maintain fairness in the system by redistributing the total amount payable in business rates, reflecting changes in the property market. Revaluation does not raise extra revenue overall.
The VOA uses a wide range of property information and rental and other evidence to compare values across similar types of properties in order to set the rateable value.