Helping you make a Check for factories, workshops and warehouses
Source: gov.uk (2025-03-31)

The VOA wants to help customers provide the right information when making a Check, and the following focuses on how to do this for factories, workshops and warehouses.

When making a Check, you will need to confirm if the details the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) holds about your property are correct. These details should reflect the property as it is when you submit your Check.

You will also need to tell us about any missing or incorrect information which might affect your property’s rateable value.

When proposing any changes to the information we hold you will need to tell us the date of the change and provide supporting evidence – this can include plans, photos and any other relevant documents with your submission.

When making multiple changes as part of your Check, you can upload supporting information in a single document.

We might contact you to discuss information you’ve provided or changes you’ve proposed – for example if we need additional evidence.

If you provide false information in relation to a Challenge, which can include information you provided in the associated Check, you may be charged a penalty. This applies whether you are the owner, occupier or ratepayer.

If you need advice about what information to provide, you can contact us at xxx@xxx.xx (mailto:xxx@xxx.xx).

Further information on Check and Challenge penalties (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/check-and-challenge-penalties) is available.

Help with completing your Check

The following is intended to support you in making an accurate Check and provide the right information.

Factories, workshops and warehouses are typically measured to Gross Internal Area (GIA). Further information on how we measure properties for business rates (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/how-non-domestic-property-including-plant-and-machinery-is-valued#measuring-the-property) is available.

Floor Levels

When confirming floor levels, please treat the floor at street-level as the ground floor.

Heating

If your property has heating, you will need to tell us whether the property is fully or partially heated.

If your property is partially heated, you will need to upload supporting information that explains which areas are heated. For example, your warehouse may have a gas fired space heater, or your offices may benefit from electric storage heaters or hardwired radiators filled with water or oil.

You don’t need to tell us about free-standing plug-in appliances.

Air conditioning and comfort cooling

If your property has air conditioning, you will need to tell us if this covers the whole or only part of the property. If only part of the property has air-conditioning, you will need to tell us which areas are covered in your supporting information.

If your property only has comfort cooling, you will still need to state you have air conditioning as part of your Check submission. You should upload the full specification of your system and the areas it covers in your supporting information.

Generally, air conditioning systems cool, heat, ventilate, and control humidity whilst comfort cooling focuses solely on temperature reduction.

Removing and changing space

Changing the way you use an area does not automatically mean the way we value it would change. For example, if you start using an office area for storage, we would still describe and value it as an office unless you have made physical alterations – for example to the quality of the finish.

If you are proposing changes to the description of any parts of your property you need to provide supporting information showing the change. This must include photos of the areas you’re proposing a change for.

If you are telling us you’ve removed a mezzanine floor from your property which has an area underneath it (described as an ‘area under supported floor’), you will need to tell us what the space is now being used for, for example a workshop or an office.

If you are removing car parking or land from your property, you will need to tell us what has happened to that area, for example, you’ve removed car parking spaces or built on the land. You will need to upload supporting information which may include plans, photos or both. If your property is rented, and you do not know how the areas are now being used, please provide your landlord’s details so that we can check with them.

Plant and Machinery

To help us value your property correctly, we ask you to tell us about relevant plant and machinery.

Plant and machinery can include equipment used by a business for its operations and kept for long term use. This excludes the ‘premises’ (usually land and buildings), and any stock-in-trade which is bought or made for sale.

To be included in the rateable value, plant must be within the current ‘Plant and Machinery Regulations’

Further detailed information can be found in our Rating Manual (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/rating-manual-section-6-part-3-valuation-of-all-property-classes/valuation-of-plant-and-machinery).

Some items of plant and machinery will already be reflected in your valuation, for example air conditioning and heating. Other items might be included in a separate plant and machinery valuation.

To see what plant and machinery information we hold for your property you will need to make a request. You can send your request to xxx@xxx.xx (mailto:xxx@xxx.xx). Please use the subject heading “DVR - P&M only”

When confirming the information we hold about your property, you will also need to tell us about any missing or incorrect items of rateable plant and machinery.

To make it easier to tell us about plant and machinery, we have listed items that are commonly found in factories, workshops and warehouses. We have included the minimum information you need to provide when telling us about any new plant and machinery or changes to existing items.