JLL’s rating director, Pete Fullam, says the huge fall in appeals using the government’s Check Challenge Appeal (CCA) system, shows it is simply unfit for purpose.
The extent of the problem is highlighted in recent figures recording a drop in the number of appeals lodged from 220,000 in the 2010 Rating List to 25,000 in 2017.
“The new system is clearly not working,” says Fullam, “It involves a registration process that most are finding incredibly difficult to navigate, meaning a lot of ratepayers aren’t lodging appeals.
“With the last rating list published over 7 years ago, it is even more likely that there is dissatisfaction from ratepayers of their new assessments but the system does not allow them to act, which for some could send them into administration.”
The new Check Challenge System came into effect on April 1 2017 and since then the industry has been calling for change.
Fullam continued: ” Whilst we do see slow changes to business rates and some improvements to the system, more needs to be done to allow ratepayers to challenge their assessment in an easy, timely manner.
“There is a real lack of understanding from the government of how the new system should work and very simply, at the moment, it is failing.
“The aim of stopping spurious appeals has been met but the changes are too far reaching and causing genuine issues for those ratepayers who need their liabilities reduced but don’t have the vehicle to do so.”