Finance
Commercial Rates Revaluation & the Local Authority
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Revaluation?
Who is responsible for Revaluation?
Why did the Commissioner of Valuation initiate the Revaluation process?
Who are the Valuation Office?
The Valuation date of the 30th September 2005 is surely irrelevant having regard to downturn in the market?
How Does This Distribution Of Rates Liability Work?
Will the revaluation process increase my rates bill?
What if I already made “representations” when the proposed Valuation Certificates issued last year?
I have received my Final Valuation Certificate from the Valuation Office. What should I do now?
What if I am still unhappy with my valuation after this appeal?
Is the Valuation Tribunal’s decision final?
Did the Council financially benefit from Revaluation?
Under the legislation, I understand that the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government imposed a limit on Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown’s rates income for this year. Can you clarify?
Who do I contact if I have a query on my rates bill?
A revaluation is the production of an up-to-date Valuation List of all commercial and industrial property, within a rating authority area, by reference to property rental values at the specified valuation date, which, in the case of the Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown area, was the 30th September 2005. Revaluation will result in a redistribution of commercial rates liability between ratepayers.
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Who is responsible for Revaluation?
The Commissioner of Valuation initiated the Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown revaluation in accordance with the powers vested in him under the Valuation Act 2001, after the required statutory consultation with both the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government and Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council. He made a Valuation Order on the 27th of June 2008 which started the process in the County of Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown.
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Why did the Commissioner of Valuation initiate the Revaluation process?
The former Valuation Lists did not reflect the major shifts in property values that have occurred over the years. The Commissioner sought to bring more equity, fairness and transparency into the Local Authority rating system by having valuations in line with more up to date property rental values. This is to ensure Local Authority commercial rates are assessed on the basis of an up-to-date list of valuations of commercial and industrial properties.
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The Valuation Office is the State property valuation agency. The core business of the Valuation Office is the provision of accurate, up to date valuations of commercial and industrial properties to ratepayers and rating authorities as laid down by statute (principally the Valuation Act 2001).
The Office also provides consultancy services to other Government Departments, Local Authorities, Health Boards and the Revenue Commissioners. For more information on the Valuation Office, please visit their website www.valoff.ie/
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The Valuation date of the 30th September 2005 is surely irrelevant having regard to downturn in the market?
Nobody could be blamed for reaching that conclusion. The follow on to this is that ratepayers will think their rates assessment is higher than it should be because their rental values have now dropped. This is not the case. The base valuation date is largely irrelevant as the Council’s multiplier (the ARV) is altered to ensure the same levels of rates are payable, regardless of the Valuation date.
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How Does This Distribution Of Rates Liability Work?
An example is the best way to explain this. Look at the following:
| Property A | Property B | Property C | Total Rates | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rateable Valuation | €200 | €200 | €200 | |
| ARV – Pre Revaluation | €69.20 | €69.20 | €69.20 | |
| Rates Liability – Pre Revaluation | €13,840 | €13,840 | €13,840 | €41,520 |
| Rental Value | €60,000 | €81,500 | €100,000 | |
| ARV Post Revaluation | €0.170 | €0.170 | €0.170 | |
| Rates Liability After Revaluation | €10,200 | €13,855 | €17,000 | €41,055 |
Before revaluation, each property had the same valuation and the same rates assessment. The total rates take for the Council is €41,520. After revaluation the rateable valuations now reflect the open market rental values (as at the valuation date of the 30th September 2005). You can see, following revaluation, that property A has a decreased rates assessment, property B is virtually unchanged while property C gets an increased assessment. The Council’s overall take is also less.
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Will the revaluation process increase my rates bill?
Revaluation is a distribution of rates liability between Ratepayers. While 60% of Ratepayers will have a decease or no change in their rates assessment this year, 40% unfortunately will have an increased assessment following revaluation and if you are in this bracket it is important that you are aware of your right of appeal - you have up until the 8th February 2011 to exercise this right.
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What if I already made “representations” when the proposed Valuation Certificates issued last year?
The Commissioner of Valuation considered over 2,200 individual representations from ratepayers before issuing his final Valuation Certificates. If you already made representations that have been determined by the Commissioner, you still have the right of appeal. However you should bear in mind that the Commissioner would have taken into account the matters raised by you in your representations prior to issuing a final Valuation Certificate.
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I have received my Final Valuation Certificate from the Valuation Office. What should I do now?
You should examine all of the documentation sent to you by the Valuation Office, particularly the extract from the Valuer’s Report, and ensure you are satisfied that it is correct. You will also have received from the Council a letter in January indicating your rates liability for 2011, the valuation of your property and the latest date for submission of appeals.
As part of the revaluation process, draft Valuation Certificates were issued to Ratepayers in June and September of last year. At that time, ratepayers were invited to make representations to the Commissioner of Valuation. Over 2,200 ratepayers made representations. Any representations made were taken into consideration by the Commissioner prior to the issue of final Valuation Certificates.
If you are dissatisfied with the Commissioner’s determination of your valuation, you can appeal his decision. You have up until the 8th February 2011 to make your appeal. The Commissioner of Valuation will consider your appeal and make a decision within 6 months of receiving the appeal.
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What if I am still unhappy with my valuation after this appeal?
There is a further right of appeal to the Valuation Tribunal. To be valid, an appeal to the Valuation Tribunal must follow the determination of the initial appeal by the Commissioner of Valuation. It must be in writing and must specify the grounds of appeal. The appeal must be made within 28 days and must be accompanied by the appropriate fee. For more information on the Valuation Tribunal visit www.valuation-trib.ie/
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Is the Valuation Tribunal’s decision final?
The decision of the Valuation Tribunal is final on the amount of the valuation. However, there is a further right of appeal to the High Court on a point of law and ultimately to the Supreme Court.
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Where can I get further information on my valuation or the revaluation process?
Should you have any further queries you can email revalinfo@valoff.ie or call (01) 817 1033. Locall 1890 531 431 or visit the Valuation Office website at www.valoff.ie/revaluation.html.
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I had heard that the Council had reduced its “rate” by 2% but yet many ratepayers have had an increase in their rates assessment for this year. Why is this?
The “rate” is normally the term associated with the ARV which is determined by the Council. We cannot compare the ARV for 2011 (€0.170) with that for 2010 (€69.20) as the ARV for 2011 is really a starting point following revaluation.
As with any exercise of the nature of a general revaluation of commercial properties certain categories of Ratepayers will enjoy a net gain, others will not. And even within those categories of properties where the overall rates burden will have decreased certain individual properties will show an increase in their rates liability. The revaluation process, undertaken by the Commissioner of Valuation in accordance with legislation, has resulted in 56% of ratepayers enjoying decreased rates bills, 4% seeing no change & 40% unfortunately having an increased bill.
What the Council has done in recognition of the difficulties re-valuation has caused many Ratepayers is to drop its rates income from what it could have been (€91.3m), as provided for in the revaluation legislation, to €88.9m, a decrease of 2.6% which has had the effect of bringing the ARV down to €0.170 instead of the higher figure permissible under the legislation of €0.174.
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Will the revaluation increase the commercial rates income for Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council?
No. The Valuation Act 2001 provides that the rates income collectible by a Council in the year immediately following revaluation cannot exceed the previous year’s rates income other than by the increase attributable to inflation. If the Council had adopted an ARV allowed for under the legislation the ARV in 2011 would have been €.0174. However, Members adopted an ARV of €0.170, 2.3% less than that permissible under the legislation. Furthermore, the Council has suffered a significant financial loss attributable to the Re-Valuation process arising from the necessity to make provision for any potential losses arising from appeals to the Valuation Office/Valuation Tribunal in 2011. It can therefore be seen that the Council did not benefit in any financial manner from the Re-Valuation process and in actuality Re-Valuation has resulted in a very significant negative impact on the Council’s finances.
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The ARV in 2010 was €69.20. This year it is €0.170. Why such a difference?
The reason for this is due to the revaluation process (Explained further below). In 2010 the total rateable valuation of all property in the Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown area was approximately €1,287,000. The Council’s required rates income for the year was €89,060,500 giving an ARV (multiplier) of €69.20 (€89,060,500/ €1,287,000 = €69.20).
Under revaluation all valuations increased to reflect open market rental values at the 30th September 2005. This means that in 2011 the total valuation of all properties in the Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown area is €523,206,100. The Council’s required rates income for the year is €88,899,100 giving an ARV (multiplier) of €0.170 (€88,899,100/ €523,206,100 = €0.170).
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Did the Council financially benefit from Revaluation?
As outlined in the previous paragraph the Valuation Act 2001 provides that the rates income collectible by a Council in the year immediately following revaluation cannot exceed the previous year’s rates income other than by the increase attributable to inflation. If the Council had adopted an ARV allowed for under the legislation the ARV in 2011 would have been €.0174.
However, Members adopted an ARV of €0.170, 2.3% less than that permissible under the legislation. Furthermore, the Council has suffered a significant financial loss attributable to the Re-Valuation process arising from the necessity to make provision for any potential losses arising from appeals to the Valuation Office/Valuation Tribunal in 2011. It can therefore be seen that the Council did not benefit in any financial manner from the Re-Valuation process and in actuality Re-Valuation has resulted in a very significant negative impact on the Council’s finances.
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Under the legislation, I understand that the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government imposed a limit on Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown’s rates income for this year. Can you clarify?
This is correct. Under the Valuation Act 2001 (S.56), the Minister made a Limitation Order the effect of which was to allow for an increase in the Council’s rates income taking account of inflation using the CPI index year on year. It meant the maximum ARV the Council could fix in 2011 was €0.174. The Council’s budgetary objective was to try and limit the impact of revaluation on those ratepayers whose valuations increased. The Council decided therefore to reduce the ARV from that permissible to €0.170. This meant the Council had to make further cost savings of €2.3m to fund the reduction in the ARV in order to present a balanced budget.
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Who do I contact if I have a query on my rates bill?
Ratepayers should contact the Rate Collector for their area. Ratepayers can also contact the Rates Office at 01-2054821 or email rates@dlrcoco.ie
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Blackrock/Dún Laoghaire/Stillorgan
P.J. Meagher is acting as Rate Collector for the area from the County boundary with Dublin City to the centre of Dún Laoghaire. His areas include Booterstown, Blackrock, Monkstown, Part of Dún Laoghaire from the Monkstown towards Royal Marine Road and Stillorgan/Clonskeagh. He can be contacted at (01) 205 4798 or 086 8585867 or via e-mail at pjmeagher@dlrcoco.ie.
Dún Laoghaire/Shankill
Emma Hynes is the Rate Collector for the area from the centre of Dún Laoghaire to the County boundary with Bray. Her areas include part of Dún Laoghaire from Royal Marine Road towards Glasthule, Glasthule, Dalkey, Shankill, Cherrywood, Foxrock. She can be contacted at (01) 205 4895 or 086 0204632 or via e-mail at ehynes@dlrcoco.ie.
Dundrum/Sandyford
Barbara Hanney is the Rate Collector for the west side of the County. Her areas include Dundrum, Stillorgan, Sandyford, Rathfarnham and Churchtown. She can be contacted at (01) 204 7088 or 086 1714135 or via e-mail at bhanney@dlrcoco.ie.
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