Business Rates in England and Wales - Rating List

Rating List

Starting on 1 April 1990, a rating list for each local authority was compiled. Although there is technically a separate list for each authority, it is common to refer to the aggregate of the lists as, for example, the 1990 Rating List. Rating lists are maintained during their lifetime to reflect changes in properties, and new lists are compiled every five years. The current list came into force on 1 April 2005. As well as local lists, there are a small number of central rating lists, used to assess properties that would otherwise span multiple lists, such as railway or telephone networks. A rating list is required to identify each relevant non-domestic property in the area, and assign a rateable value, based on a rental valuation of the property. Some types of property, such as public utilities, are valued using a statutory formula instead. The task of compiling and maintaining the list is given to the valuation officer for each authority, who in practice is a civil servant of the Valuation Office Agency, an Executive Agency of Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs.