During redevelopment or refurbishment works, it may be impossible to occupy your property. We have recently successfully removed our client’s property from the 2017 Rating List, reducing their liability to £0 and ensuring they were not paying rates unnecessarily.
A prominent office building in Penzance was being redeveloped internally to suit the needs of our client. The extent of the works rendered the property incapable of beneficial occupation due to a lack of services, substantial reconfiguration of internal walls and an absence of floorboarding across multiple parts of the property. The commencement of works had also been delayed due to restrictions imposed as a result of Covid, limitations in sourcing materials and a reduced workforce able to carry out the works. We were of the opinion our client should not be paying business rates whilst unable to occupy the property.
Initially we submitted a ‘Check’ document which was not accepted by the VOA. We followed this with a ‘Challenge’ document, which was submitted via the Government Gateway following the Check, Challenge, Appeal process, setting out extensive evidence to demonstrate that the property should be removed during the period of works which rendered the property incapable of beneficial occupation.
The outcome was the successful removal of the property from the Rating List over this period from the commencement of works, resulting in a business rates rebate and an overall saving of circa £23,500 for our client.
Our experienced team is ready to assist with unparalleled regional advice.
