Valuation (Amendment) Act 2015

1. Definition

1. In this Act “Principal Act” means the Valuation Act 2001.

2. Amendment of section 3 of Principal Act

2. Section 3 of the Principal Act is amended—

(a) by substituting for the definition of “charitable organisation” the following:

“‘charitable organisation’ means a charitable organisation within the meaning of section 2 of the Charities Act 2009 that is entered in the register of charitable organisations pursuant to Part 3 of that Act;”,

(b) by inserting, after the definition of “domestic premises” the following:

“‘effective date’ has the meaning assigned to it by section 21;”,

(c) by inserting, after the definition of “global valuation certificate”, the following:

“‘initial valuation’ means the valuation submitted by the occupier in relation to a property pursuant to regulations made under section 26B;”,

(d) by substituting for the definition of “material change of circumstances” the following:

“‘material change of circumstances’ means a change of circumstances that consists of—

(a) the coming into being of a newly erected or newly constructed relevant property or of a relevant property, or

(b) a change in the value of a relevant property caused by—

(i) the making of structural alterations to that relevant property, or

(ii) the total or partial destruction of any building or other erection which forms part of that relevant property, by fire or any other physical cause,

or

(c) the happening of any event whereby any property or part of any property begins, or ceases, to be treated as a relevant property, or

(d) the happening of any event whereby any relevant property begins, or ceases, to be treated as property falling within Schedule 4, or

(e) property previously valued as a single relevant property becoming liable to be valued as 2 or more relevant properties, or

(f) property previously valued as 2 or more relevant properties becoming liable to be valued as a single relevant property, or

(g) the fact that relevant property has been moved or transferred from the jurisdiction of one rating authority to another rating authority, or

(h) relevant property or part of any relevant property becoming licensed or ceasing to be licensed under the Licensing Acts 1833 to 2011;”,

(e) by inserting, after the definition of “occupier”, the following:

“‘officer of the Commissioner’ means—

(a) a person who is an officer of the Commissioner, or

(b) a person who is empowered, by virtue of arrangements entered into under section 9(11), to perform functions or portions of functions under this Act;”,

(f) by substituting for the definition of “rating authority” (inserted by the Local Government Reform Act 2014) the following:

“‘rating authority’ means each of the following:

(a) a county council;

(b) a city council;

(c) a city and county council;

(d) Inland Fisheries Ireland;”,

(g) in the definition of “rating authority area”, by substituting “and in the case of Inland Fisheries Ireland, its functional area is the State and its territorial waters, and cognate expressions shall be construed accordingly” for “, and cognate expressions shall be construed accordingly”,

(h) by deleting the definition of “revision officer”,

(i) by inserting, after the definition of “repealed enactments”, the following:

“‘revision manager’ has the meaning assigned to it by subsections (2)(a) and (3) of section 28;”,

(j) in the definition of “value”—

(i) in paragraph (a), by deleting “specified in paragraph 1(o) of that Schedule or”, and

(ii) by deleting paragraph (b).

3. Amendment of section 4 of Principal Act

3. Section 4 of the Principal Act is amended by substituting for subsection (1)(b) the following:

“(b) an appeal made to the Tribunal under section 34, or”.

4. Amendment of section 9 of Principal Act

4. Section 9(11) of the Principal Act is amended by substituting for “under this Act” the following:

“under this Act, including the entering into arrangements with persons (other than officers of the Commissioner) to perform such functions or portions of such functions, including with respect to different classes of relevant properties or different geographical areas within rating authority areas”.

5. Amendment of section 13 of Principal Act

5. Section 13 of the Principal Act is amended—

(a) by inserting “(1) ” before “The Commissioner”, and

(b) by inserting after subsection (1) the following:

“(2) Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1) or section 19(5), where the Commissioner is satisfied that it is appropriate to do so, the net annual value of particular properties or classes of properties may be determined using general market data, or aggregated data (including data derived from statistical and computer-aided techniques), that are likely to be representative of a particular class of properties.”.

6. Amendment of section 17 of Principal Act

6. Section 17 of the Principal Act is amended by substituting for subsections (2) and (3) the following:

“(2) Notwithstanding subsection (1), for the purposes of any valuation falling to be made under this Act, an officer may, if he or she thinks it proper to do so having regard to the circumstances of the matter—

(a) value or cause to be valued contiguous relevant properties that are occupied by one person as a single relevant property even though those properties are held under different titles, and

(b) if a relevant property comprises 2 or more parts capable of being occupied separately, value or cause to be valued the several parts as separate relevant properties even though those parts are occupied by the one person.

(3) Notwithstanding subsection (1), for the purposes of any valuation falling to be made under this Act, in the case of non-contiguous relevant properties that are occupied by the one person an officer may value or cause to be valued those properties as a single relevant property if, in the opinion of the officer, a valuation that reflects those properties’ true economic nature cannot be arrived at (because of the particular character of those properties) without treating them in that manner.

(4) Where the officer values or causes to be valued relevant properties or, as the case may be, parts of a relevant property in the manner referred to in subsection (2) or (3), the relevant properties or parts shall be treated as a single relevant property or, as the case may be, separate relevant properties for all the other purposes of this Act.

(5) In subsections (2) to (4) ‘officer’ means a valuation manager or a revision manager.”.

7. Amendment of section 19 of Principal Act

7. Section 19 of the Principal Act is amended—

(a) by substituting for subsections (1) and (2) the following:

“(1) The Commissioner, after consultation with the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government and the rating authority concerned, may make an order (in this Act referred to as a ‘valuation order’) specifying a rating authority area as being an area in relation to which the Commissioner proposes to appoint a person under subsection (2) to organise and secure the carrying out of a valuation of relevant property situate in that area (other than any property specified in paragraph (a) or (b) of that subsection).

(1A) A valuation order may specify that the valuation of a rating authority area, or a portion thereof, shall be carried out in accordance with regulations made under section 26B.

(2) As soon as may be after the making of a valuation order, the Commissioner shall appoint a person to organise and secure the carrying out of a valuation of every relevant property on the valuation list or existing valuation list situate in the rating authority area specified in the order and any relevant property entered on that list between the making of the valuation order and the publication of the list, other than—

(a) any relevant property the subject of an order under section 53, or

(b) any relevant property specified in Schedule 4.”,

and

(b) by substituting for subsections (3) and (4) the following:

“(3) The person so appointed is referred to in this Act as a ‘valuation manager’.

(4) For the purposes of subsection (2) a valuation manager shall, in accordance with subsection (5), arrange for—

(a) the carrying out of a valuation of each property concerned by one or more officers of the Commissioner (who may include that valuation manager), and

(b) the drawing up and compilation of a valuation list for the rating authority area concerned.

(5) The valuation list as referred to in this section shall be drawn up and compiled by reference to relevant market data and other relevant data available on or before the date of issue of the valuation certificates concerned, and shall achieve both (insofar as is reasonably practicable)—

(a) correctness of value, and

(b) equity and uniformity of value between properties on that valuation list,

and so that (as regards the matters referred to in paragraph (b)) the value of each property on that valuation list is relative to the value of other properties comparable to that property on that valuation list in the rating authority area concerned or, if no such comparable properties exist, is relative to the value of other properties on that valuation list in that rating authority area.

(6) Where the person proposed under subsection (1) is not an officer of the Commissioner, the Commissioner may, with the consent of the Minister, enter into an arrangement (with such conditions as may be agreed between the parties) with that person (who may be assisted by other persons) to perform that function.

(7) Where subsection (5) applies and the Commissioner considers it appropriate, an officer of the Commissioner may assist the valuation manager.”.

8. Amendment of section 21 of Principal Act

8. Section 21 of the Principal Act is amended—

(a) by substituting for subsection (1) the following:

“(1) A valuation order shall specify—

(a) a date (in this Act referred to as the ‘publication date’) on which the Commissioner proposes to cause to be published under section 23 a list comprising every relevant property that has been the subject of the valuation mentioned in the order, and the value of that property as determined by that valuation, and

(b) a date (in this Act referred to as the ‘effective date’) on which that list becomes effective for rates purposes.”,

(b) in subsection (3), by substituting “The publication date” for “The date”, and

(c) in subsection (4), by inserting “or a different effective date for the effective date specified therein” after “the publication date specified therein”.

9. Amendment of section 23 of Principal Act

9. Section 23 of the Principal Act is amended in subsection (3) by substituting “On the effective date” for “On being so published”.

10. Amendment of section 24 of Principal Act

10. Section 24 of the Principal Act is amended by inserting after subsection (2) the following:

“(3) Without prejudice to subsection (1), the valuation manager may, at any time prior to the publication date, amend a valuation certificate so as to correct any error (including any electronic error) therein.”.

11. Amendment of section 26 of Principal Act

11. Section 26 of the Principal Act is amended—

(a) in subsection (1), by deleting “not less than 3 months”,

(b) in subsection (2), by substituting “within 40 days from the date of the issue of the notice to him or her, if he or she is dissatisfied with the value proposed to be stated, or any other material particular stated,” for “within 28 days from the date of the issue of the notice to him or her, if he or she is dissatisfied with any material particular stated”, and

(c) by substituting for subsection (3) the following:

“(3) Without prejudice to subsections (4) to (6), the valuation manager referred to in subsection (1) may—

(a) having considered or caused to be considered any representations made to him or her by an occupier under and in accordance with subsection (2), or

(b) in the absence of any such representations, of his or her own volition,

if he or she thinks it appropriate to do so, cause the terms of the valuation certificate referred to in subsection (1) to be amended.

(4) Notwithstanding anything in the preceding subsections and, in particular the fact (if such be the case) that the powers under subsection (3) have been exercised in relation to the certificate referred to in subsection (1), the valuation manager referred to in subsection (1) may where, in his or her opinion, it is necessary or expedient to do so, cause that certificate to be replaced with a new proposed certificate.

(5) Without prejudice to subsection (4), in the case of—

(a) a single property, the subject of a certificate referred to in subsection (1), that is subsequently subdivided into 2 or more properties, or

(b) 2 or more properties, each of which is the subject of such a certificate, that are subsequently amalgamated,

the valuation manager referred to in subsection (1) may cause the foregoing certificate or, as the case may be, each foregoing certificate to be replaced with, as the case may be—

(i) 2, or more than 2, proposed new certificates, or

(ii) a single new proposed certificate.

(6) Where the power under subsection (4) or (5) is exercised, then the valuation manager shall permit the occupier of the property concerned (or, in the case of a subdivision, the occupier of each property concerned) to make, to the same extent as is mentioned in subsection (2), representations to the valuation manager in relation to the terms of the proposed new certificate or certificates; where such representations are made a like power to that under subsection (3) is available to the valuation manager, having considered or caused to be considered those representations, to cause the terms of the certificate (or, as the case may be, of any of the certificates) to be amended.

(7) For the avoidance of doubt, any power conferred by this section to cause the terms of one or more certificates to be amended, or one or more certificates to be replaced, extends to providing for, as appropriate—

(a) an increase in the value of the relevant property stated in the certificate concerned, or

(b) the specification in the replacement certificate of a higher value in respect of the relevant property than that was specified in respect of it in the previous certificate,

in addition to such power extending to providing for a decrease in such value or the specification in the replacement certificate of a lower value.

(8) Following the valuation manager’s exercise or, as the case may be, final exercise of the powers under this section in relation to the relevant property concerned, he or she shall cause the appropriate valuation certificate under section 24 to be issued to the occupier concerned.”.

12. Occupier assisted valuation

12. The Principal Act is amended by inserting after Part 5 the following:

“PART 5A

Occupier Assisted Valuation

Definition (Part 5A)

26A. In this Part ‘accurate’, in relation to a valuation, means a valuation that correctly estimates the net annual value of the property concerned.

Regulations may provide for occupier assisted valuation

26B. (1) The Minister may make regulations providing for the carrying out of the valuation, or the taking of one or more of the steps that comprise such valuation, of relevant properties under this Act within one or more rating authority areas by the occupier of each property concerned and the procedure to be followed for those purposes.

(2) Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1), regulations under this section may provide for any or all of the following:

(a) the issuing of guidelines by the Commissioner to the occupier regarding submission of valuations (including submission by electronic means) and other matters under this Part ;

(b) the notice to be sent to the occupier regarding the requirements under such regulations;

(c) the submission by the occupier to the Commissioner of such particulars of the relevant property as the Commissioner considers appropriate;

(d) the submission by the occupier to the Commissioner of his or her valuation in respect of his or her property;

(e) the deadline by which the valuation shall be submitted by the occupier, or by his or her agent, to the Commissioner, including provision for extensions to the deadline in cases in which such submission is made by electronic means;

(f) the records that the occupier shall be required to keep of the basis upon which the valuation was submitted;

(g) the length of time the occupier shall be required to keep records of the basis upon which the valuation was submitted;

(h) the forms to be used by the occupier for the submission of his or her valuation;

(i) the specification of classes of properties that shall be, or shall not be, the subject of valuation under the regulations;

(j) the specification of geographical areas within the rating authority area that shall be, or shall not be, the subject of valuation under the regulations.

(3) Regulations made under this section may be—

(a) general in nature and apply to all valuation orders where section 19(1A) applies,

(b) specific to a particular valuation order, or

(c) specific to certain components of a particular valuation or to certain of the steps that comprise a particular valuation.

Act to apply

26C. Where section 19(1A) applies and regulations have been made under section 26B—

(a) this Part shall apply, and

(b) the other Parts of this Act shall apply with any necessary modifications,

and, accordingly, a valuation list published under section 23 may include property to which this Part applies.

Functions of officer of Commissioner under occupier assisted valuation

26D. (1) Where an occupier has submitted an initial valuation, an officer of the Commissioner may, at any time prior to the publication date —

(a) without prejudice to any other powers (including the powers under Part 10) so enabling the officer in that regard, make such enquiries or require the production of such information or records as he or she may require to satisfy himself or herself that the initial valuation submitted was accurate, and

(b) substitute his or her own valuation, issue a valuation certificate to that effect and enter that valuation on the valuation list, if he or she forms the view that the initial valuation has not been made in accordance with this Act and regulations made under it.

(2) Where the occupier of a property—

(a) submits a valuation that, in the opinion of the officer, is not accurate, or

(b) fails to duly submit a valuation by the deadline provided,