The BusinessRateChecker connector · England and Wales · 2026 rating lists
Add BusinessRateChecker to Claude, ChatGPT or another assistant that supports connectors, then ask about any business property in England and Wales in plain English. The answers come from the Valuation Office's rating lists, our comparable-evidence checks and every published Valuation Tribunal decision on business rates in England and Wales (England since 2020, Wales since 2018): the same data and the same verdicts as this website.
The connector (https://www.businessratechecker.com/mcp) is in free beta. It costs nothing while we test it, with a monthly usage limit. In return we'll ask what worked and what didn't.
Things you can ask
“Is my industrial unit in Hereford HR4 paying too much in business rates?”
“How did the Valuation Office work out the rateable value of my shop on King Street, Hammersmith?”
“Which business rates appeals in Hammersmith and Fulham has the Valuation Tribunal allowed since 2023, and on what grounds?”
“Find tribunal decisions where a shop's rateable value was cut because the floor area was wrong, and show how much came off.”
“How does small business rate relief work if I have two units?”
“Have tribunal appeals on warehouses in Leeds succeeded, and by how much were values cut?”
“Which rating surveyors have been most active at the tribunal this year, and who has an office near Hereford?”
“Which councils in England have the highest share of properties paying too much?”
Add it to your AI assistant
You add BusinessRateChecker once, then your assistant uses it whenever you ask about business rates. Five assistants support it today. Pick yours below.
Which AI assistants support the connector and how you add it
Free during the beta and works on every Claude plan, on claude.ai and in the Claude desktop app. No address to paste.
Open Customize, then Connectors.
Choose Browse connectors, find BusinessRateChecker and choose Connect.
Enter your email address and open the link we send you in the same browser. The first time, we ask for your name, what best describes you and your agreement that we may email you about the beta. Then choose Allow. There is no password and no card.
Start a new chat and ask about a business property. If Claude doesn't use BusinessRateChecker, open the + menu under the message box, choose Connectors and turn it on.
The first time Claude uses each tool it asks your permission. Choose Always allow. Every tool only reads data, so this is safe.
Can't see it in the directory? Some workspaces hide the directory. Choose Add custom connector instead, name it BusinessRateChecker and paste this address.
https://www.businessratechecker.com/mcp
Custom connector
Added through developer mode on the web, in Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise and Edu plans. In a workspace, an admin may have to allow developer mode first. A directory listing is with OpenAI for approval; once it is live these steps shrink to “find it and connect”.
Open Settings, then Security and login, and turn on Developer mode.
Go to Plugins and choose +. Name it BusinessRateChecker, paste this address and choose OAuth. The address is for ChatGPT to use, not a page to open.
https://www.businessratechecker.com/mcp
ChatGPT opens our sign-in page. Enter your email address, open the link we send you in the same browser, join the beta the first time, and finish creating the app.
In a new chat, open the + menu, choose Developer mode and select BusinessRateChecker.
Set up by your IT team
Microsoft 365 Copilot has no “add a connector” button for individual users. Someone with Copilot Studio access (usually IT) adds BusinessRateChecker to an agent once, then everyone in the organisation can use it. Send them this page. Copilot Studio runs on Microsoft's Copilot Credits, which Microsoft bills to your organisation separately.
In Copilot Studio, open an agent (or create one). Next to Tools, choose +.
Choose + Add, then Model Context Protocol (MCP).
Server name BusinessRateChecker, a one-line description such as “Business rates for properties in England and Wales”, and this server URL:
https://www.businessratechecker.com/mcp
Under Authentication choose OAuth 2.0, then configuration type Dynamic (with discovery), and choose Add. No client ID or secret is needed.
Under Connection choose Create new connection, then Create. Our sign-in window opens: enter your email address, open the link we send you, and choose Allow. Back in Copilot Studio, choose Add.
Open Preview and ask, for example, “Is the café at 6-7 Abbey Churchyard, Bath BA1 1LY paying too much in business rates?” When it answers, Publish the agent so colleagues can use it in Microsoft 365 Copilot.
Your organisation's data policies for Power Platform connectors apply to this connector too. If the server is blocked, your admin can allow it in the Microsoft 365 admin centre.
Custom app
Added in the Gemini web app at gemini.google.com with a personal Google account, in English for now. Once added it also shows in the Gemini mobile app. Gemini in Google Workspace doesn't support custom apps; Gemini Enterprise does, but an admin adds it under Manage team.
On gemini.google.com, open Settings, then Connected apps.
Under Custom apps, choose Add a custom app.
Name it BusinessRateChecker and paste this address, then continue.
https://www.businessratechecker.com/mcp
Approve the connection: enter your email address, open the link we send you in the same browser, join the beta the first time, and choose Allow.
In a new chat, ask about a business property. Gemini uses BusinessRateChecker when the question is about business rates.
Custom connector
Custom connectors are available on Perplexity's paid plans (Pro, Max and Enterprise), on the web and in the desktop app.
Choose your profile (bottom left), then All settings, then Connectors.
Choose + Custom connector. Name it BusinessRateChecker and paste this address.
https://www.businessratechecker.com/mcp
Expand Advanced. Choose OAuth, and set Transport to Streamable HTTP.
Tick I understand custom connectors can introduce risks and choose Add.
Choose the connector to connect it. Enter your email address, open the link we send you in the same browser, join the beta the first time, and choose Continue.
In a chat, turn BusinessRateChecker on in the connectors list, then ask about a business property.
Questions about how business rates work, and the overpayment map figures, work without signing in. If your assistant doesn't show the newest tools after an update, disconnect the connector in its settings and connect again.
What it can do, and the beta limit
Each account has 300 credits a month during the beta, and they reset every month. Lookups use credits as shown below. Asking for exactly the same thing again within an hour is free. You can get one overpayment verdict per property per day, and rating history starts from the 2023 list. If you need more for your testing, email us and tell us what you're working on.
The connector's tools and their credit cost
Tool
What it does
Credits
Explain business rates
How bills, multipliers and reliefs work, transitional relief, Check, Challenge and Appeal, deadlines and who to contact, for England or Wales, with official sources.
Free, no sign-in
Overpayment map figures
How many properties our checks flag as paying too much, by country or council, with each council's rank.
Free, no sign-in
Find business properties
Look up an address by postcode and words in the address or description.
1
Get property rating details
Rateable value, how the Valuation Office built it (areas, rates, extras), estimated bill and whether a Check or Challenge has been decided.
1
Check if a property is overpaying
Our verdict from comparable evidence, the indicative saving, and how the Valuation Office's own scheme values similar properties.
5
Get comparable properties
The similar properties behind the verdict, with £ per m² and distance.
3
Get rating history
Rateable values on earlier rating lists and changes on the 2026 list.
2
Search and rank properties in an area
Filter and sort an area's properties: type, size, value, £ per m², screening verdict, business name, street.
1 per property returned
Break down an area's business rates
Counts, medians and totals by street, sector, property type, postcode or verdict.
2
Search Valuation Tribunal decisions
Over 4,600 published business rates appeal decisions in England (since 2020) and Wales (since 2018): which succeeded, which failed, how far values came down, and why.
2
Find rating surveyors
The firms most active at the tribunal in the last 12 months and how they did, plus rating firms with an office near you.
1
Monthly rateable value changes by council
What the Valuation Office changed in one month, by council.
1
Monthly rateable value changes by sector
What the Valuation Office changed in one month, by sector.
1
What it can't do
It covers England and Wales only, not Scotland or Northern Ireland.
Every tool only reads data. It can't change anything, and it doesn't start a Check, Challenge or Appeal with the Valuation Office: that is a separate step you choose.
A verdict is an indicative estimate from comparable evidence, not a valuation or professional advice. Asking the Valuation Office to look again reopens your valuation, and if your recorded facts are wrong in its favour, your rateable value can go up.
Searches need an area (a postcode, district, council or street). There are no national lists.
Hotels, pubs, cinemas and petrol stations are valued on their trade, so they get no £ per m² comparison.
Tribunal results describe past cases and can't predict yours. The surveyor lists show tribunal activity and where firms have offices; we don't recommend or endorse any firm.
It's a beta: answers may change as we improve it, and the figures will be updated after the Government's Budget changes to business rates.
Your data
Your assistant sends us only the lookup (for example a postcode and a filter), never your conversation. We keep your email, your beta sign-up details, which app you connected, and a log of each lookup's settings and credits, as our privacy policy explains. We use your details only to run the beta and ask for your feedback. Using the connector means accepting the API terms, which include the Valuation Office's licence conditions: the data is for non-domestic rating purposes. You can disconnect at any time from your assistant's connector settings, and ask us to delete your account by email.
Two quick ways to help us improve BusinessRateChecker — tell us privately, or leave a public review. Positive reviews really help us to improve the service and get this information more broadly shared.