Overpayment map

Where English businesses are most likely overpaying

All 296 English billing authorities, ranked by the share of properties whose rateable value suggests they are overpaying against genuine comparables. 178,911 of 1,880,334 properties are flagged — about 9.5% — worth £929.1m a year if every one were corrected.

Reclaimable a year£929.1mEnglish businesses could be reclaiming

Overpaying1 in 11businesses in England

Properties flagged178,911of 1,880,334 analysed

Typical reclaim£1,316a year, mid-ranked authority

The headline findings

Across the VOA 2026 Rating List (England), 178,911 of 1,880,334 English business properties (9.5%) look over-assessed or borderline against similar nearby properties — a combined £929.1m a year.

The worst-affected authority is Rochdale, where 15.2% of properties look to be overpaying — more than 7 times the least-affected, Isles of Scilly (2%).

This is not a big-city problem. None of the ten worst-affected authorities is in London — northern industrial boroughs and rural districts dominate the top of the table.

In the median authority a flagged property’s typical reclaim is £1,316 a year — and because a successful challenge can be backdated, the one-off recovery is often several times that.

The map

Green, amber and red show each authority’s band. Use the toggle on the map to switch between share overpaying, total reclaim pot and typical claim.

Top % of props overpaying

Rochdale15.2%
Maidstone13.8%
Kirklees13.7%
Mid Suffolk13.7%
Salford13.5%

Bottom % of props overpaying

Isles of Scilly2.0%
Cheshire East4.2%
Barking & Dagenham5.2%
Stevenage5.3%
Lewisham6.1%

Largest overpayment pots

Westminster£85.9m
City of London£68.8m
Camden£36.3m
Tower Hamlets£20.9m
Birmingham£17.0m

Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland run separate rating systems and are out of scope.

The ten authorities with the highest share overpaying

Ranked by percentage of properties flagged, not by cash total.

Authority	Properties	Overpaying	% overpaying	Median claim	Potential a year
Rochdale	8,607	1,308	15.2%	£1,037	£2.9m
Maidstone	4,956	685	13.8%	£1,492	£2.9m
Kirklees	15,358	2,104	13.7%	£1,060	£6.0m
Mid Suffolk	3,244	445	13.7%	£1,137	£0.8m
Salford	11,247	1,523	13.5%	£1,093	£5.1m
Herefordshire	7,720	1,021	13.2%	£1,173	£2.3m
Wyre Forest	3,304	437	13.2%	£1,244	£1.3m
Maldon	2,388	310	13.0%	£1,062	£0.6m
Basildon	4,689	605	12.9%	£1,945	£3.2m
Ashford	5,123	656	12.8%	£1,315	£1.8m

6 August 2026 · Source: VOA / businessratechecker.com

Download all 296 as CSV See all 296 in the table

All 296 billing authorities

Sort on any column; click again to reverse.

English local authorities ranked by the share of business properties that look over-assessed for business rates. Click any column heading to re-sort; click again to reverse the order. Sorted by % overpaying, high to low, by default.
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1	Rochdale	8,607	1,308	15.2%	£1,037	£2.9m
2	Maidstone	4,956	685	13.8%	£1,492	£2.9m
3	Kirklees	15,358	2,104	13.7%	£1,060	£6.0m
4	Mid Suffolk	3,244	445	13.7%	£1,137	£781,103
5	Salford	11,247	1,523	13.5%	£1,093	£5.1m
6	Herefordshire	7,720	1,021	13.2%	£1,173	£2.3m
7	Wyre Forest	3,304	437	13.2%	£1,244	£1.3m
8	Maldon	2,388	310	13%	£1,062	£558,728
9	Basildon	4,689	605	12.9%	£1,945	£3.2m
10	Ashford	5,123	656	12.8%	£1,315	£1.8m
11	Tandridge	2,649	340	12.8%	£995	£695,319
12	Cherwell	4,829	608	12.6%	£2,122	£5.4m
13	Test Valley	4,638	586	12.6%	£1,510	£2.7m
14	Derby	8,023	994	12.4%	£1,044	£3.0m
15	Central Bedfordshire Council	6,657	820	12.3%	£1,812	£4.5m
16	Somerset	20,956	2,588	12.3%	£1,095	£7.3m
17	Tonbridge & Malling	3,433	421	12.3%	£2,358	£2.1m
18	West Berkshire	5,564	686	12.3%	£1,409	£3.1m
19	Walsall	7,782	946	12.2%	£1,238	£3.7m
20	West Northamptonshire	11,200	1,369	12.2%	£1,393	£8.2m
21	North West Leicestershire	3,264	395	12.1%	£1,257	£2.7m
22	Tameside	7,284	884	12.1%	£1,188	£2.5m
23	West Lancashire	3,227	392	12.1%	£1,453	£1.3m
24	Brentwood	2,400	289	12%	£1,926	£1.1m
25	Buckinghamshire	14,571	1,751	12%	£1,900	£8.7m
26	Stoke on Trent	8,920	1,072	12%	£1,072	£3.9m
27	Wealden	6,350	759	12%	£1,014	£1.5m
28	Wiltshire	15,221	1,819	12%	£1,195	£6.6m
29	Bromsgrove	3,173	379	11.9%	£1,386	£1.2m
30	East Hertfordshire	4,631	551	11.9%	£1,301	£1.8m
31	Redditch	2,439	290	11.9%	£1,962	£1.3m
32	Sandwell	10,218	1,216	11.9%	£1,900	£7.2m
33	Swale	4,464	531	11.9%	£1,409	£2.1m
34	Wychavon	4,751	567	11.9%	£1,396	£1.6m
35	Gedling	2,507	296	11.8%	£1,190	£960,272
36	Sevenoaks	4,067	480	11.8%	£1,096	£1.1m
37	Pendle	3,766	440	11.7%	£1,014	£1.1m
38	Tunbridge Wells	3,776	443	11.7%	£1,852	£1.6m
39	Hinckley & Bosworth	3,098	358	11.6%	£1,032	£997,782
40	South Oxfordshire	4,328	500	11.6%	£1,560	£2.0m
41	Braintree	4,866	561	11.5%	£1,615	£2.6m
42	Chesterfield	4,171	481	11.5%	£1,066	£1.4m
43	Erewash	3,518	404	11.5%	£944	£768,296
44	Bassetlaw	4,101	469	11.4%	£967	£1.3m
45	Dudley	9,958	1,138	11.4%	£1,299	£3.8m
46	Oldham	7,480	855	11.4%	£990	£1.9m
47	Rochford	2,890	329	11.4%	£1,126	£1.1m
48	Stafford	4,122	471	11.4%	£1,068	£1.8m
49	Stratford on Avon	5,455	623	11.4%	£1,261	£1.9m
50	Tewkesbury	2,941	335	11.4%	£2,073	£1.6m
51	Uttlesford	3,188	363	11.4%	£1,113	£956,283
52	Winchester	4,766	541	11.4%	£1,541	£1.9m
53	East Staffordshire	3,844	435	11.3%	£1,018	£1.5m
54	Eastleigh	2,951	334	11.3%	£2,481	£3.3m
55	Blaby	2,257	253	11.2%	£1,280	£1.2m
56	Bolton	10,562	1,181	11.2%	£1,185	£3.4m
57	Knowsley	2,863	321	11.2%	£1,912	£1.8m
58	Rugby	2,737	307	11.2%	£1,386	£1.8m
59	Sheffield	17,862	2,002	11.2%	£1,258	£7.5m
60	Basingstoke and Deane	4,137	459	11.1%	£2,422	£3.6m
61	Fareham	3,075	342	11.1%	£1,870	£1.2m
62	Harborough	3,062	339	11.1%	£1,151	£1.1m
63	Malvern Hills	2,771	308	11.1%	£1,152	£890,029
64	North Kesteven	3,233	358	11.1%	£943	£789,806
65	South Kesteven	4,210	466	11.1%	£1,102	£1.2m
66	Tamworth	2,007	222	11.1%	£1,977	£1.2m
67	East Devon	6,977	768	11%	£899	£1.5m
68	High Peak	3,543	390	11%	£780	£824,298
69	Newark & Sherwood	3,935	432	11%	£1,110	£898,337
70	Trafford	10,472	1,149	11%	£1,501	£4.2m
71	Calderdale	9,289	1,009	10.9%	£952	£2.1m
72	East Hampshire	3,796	415	10.9%	£1,607	£1.1m
73	Forest of Dean	3,106	338	10.9%	£1,030	£699,239
74	Hyndburn	3,206	349	10.9%	£975	£610,527
75	Bradford	18,884	2,035	10.8%	£1,112	£5.6m
76	Breckland	4,182	452	10.8%	£1,285	£1.6m
77	Charnwood	4,581	494	10.8%	£1,239	£1.9m
78	West Lindsey	2,603	280	10.8%	£1,001	£585,115
79	Gloucester	3,966	425	10.7%	£1,390	£1.7m
80	New Forest	6,991	748	10.7%	£1,280	£2.3m
81	North East Lincolnshire	5,190	555	10.7%	£970	£1.5m
82	Wolverhampton	8,431	898	10.7%	£1,264	£3.6m
83	Wyre	3,809	408	10.7%	£1,029	£671,135
84	Bolsover	2,285	243	10.6%	£754	£926,652
85	Broadland	3,540	377	10.6%	£1,040	£1.1m
86	Darlington	3,770	399	10.6%	£974	£1.1m
87	Guildford	4,163	442	10.6%	£2,388	£2.9m
88	Horsham	4,660	496	10.6%	£1,277	£1.5m
89	Lewes	3,477	370	10.6%	£1,161	£950,511
90	North Warwickshire	2,311	246	10.6%	£925	£1.6m
91	Rotherham	7,369	778	10.6%	£1,241	£3.0m
92	Southend-on-Sea	5,435	574	10.6%	£977	£922,995
93	Staffordshire Moorlands	2,860	302	10.6%	£998	£469,654
94	Stroud	4,006	426	10.6%	£1,099	£1.2m
95	Worcester	2,955	314	10.6%	£1,501	£1.5m
96	Amber Valley	3,682	386	10.5%	£1,102	£1.6m
97	Ashfield	3,784	399	10.5%	£1,312	£1.9m
98	City of Leicester	12,042	1,260	10.5%	£1,154	£3.9m
99	Mid Sussex	4,298	450	10.5%	£1,324	£2.1m
100	Mole Valley	2,901	305	10.5%	£2,221	£1.5m
101	North Northamptonshire	11,045	1,165	10.5%	£1,423	£6.2m
102	Runnymede	2,605	273	10.5%	£2,306	£1.5m
103	South Derbyshire	2,209	233	10.5%	£962	£524,200
104	Stockport	10,868	1,139	10.5%	£1,264	£4.2m
105	Waverley	3,746	394	10.5%	£1,568	£1.0m
106	West Suffolk	5,951	623	10.5%	£1,282	£2.6m
107	Crawley	3,554	371	10.4%	£3,931	£4.3m
108	North Lincolnshire	5,163	538	10.4%	£1,072	£1.5m
109	Norwich	6,654	691	10.4%	£1,176	£2.7m
110	Nuneaton & Bedworth	2,995	312	10.4%	£2,010	£2.0m
111	Shropshire	11,837	1,232	10.4%	£904	£3.3m
112	South Holland	2,624	274	10.4%	£1,209	£547,494
113	Warrington	6,513	675	10.4%	£1,522	£3.4m
114	Wigan	9,143	954	10.4%	£1,110	£3.0m
115	Bath and North East Somerset	6,252	643	10.3%	£1,451	£2.3m
116	Bristol City	15,851	1,640	10.3%	£1,967	£10.5m
117	Broxtowe	2,543	262	10.3%	£996	£765,033
118	Bury	5,820	600	10.3%	£1,144	£1.4m
119	Chelmsford	4,931	509	10.3%	£1,461	£1.5m
120	North Somerset	6,079	625	10.3%	£1,453	£2.1m
121	Cheshire West and Chester	11,470	1,171	10.2%	£1,205	£5.7m
122	Chichester	5,098	519	10.2%	£1,359	£1.4m
123	Epping Forest	4,423	451	10.2%	£1,564	£1.4m
124	North Hertfordshire	4,436	452	10.2%	£1,686	£2.0m
125	Vale of White Horse	3,643	372	10.2%	£1,951	£2.6m
126	Bedford	5,118	516	10.1%	£1,773	£2.7m
127	Exeter	4,786	485	10.1%	£1,555	£2.2m
128	Chorley	3,445	346	10%	£955	£801,964
129	Dover	3,948	396	10%	£1,083	£725,453
130	East Suffolk	12,276	1,232	10%	£671	£2.0m
131	Melton	1,524	153	10%	£859	£273,307
132	Ribble Valley	2,455	245	10%	£971	£383,064
133	Rushcliffe	2,823	281	10%	£1,082	£885,524
134	Windsor and Maidenhead	4,512	453	10%	£2,287	£2.2m
135	Fenland	2,826	280	9.9%	£1,315	£1.1m
136	Gravesham	2,152	213	9.9%	£1,436	£652,830
137	Leeds	30,243	2,981	9.9%	£1,616	£14.4m
138	Oadby & Wigston	1,390	137	9.9%	£1,365	£383,913
139	West Oxfordshire	4,047	400	9.9%	£1,574	£1.2m
140	Wokingham	4,071	403	9.9%	£2,118	£2.2m
141	Blackburn with Darwen	8,035	790	9.8%	£1,145	£2.1m
142	South Cambridgeshire	5,136	505	9.8%	£1,603	£5.2m
143	St Helens	4,409	431	9.8%	£1,680	£2.4m
144	Wakefield	11,189	1,091	9.8%	£1,262	£3.8m
145	Cumberland	11,297	1,098	9.7%	£939	£3.2m
146	Fylde	2,823	274	9.7%	£859	£459,313
147	Huntingdon	5,271	513	9.7%	£1,711	£3.1m
148	Lancaster	4,872	471	9.7%	£1,098	£1.0m
149	South Ribble	3,147	306	9.7%	£1,246	£816,443
150	Telford and Wrekin	5,072	493	9.7%	£1,428	£2.2m
151	Thurrock	4,157	403	9.7%	£1,966	£3.1m
152	Cannock Chase	3,516	338	9.6%	£1,346	£1.5m
153	Cheltenham	3,911	375	9.6%	£1,425	£1.3m
154	City and County of Kingston upon Hull	8,886	854	9.6%	£1,619	£3.9m
155	City of London	17,320	1,671	9.6%	£7,534	£68.8m
156	Milton Keynes	8,356	806	9.6%	£2,135	£8.5m
157	South Norfolk	4,393	422	9.6%	£942	£812,050
158	Medway	6,087	581	9.5%	£1,723	£2.3m
159	Rutland	1,560	148	9.5%	£814	£353,276
160	Harlow	2,262	212	9.4%	£2,826	£1.7m
161	Hart	2,157	203	9.4%	£1,391	£1.0m
162	Hastings	3,491	329	9.4%	£853	£574,664
163	Ipswich	4,542	428	9.4%	£1,869	£1.7m
164	Islington	11,561	1,091	9.4%	£4,561	£14.6m
165	Lichfield	2,835	267	9.4%	£1,253	£1.0m
166	Mansfield	3,181	298	9.4%	£1,160	£788,619
167	Plymouth	7,437	702	9.4%	£1,373	£2.4m
168	Preston	6,001	567	9.4%	£1,043	£1.9m
169	Wirral	7,985	748	9.4%	£1,247	£2.3m
170	Coventry	8,263	766	9.3%	£1,489	£4.4m
171	Gosport	1,879	175	9.3%	£1,279	£792,190
172	South Gloucestershire	7,276	677	9.3%	£1,515	£3.8m
173	Dorset Council	17,006	1,571	9.2%	£1,057	£4.2m
174	Ealing	10,594	970	9.2%	£2,542	£7.7m
175	Gateshead	6,482	597	9.2%	£1,569	£2.4m
176	Hertsmere	3,023	277	9.2%	£1,713	£1.5m
177	Lincoln	3,396	313	9.2%	£1,459	£1.1m
178	Nottingham	11,098	1,016	9.2%	£1,277	£3.6m
179	Warwick	5,064	464	9.2%	£1,599	£2.5m
180	Welwyn Hatfield	2,789	257	9.2%	£2,820	£2.1m
181	Boston	2,297	209	9.1%	£1,070	£707,976
182	Hartlepool	2,743	249	9.1%	£954	£537,956
183	Newcastle upon Tyne	11,212	1,018	9.1%	£1,511	£4.7m
184	Sefton	7,482	684	9.1%	£1,224	£2.8m
185	Swindon	5,251	480	9.1%	£2,004	£3.8m
186	East Cambridgeshire	2,387	216	9%	£1,254	£802,716
187	Havering	5,704	513	9%	£2,037	£3.1m
188	Kingston upon Thames	4,340	392	9%	£2,743	£2.5m
189	Reigate & Banstead	3,405	308	9%	£2,064	£1.4m
190	Slough	3,266	293	9%	£4,113	£3.9m
191	Babergh	3,368	300	8.9%	£1,105	£795,677
192	Dacorum	4,018	358	8.9%	£1,940	£2.0m
193	Hillingdon	8,477	757	8.9%	£2,095	£7.4m
194	Kings Lynn & West Norfolk	6,087	539	8.9%	£1,339	£1.4m
195	Mid Devon	3,261	290	8.9%	£1,078	£546,942
196	Peterborough	5,897	526	8.9%	£1,301	£3.4m
197	Redcar and Cleveland	4,128	368	8.9%	£744	£789,440
198	Doncaster	9,160	806	8.8%	£1,094	£2.4m
199	East Riding of Yorkshire	10,922	958	8.8%	£1,192	£3.2m
200	Hackney	12,024	1,057	8.8%	£2,268	£5.5m
201	Merton	5,111	448	8.8%	£3,137	£3.5m
202	North Yorkshire	30,384	2,660	8.8%	£933	£7.5m
203	Teignbridge	5,111	452	8.8%	£1,045	£997,894
204	Burnley	5,247	457	8.7%	£894	£866,659
205	Durham County	14,584	1,264	8.7%	£1,145	£4.8m
206	Manchester	26,044	2,272	8.7%	£1,754	£15.1m
207	South Hams	6,091	527	8.7%	£977	£687,140
208	Southampton City	6,365	555	8.7%	£1,813	£2.6m
209	Bexley	5,079	439	8.6%	£2,199	£2.5m
210	Bracknell Forest	2,382	205	8.6%	£3,865	£2.1m
211	Elmbridge	3,579	307	8.6%	£1,874	£1.8m
212	North East Derbyshire	2,706	233	8.6%	£796	£437,899
213	Shepway	3,971	340	8.6%	£947	£632,717
214	Cambridge	3,986	339	8.5%	£3,549	£4.3m
215	Enfield	6,799	581	8.5%	£2,298	£3.6m
216	Halton	3,546	303	8.5%	£1,449	£1.9m
217	Reading	5,340	453	8.5%	£2,646	£4.1m
218	Solihull	4,945	421	8.5%	£1,512	£1.7m
219	Stockton-on-Tees	5,456	466	8.5%	£1,406	£2.4m
220	Surrey Heath	2,762	236	8.5%	£1,642	£1.2m
221	Three Rivers	1,912	163	8.5%	£3,256	£758,855
222	Birmingham	45,073	3,773	8.4%	£1,400	£17.0m
223	Brighton & Hove	11,139	937	8.4%	£1,432	£3.7m
224	Broxbourne	2,200	184	8.4%	£3,816	£1.3m
225	Derbyshire Dales	4,274	358	8.4%	£745	£502,360
226	Isle of Wight	7,278	611	8.4%	£884	£905,017
227	Southwark	12,171	1,021	8.4%	£3,701	£9.4m
228	Colchester	5,838	484	8.3%	£1,561	£2.1m
229	Northumberland	13,084	1,083	8.3%	£918	£2.3m
230	St Albans	3,656	303	8.3%	£2,354	£1.5m
231	Westminster	33,936	2,801	8.3%	£8,496	£85.9m
232	Westmorland and Furness	13,870	1,148	8.3%	£903	£2.1m
233	Bromley	7,003	573	8.2%	£2,345	£2.8m
234	Camden	17,546	1,437	8.2%	£5,584	£36.3m
235	Richmond upon Thames	5,356	437	8.2%	£2,143	£2.3m
236	Spelthorne	2,263	186	8.2%	£2,283	£1.5m
237	Canterbury	6,163	500	8.1%	£1,366	£1.7m
238	Castle Point	1,982	161	8.1%	£1,318	£380,824
239	Harrow	5,411	434	8%	£1,276	£1.3m
240	South Staffordshire	2,551	203	8%	£1,086	£1.1m
241	Brent	8,848	701	7.9%	£2,391	£5.1m
242	Hounslow	7,447	592	7.9%	£2,859	£5.2m
243	Rushmoor	2,510	198	7.9%	£1,801	£1.8m
244	Thanet	5,427	431	7.9%	£1,162	£1.2m
245	Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole	15,567	1,214	7.8%	£1,295	£6.1m
246	Havant	3,044	236	7.8%	£2,161	£1.4m
247	Liverpool	18,593	1,454	7.8%	£1,269	£5.2m
248	Torbay	5,253	412	7.8%	£905	£913,426
249	Sutton	3,716	286	7.7%	£2,543	£2.6m
250	Wandsworth	8,031	616	7.7%	£2,423	£5.5m
251	Portsmouth City	6,476	489	7.6%	£1,984	£2.2m
252	Sunderland	7,760	588	7.6%	£1,092	£2.4m
253	Cotswold	5,176	389	7.5%	£1,473	£1.1m
254	Dartford	3,294	246	7.5%	£2,626	£1.7m
255	East Lindsey	6,469	483	7.5%	£878	£804,815
256	Newcastle under Lyme	3,326	249	7.5%	£1,413	£1.1m
257	Woking	2,696	202	7.5%	£2,341	£977,200
258	Arun	4,596	339	7.4%	£1,115	£897,614
259	Cornwall	34,207	2,532	7.4%	£892	£5.4m
260	Lambeth	8,627	636	7.4%	£2,655	£5.2m
261	Rossendale	2,649	197	7.4%	£1,060	£312,006
262	Barnet	7,762	567	7.3%	£1,404	£2.5m
263	Barnsley	8,566	626	7.3%	£1,018	£2.0m
264	City of York	6,645	482	7.3%	£1,507	£2.0m
265	Greenwich	5,800	425	7.3%	£1,808	£2.0m
266	Great Yarmouth	4,749	341	7.2%	£855	£718,344
267	Kensington & Chelsea	8,436	609	7.2%	£3,825	£7.1m
268	Middlesbrough	4,364	314	7.2%	£1,232	£705,389
269	Oxford	4,186	300	7.2%	£2,177	£1.9m
270	Rother	4,295	309	7.2%	£886	£527,325
271	Tower Hamlets	17,392	1,257	7.2%	£1,838	£20.9m
272	North Norfolk	7,455	528	7.1%	£791	£566,744
273	North Tyneside	6,075	432	7.1%	£1,095	£1.5m
274	Eastbourne	2,973	204	6.9%	£1,327	£632,560
275	Torridge	3,531	242	6.9%	£743	£256,161
276	Waltham Forest	6,655	457	6.9%	£1,522	£2.2m
277	Redbridge	6,496	442	6.8%	£1,003	£1.1m
278	North Devon	5,917	395	6.7%	£900	£838,712
279	Watford	2,827	188	6.7%	£3,990	£1.7m
280	Blackpool	6,268	415	6.6%	£1,028	£1.2m
281	Haringey	7,082	467	6.6%	£1,507	£2.4m
282	Tendring	8,253	547	6.6%	£880	£783,153
283	Adur	2,194	140	6.4%	£1,782	£606,658
284	West Devon	2,202	141	6.4%	£792	£139,581
285	Croydon	7,848	494	6.3%	£2,647	£4.3m
286	Luton	5,311	336	6.3%	£1,848	£2.3m
287	Newham	7,700	486	6.3%	£2,145	£3.1m
288	South Tyneside	3,582	225	6.3%	£1,203	£769,177
289	Worthing	3,171	200	6.3%	£1,104	£552,734
290	Epsom & Ewell	1,652	101	6.1%	£1,973	£409,204
291	Hammersmith & Fulham	9,108	552	6.1%	£3,391	£4.6m
292	Lewisham	5,928	361	6.1%	£1,683	£1.7m
293	Stevenage	2,116	112	5.3%	£2,302	£1.1m
294	Barking & Dagenham	4,353	226	5.2%	£1,338	£953,410
295	Cheshire East	14,431	604	4.2%	£1,289	£2.2m
296	Isles of Scilly	500	10	2%	£468	£5,327

6 August 2026 · Source: VOA / businessratechecker.com

How this is worked out

Every rateable property in England

1,880,334 properties from the VOA 2026 Rating List (England), refreshed several times a week.

Compared on a rate per square metre

Each property is measured against genuine comparables — same use class, same valuation scheme, nearby — rather than on its headline rateable value.

Flagged where it sits above its peers

Properties meaningfully above the comparable median are flagged as overpaying. The reclaim figure is what a successful alignment to that median would be worth in a year.

Aggregated to the billing authority

Authority totals are the sum of their flagged properties. The claim figure quoted is the median, not the mean — a handful of very large properties would otherwise distort it.

What this is not

Not a valuation. A flag means the published evidence merits a closer look, not that a property is definitely over-assessed.
Not a guarantee. Challenges fail, and a rateable value can rise on review as well as fall.
Not endorsed by the VOA or HMRC. We use published rating-list data under licence; they do not verify this analysis.
England only. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland run separate rating systems.
Pubs and most hospitality venues are excluded — they are valued on trade rather than floor area, so a per-square-metre comparison does not apply.

Using this data

Free to read and free to quote. Please cite businessratechecker.com and link to this page. The CSV carries every authority with the same columns as the table above, and the figures are as at 6 August 2026 against the VOA 2026 Rating List (England).

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