Rateable Value Cuts Slow in October, but the Median Cut Is the Deepest Yet; Havering Leads the Way

The Valuation OfficeThe government body that sets every property's Rateable Value. From April 2026 the VOA is part of HMRC (see below), but 'VOA' is still the common name for the valuation side of the work. cut more rateable valuesThe official estimate of a property's annual rental value on a fixed valuation date. Your rates bill is based on this figure, not on what you actually pay in rent. than it raised for the fourth month running in October, but by far less than before. In England the net fall was £1.04m, against £9.08m in September, £6.57m in August and £4.10m in July. Including Wales, which joins our monthly figures this month, October's net reduction was £1.22m.

The slowdown is in the pounds, not in the number of properties cut. 1,217 properties had their rateable value cut in October against 618 raised, almost the same balance as September. And the median change for properties that moved was a 5.0% fall, the deepest of the four months. What shrank the total was a small number of large rises, mostly big office buildings in the City of London, which offset most of the cuts.

October's net reduction is worth roughly £0.5m a year in lower business ratesThe tax most non-residential properties in England and Wales pay to their local council, similar to council tax but for shops, offices, warehouses and other business premises. bills, against roughly £3.9m for September's. Rateable values change when a property is altered, split, merged or recategorised, when the Valuation Office corrects its own valuation, or when it gives an allowanceA percentage the VOA takes off your Rateable Value for a drawback similar properties don't have, such as shared access or an awkward layout. Typically 5%. for something that affects the property, such as nearby road works.

What moved in October

Across England and Wales, 2,808 commercial properties had their rateable value reviewed during the month: 1,217 were cut, 618 were raised and 973 came out unchanged. 342 of the 2,808 were in Wales. Rateable value per square metreThe value per square metre used to build up a property's Rateable Value. Comparing your £/m² rate to similar nearby properties is the main way to check whether your RV looks too high. across the amended properties fell 1.59%, and the median change for properties that moved was a 5.0% fall, against 4.55% in September, 3.65% in August and 3.33% in July.

The fall is still widely spread. No single property accounts for more than 5.6% of October's movement, so this is a lot of properties each moving a little, not one building moving a lot.

Where the falls landed

Seven billing authoritiesYour local council — the body that actually sends your bill and collects payment, using the Rateable Value the VOA has set. saw enough movement in October to be ranked. Havering recorded by far the largest net fall, £920,500, and it was as broad as a fall can be: 112 of its 115 amended properties were cut, with a median cut of 11.1%. Birmingham followed at £100,650, then Cornwall at £77,325 and North Yorkshire at £12,750.

Havering's fall is almost entirely road works allowances. The Valuation Office recorded 108 of them in Havering in October, and none anywhere else in England. Most are on industrial estates and warehouse parks in the RM3 postcode area and along the Southend Arterial Road (A127), close to Gallows Corner, where Transport for London has been rebuilding the flyover. The Valuation Office does not say which works an allowance relates to. Floor areas did not change, so these are reductions for disruption, not smaller buildings. If road works have affected access to your own premises, it is worth asking whether an allowance applies.

Westminster, which fell in each of the previous three months, by £4.6m in all, posted a net rise of £813,050 in October. One property accounts for about a third of that movement, and most of its amended properties were still cut (30 of 50), so we publish the cash figure only. Tonbridge and Malling (+£71,300) and Sheffield (+£33,875) were the other two ranked authorities with net rises.

Which property types moved

Licensed clubs are the story for a second month. In September the Valuation Office cut 98 of the 100 clubs it amended. In October it went further: 181 of 185 amended clubs in England were cut, across 85 councils, with a median cut of 59%. That took Assembly & Leisure down £2.50m, its largest monthly fall so far, with 262 properties cut against 57 raised. If you run a licensed sports, social or members' club and your rateable value has not been looked at, compare it against clubs nearby.

Shops fell £1.65m, their third monthly fall in a row, with 287 cut against 135 raised and a median change of −4.2% for shops that moved.

Offices reversed. After falling £16.1m across July to September, office rateable values rose £2.57m in October. That is not a turn in the office market: more offices were cut (163) than raised (77), and the median change for offices that moved was still a 4.7% fall. The rise comes from a handful of large City of London office buildings whose recorded floor area increased. Four of them added £3.9m between them. General Industrial was similar, up £1.17m, although 364 units were cut against 206 raised. Again, the rises were on the bigger buildings.

Cases steady, formal Challenges at a new high

1,735 Check and ChallengeThe three-stage official process for disputing your Rateable Value: 'Check' the facts held about your property, 'Challenge' the valuation with evidence, then 'Appeal' to an independent tribunal if it's still unresolved. cases were recorded in October across 289 councils in England and Wales, broadly in line with September's 1,824. Formal Challenges, the stage after a Check where the ratepayer disputes the valuation itself, rose for a third month running to 94, from 31 in July, 53 in August and 84 in September. That is the most in any month since the new rating list began in April.

Offices led on volume with 660 cases, ahead of Industry (409), Other (366) and Retail (300). By council, the City of London recorded the most cases (148), followed by Westminster (68), Camden (66), Southwark (50) and Leeds (47). Southwark's 50 is more than double its average of about 20 a month over the previous three months, and Leeds's 47 is about double its average of 24.

Rateable value is the figure your bill is calculated from, and the Valuation Office is still cutting it far more often than it raises it, and by more each time. If you think yours is too high, a Check is the first step. A full month-by-month breakdown sits on our monthly movements page.

You don't need to guess. Enter your postcode and we'll compare your rateable value to genuine local comparables in about two minutes.