2019 Case Law Review

In Derby Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and others v Derby City

Council and others, the High Court held that NHS Foundation Trusts were not charities for the purposes of section 43(6) of the Local Government Finance Act 1988 and were, therefore, not entitled to 80% charitable relief on the properties they occupied. 11 out of the original Claimants have applied for leave to appeal to the Court of Appeal.

The case, Stephen G Hughes v Exeter City Council, related to the business rates paid by Exeter Royal Albert Memorial Museum, operated upon a not for profit basis, was heard at the Upper Tribunal which held the museum should not have been valued on the cost of rebuilding, the contractor’s valuation, but valued on net income (receipts and expenditure). Leave to appeal has been sought.

Wigan Football Club Limited v Wayne Cox (VO) was a case where the Upper Tribunal, upheld the decision of the Valuation Tribunal, that relegation of a football club from the Premier League to the Championship and the subsequent relegation to League One did not constitute a material change of circumstances providing grounds for a reduction in rateable value.

Jackson (VO) v Canary Wharf Ltd concerned a number of floors in Canary Wharf’s iconic tower at 1 Canada Square. In a stinging rebuke by the Upper Tribunal, the Valuation Office Agency were reminded that “if premises are not capable of beneficial occupation, they are not a hereditament” for the purpose of business rates.

Andrew Corkish (VO) v Fiona Bigwood related to substantial equestrian facilities, to Olympic standards, which included a large indoor arena for training purposes and a stable block to accommodate at least 28 horses but were never operated as a business. Annexed to a dwelling, the Upper Tribunal, held they were not rateable as they constituted “an appurtenance” to the dwelling and, therefore, domestic.

In Ludgate House Limited v Andrew Ricketts & London Borough of Southwark

the Upper Tribunal dealt with an extremely large, multi storey office on the South Bank which had been vacated awaiting demolition but was occupied by property Guardians who lived in the property as their home. The appeal was allowed finding that, whether the Guardians had licences or tenancies was irrelevant to the question of whether business rates were payable; what mattered was how the property was used. As the property was used wholly for the purposes of living accommodation, the decision of the Valuation Tribunal was overturned finding that council tax, not business rates, was the appropriate tax.