What is rateable value?
Rateable value is the Valuation Office’s estimate of the yearly rent your business property could have been let for on the open market on 1 April 2024. It isn’t your bill: your council multiplies it by a multiplier (for example 43.2p in England) and takes off reliefs.
How it’s calculated
For most shops, offices, workshops and warehouses, the Valuation Office uses rental evidence to set a price per m², then multiplies by the floor area of each part of the property. The result is published as a summary valuation.
Shops: Zone A
Shop sales space is usually “zoned”: the first 6.1 metres back from the shop front (Zone A) carries the full rate, the next 6.1 metres (Zone B) usually half, then a quarter, and the remainder less. That’s why rates are often quoted “£ per m² Zone A”. Two shops of the same size can have very different values if one is deeper and narrower.
Offices and industrial
Usually one overall price per m² for each floor or type of space (for example office, storage, workshop), plus extras such as parking.
Pubs, hotels and specialist property
Valued with reference to what the business could be expected to trade, or other specialist methods. Comparing price per m² doesn’t work for these; a RICS-regulated surveyor is the right route.
From rateable value to bill
Bill = rateable value × multiplier − reliefs. A shop with a rateable value of £20,000 eligible for the retail, hospitality and leisure multiplier: £20,000 × 38.2p = £7,640 a year before any relief. Try the calculator.
How to query it
Wrong facts are fixed with a Check; a value out of line with comparable properties needs a Challenge with evidence. Both are free on GOV.UK. How to challenge your business rates.
Compare your 2026 rateable value with similar properties nearby. About 30 seconds, no sign-up, no card.
Questions
What does rateable value mean?
It is the Valuation Office’s estimate of the open market yearly rent a business property could have been let for on a set date. For the 2026 rating list that date is 1 April 2024.
Is rateable value the same as my business rates bill?
No. Your council multiplies the rateable value by a multiplier, then deducts any reliefs. For example, £20,000 × 38.2p = £7,640 a year before relief for an eligible retail, hospitality or leisure property in England.
What is Zone A?
For shops, Zone A is the first 6.1 metres of sales space back from the shop front, valued at the full rate per m². Space further back is valued at reducing fractions of that rate.
How often does rateable value change?
At each revaluation, usually every three years. The current list started on 1 April 2026 and runs to 31 March 2029. It can also change after a Check or Challenge, or if the property changes.
- GOV.UK: How your rates are calculated
- GOV.UK: How non-domestic property is valued
- GOV.UK: Estimate your business rates
Checked against GOV.UK and Business Wales on 13 October 2026. Rules change; if anything differs, GOV.UK and your council are right. Rightly Rated is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Valuation Office, HMRC or any council.
Rightly Rated is a self-serve evidence tool, not a rating surveyor or adviser. Figures come from the Valuation Office’s published 2026 rating list and from what you tell us. We do not act for you with the Valuation Office, and a challenge can lower, keep or raise a rateable value.