More than two million non-domestic properties received new rateable values from 1 April 2026. Those values are based on estimated open-market rent at 1 April 2024 and apply to the 2026 rating list. ProHearings can review the information, prepare a Check or Challenge and support a Valuation Tribunal appeal where the procedural requirements are met.
In 2025-26, English local authorities collected £27.7 billion in non-domestic rates. A property's rateable value is one input used by the council to calculate the bill; it is not the amount of rates payable. The Valuation Office sets the rateable value, while the local council calculates and collects the bill and administers many reliefs.
Check, Challenge, Appeal is the process for disputing rateable values. Each stage has its own grounds, time limits and evidence requirements. Evidence that may later be needed at the Tribunal should normally be put forward during Check and Challenge.
You verify the facts held about the property, such as its size, use and facilities. If you appoint an agent, you must use the proper agent-authorisation process and retain control of your own sign-in details.
If the valuation still appears wrong, a formal Challenge explains the proposed alteration and supplies the evidence relied on, such as rental evidence, property information or a material change of circumstances. The Valuation Office normally has up to 18 months to decide it.
If you disagree with the Challenge decision, you normally have four months to appeal. An appeal may also be available after the 18-month decision period expires. Normal appeal fees are £150 for a smaller proposer and £300 for another proposer, with specified refund rules.
The Valuation Office uses rental evidence and property characteristics to set rateable values. A review may identify inaccurate facts, unsuitable comparisons or changes affecting value.
The Valuation Office's records may overstate the floor area, include space that is not usable, or list facilities such as air conditioning, parking or lifts that do not exist or have been removed.
The rateable value is based on estimated open-market rent at the relevant valuation date. Comparisons need to account for location, size, condition, use and other material differences rather than relying on a superficial match.
Road works outside your premises, a new one-way system, the loss of nearby footfall, construction disruption, flooding. Any physical change that affects the rental value of your property can be grounds for a reduction. Many businesses do not realise they can claim for this.
Small business, rural, charitable, empty-property and transitional reliefs are administered under separate rules, often by the local council. A review can identify reliefs worth checking with the billing authority.
The current 2026 rating list took effect on 1 April 2026 and is based on rental values at 1 April 2024. Property facts or valuation assumptions may still need checking, especially for unusual or specialised premises.
We review the published rateable value, property facts and available evidence, identify potential grounds and flag reliefs worth checking with the council.
After the client has properly appointed ProHearings as agent, we prepare and submit a formal Check and Challenge with the supporting evidence available.
Where the appeal conditions are met, we prepare the appeal and evidence and can provide hearing support if separately agreed and accepted by the Tribunal.
For businesses with multiple premises. We review the rateable values across your portfolio, identify the strongest cases, and challenge them as a batch. Volume pricing starts at five sites.
The Valuation Tribunal for England hears specified appeals about rateable values and related business-rates decisions. A normal rateable-value appeal currently carries a £150 or £300 fee, depending on proposer size. The fee may be refunded in the circumstances stated by the Tribunal.
The Tribunal received 8,420 appeals in 2024-25, scheduled 919 hearing days and issued 3,580 determinations. The proceedings are judicial and the evidence rules matter: the Tribunal normally considers evidence exchanged during the Check and Challenge process, with new evidence admitted only in limited circumstances.
ProHearings can prepare the case and provide hearing support where properly appointed and permitted. Formal valuation evidence may require an appropriately qualified rating specialist. The client decides whether to accept any proposal or ask the Tribunal to determine the appeal.
Check the property facts and compare the valuation evidence with genuinely similar premises. A Rates Review identifies potential grounds and evidence, but no responsible adviser can guarantee that the Valuation Office or Tribunal will reduce the value.
The Valuation Office normally has up to 18 months to decide a Challenge. If no decision arrives within that period, an appeal may be made within the following four months. Always check the deadline against the current decision notice and guidance.
A review can reveal that the published value is too high, too low or correct. The potential outcomes and financial consequences should be assessed before a Check, Challenge or appeal is submitted. ProHearings does not promise that a challenge is risk-free.
You may manage a case yourself or appoint an agent. Some matters need specialist rental or valuation evidence, particularly unusual properties or technically complex disputes. If chartered-surveyor evidence is needed, ProHearings will identify that rather than implying it is provided in-house.
The current revaluation took effect on 1 April 2026 and is based on estimated open-market rental values at 1 April 2024. The resulting values are used for the 2026 to 2029 rating list. A higher rateable value does not necessarily translate directly into the same percentage increase in the bill.
No. ProHearings is not a firm of chartered surveyors or solicitors. We provide practical support with business rates disputes at fixed fees. Where your situation requires specialist valuation expertise, we will tell you.
Any business that pays business rates in England: shops, offices, pubs, restaurants, warehouses, factories, workshops, surgeries, gyms, and multi-site operators. If you have a rates bill, we can check whether the amount is right.
ProHearings charges the fixed fee agreed upfront rather than taking a percentage of any reduction. The scope, assumptions and any external specialist costs are confirmed before work begins.
We set out the position and your options. You decide whether to challenge, whether to accept a settlement, and whether to take it to the Tribunal. All strategic decisions are yours.