The Assessor

The Assessor is responsible for the valuation of both domestic and non domestic properties within one or more Council Areas. A valuation of non domestic properties is undertaken every five years and is referred to as the Revaluation. The Assessor must provide a Valuation Roll listing of these properties, which is available for public inspection.

Council Tax was introduced on 1 April 1993 and based on house prices as at April 1991 as a replacement for the Community Charge (Poll Tax). The Assessor was required to produce a Council Tax Valuation List and to maintain it thereafter. There are currently no plans for a Council Tax Revaluation and all new properties are added to the list on the basis of 1991 levels of valuation.

The functions of the Assessor are different from those of most other Local Government Officers whose duties are to carry out the policies of Authorities, as determined by elected councillors. The Assessor requires to balance the interests of individual ratepayers against those of others, in terms of valuation levels and the independence of the Assessor is necessary to ensure that decisions are made on considerations of value without political pressure. The actions of the Assessor are subject to scrutiny however, through an appeals process which you can read about on this site.