In a Revaluation year every ratepayer has a right to lodge an appeal but must do so by a fixed deadline. (For the 2017 Revaluation this is 30 September 2017.) New owners, tenants or occupiers may appeal within 6 months of acquiring an interest in a property and where the Assessor alters the Valuation Roll (by making a new entry or changing the rateable value) the appeal must be lodged within 6 months of the date of the Valuation Notice. You may also appeal at any time on the grounds of error or in the event of a material change of circumstances.

If you do not agree with the valuation set for your property you should write to the Assessor to lodge an Appeal. The Assessor or a member of his staff will discuss your Appeal with you and if agreement cannot be reached the Appeal will be cited for a hearing before the local Valuation Appeal Committee. Please remember however that in a Revaluation year large numbers of appeals are lodged and will take time to be dealt with. The statutory timetable for disposal of appeals is set down in The Valuation Timetable (Scotland) Order 1995 (as amended) and fixes 31 December 2021 as the last date for disposal by Valuation Appeal Committees of appeals against the 2017 Revaluation. Different disposal dates are fixed for appeal lodged against revised and new rateable values that are not revaluation values effective from 1 April 2017.

If you are considering seeking independent advice about a valuation appeal the Scottish Government offer the following information.

“You may want to use a rating agent to help you deal with rating issues – for example, if you want to challenge the rateable value of your premises, or check what the likely effect of any changes will be. A local expert may have detailed knowledge of procedures and of any local conditions that might affect rateable values.
Please take care if you are considering seeking independent advice on valuation matters. There are some disreputable rating agents. They may make misleading claims about what they can achieve for you, or tie you into an unfair contract.

Before appointing any agent, you should make sure that you have a clear agreement on what they will do for you. Typically this includes valuing your premises to determine what the rateable value should be. If there are grounds for a reduction, your agent will normally complete the appeal and act as the point of contact with the local Assessor.
Your agreement should clearly state what fees are payable, and whether these are affected if a reduction in your rates liability is not achieved.
Members of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) or the Institute of Revenues, Rating and Valuation (IRRV) must follow a rating consultancy code of practice and are regulated by rules of professional conduct designed to protect the public from malpractice.”

• Valuation Roll - Valuation Appeal Committee Hearing Dates

  Please click below to open the Valuation Appeal Committee Hearing Dates page.

  Valuation Appeal Committee Hearing Dates

• Valuation Appeal Committee

  Although every effort will be made to discuss your appeal with you on an informal basis it may be that this will not be possible because of the number of individual appeals lodged. In such circumstances you will receive a notice of hearing to appear before a Valuation Appeal Committee (VAC). If this happens you will still be able to discuss your appeal with the Assessor or a member of his staff and may be able to resolve the matter. If not the VAC will hear your appeal and the Assessors response.

  Valuation Appeal Committees comprise a chairperson and (usually) between three and six other members, all of whom are drawn from a panel of local people appointed by the Sheriff Principal. They are all unpaid and completely independent of the Assessor and your local council. The VAC hearing your case will have no prior information about your property, the grounds of your appeal or of the Assessors response. They will deal with the appeal on the basis of the evidence that they hear on the day. A paid secretary, who is usually a solicitor and is also appointed by the Sheriff, will assist the VAC. The secretary does not take any part in reaching a decision in your case but is there to advise the VAC on legal matters and may take part in the hearing by, eg asking you (or the Assessor) questions.

  If you think that your appeal is complicated or highly technical or raises major questions of principle or law, you may wish to consult a chartered surveyor or a solicitor with a view to asking the VAC to refer your appeal to the Lands Tribunal for Scotland. Special rules apply to such cases and you would be well advised to seek independent advice. The Assessor will also be able to provide guidance about such appeals and the relevant timetables. The Assessor may also ask to have an appeal referred to the Lands Tribunal.

  Procedures in relation to appeals are set out in detail in “The Valuation Appeal Committee (Procedure in Appeals under the Valuation Acts) (Scotland) Regulations 1995 (SI No 572/1995). Copies may be obtained at main public libraries and can be purchased at HMSO bookshops.

   

• Notice of hearing

  At least 105 days before the VAC is to consider your appeal, the secretary will send you a notice giving details of the date, time and place of the hearing.  Other cases will be sent a notice of hearing for the same date and time and an exact time for your case being called cannot be provided. The Assessor however is involved in every case and will be able to give you informal guidance if you ask. Most cases are in fact resolved by discussion before the hearing and you will be able to discuss all of the details of your case with the Assessor. You need not wait for the notice of hearing to discuss your case and can contact the Assessor at any time. Contact page .

  If you are unable to attend on the appointed date you should contact the secretary as soon as you receive the notice. The VAC will only agree to change the date if it considers that you have a good reason. The VAC can postpone or adjourn a hearing at any time but it will give you as much notice as possible.Please click below to open the appeal citation listing page.

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  Appeal citation listing page

• Material Change of Circumstances

  defined in Section 37(1) of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1975;

  “material change of circumstances” means in relation to any lands and heritages a change of circumstances affecting their value
  (a) and, without prejudice to the foregoing generality, includes any alteration in such lands and heritages, any relevant decision of the Lands Valuation Appeal Court or a valuation appeal committee the members of which are drawn from the valuation appeal panel serving the valuation area in which the lands and heritages are situated or the Lands Tribunal for Scotland under s.1(3A) of the Lands Tribunal Act 1949, and any decision of that Court, committee or Tribunal which alters net annual value or rateable value of any comparable lands and heritages,
  (b) but does not include any change—
  (i) in the rent of the lands and heritages (or any other lands and heritages), or
  (ii) in the level of valuations generally or in the value of lands and heritages generally;

• Error

  Section 3(4) of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1975 provides that an appeal may be made at any time on the grounds “that there is such an error in the entry as is referred to in Section 2(1)(f)” of the Act. Section 2(1)(f) provides;
  “. . . the assessor for any valuation area shall, as respects that area, at any time while the valuation roll is in force, alter the roll to correct any error of measurement, survey or classification or any clerical or arithmetical error in any entry therein;”