Carvers Road Industrial Estate, Ringwood

Client: Hansteen Property Investments
Services Provided:: Business Rates • Empty or Vacant Properties

Properties undergoing redevelopment or refurbishment

Our client recently undertook a refurbishment of an empty warehouse in Ringwood, Hampshire. Despite a leading decision being published by the Supreme Court which we consider has provided clarity in situations such as this, the Valuation Office Agency continues to take a very narrow interpretation of when properties that are undergoing redevelopment and/or refurbishment should be assessed at a reduced value. We disagree with the VOA interpretation of the relevant case law and this is an example of a number of cases where we have successfully reduced assessments to zero when faced with resistance from the VOA.

It is important to recognise that in our opinion the VOA is still incorrectly interpreting case law when buildings are being refurbished and/or redeveloped. The VOA appears to be unwilling to change their practices in this regard, therefore ratepayers should expect to receive from the VOA a negative response when pursuing attempts to reduce assessments in these circumstances.

Time is of the essence to achieve a successful outcome when undertaking works of this nature and early action is therefore recommended.