The principal legislation governing the valuation of property for rating purposes in Ireland is the Valuation Act 2001. This Act has been amended on a number of occasions since it came into effect on 1st May 2002.
Administrative consolidation of legislation governing the Valuation Office
The Administrative consolidation of legislation governing the Valuation Office in the related documents below was prepared by the Law Reform Commission in October 2019. The Law Reform Commission updates this administrative consolidation any time there is a change in the legislation. The Valuation Office will endeavour to update the document below with any new versions if and when they become available. The most up to date Law Reform Commission version can also be found here
"Working Consolidation" of Valuation Acts 2001 to 2020
A “working consolidation” of the Valuation Act 2001 and subsequent amendments (up to 12th August 2020) is available here. It is provided by the Commissioner of Valuation as an aid to customers and other stakeholders of the Valuation Office and does not purport to constitute a definitive consolidated text of the legislation. Use of this document is subject to the disclaimer therein.
The authoritative text is set out in the relevant individual Acts, as follows:
- Valuation Act 2001 (No. 13 of 2001)
- Valuation (Amendment) Act 2015 (No. 10 of 2015)
- Local Government (Business Improvement Districts) Act 2006 (No. 42 of 2006)
- Local Government Reform Act 2014 (No. 1 of 2014)
- Health Services Executive (Financial Matters) Act 2014 (No. 17 of 2014)
- Water Services Act 2014 (No. 44 of 2014)
- Courts Act 2016 (No. 22 of 2016)
- Water Services Act 2017 (No. 29 of 2017)
- Local Government Rates and Other Matters Act 2019 (No. 24 of 2019)
- Landlord and Tenant (Ground Rents) (Amendment) Act 2019 (No. 42 of 2019)
- Residential Tenancies and Valuation Act 2020 (No. 7 of 2020)
Amendment of Valuation Acts 2001 to 2019 by Sections 1(3) and 14 of the Residential Tenancies and Valuation Act 2020 (No. 7 of 2020)
The Residential Tenancies and Valuation Act 2020 commenced from Sunday, 2nd August 2020.
Section 1(3) changes the citation of the Valuation Acts to Valuation Acts 2001 to 2020. Section 14 changes the application of Section 25, which arises from the decision to defer the completion of the Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown revaluation to 2021, as follows:
Application of section 25 of Valuation Act 2001
14. (1) Section 25 of the Act of 2001 shall, during the period commencing on the date of the passing of this Act and ending on 31 December 2022, apply in relation to the rating authority area of Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council as if, in subsection (2), the reference to 10 years were a reference to 12 years.
(2) In this section— “Act of 2001” means the Valuation Act 2001; “rating authority area” has the meaning assigned to it by the Act of 2001.
Amendment of Valuation Acts 2001 to 2015 by Sections 6 and 7(3) of the Landlord and Tenant (Ground Rents) (Amendment) Act 2019 (No. 42 of 2019)
The Landlord and Tenant (Ground Rents) (Amendment) Act 2019 commenced from Friday, 17th January 2020.
Sections 6 of the Act inserts new Sections 67A and 67B after the existing Section 67 and 7(3) changes the citation of the Valuation Acts to Valuation Acts 2001 to 2019.
The new Sections 67A and 67B read as follows:
Valuation for certain purposes of property not falling within Schedule 4
67A. (1) The Commissioner may, in relation to property that does not fall within Schedule 4 and for the purposes of condition 2 of section 10 and section 15(1)(d)(i) of the Act of 1978, on application being made to him or her in that behalf by a person who appears to the Commissioner to have a sufficient interest in the matter, cause the value of the property to be determined in accordance with subsection (2).
(2) If the value of a property falls to be determined for the purposes of subsection (1), that determination shall be made by reference to the values of other comparable properties, as appeared on an existing valuation list (as distinct from those that appear on a valuation list published under this Act) relating to the rating authority area in which that property is situate.
(3) The value of the property determined in accordance with subsection (2) shall be deemed to be the rateable valuation of the property for the purposes referred to in subsection (1).
(4) The Commissioner shall issue a certificate stating the value of the property as determined under subsection (2) to the person who made the application under subsection (1).
(5) A reference in this section to a certificate issued by the Commissioner includes a reference to a certificate issued by a person duly authorised by the Commissioner to so issue.
(6) The production to a court or the Property Registration Authority of a certificate issued under subsection (4), purporting to state the value of a property determined under subsection (2), shall, without proof of the signature of the Commissioner or other person duly authorised by the Commissioner, be sufficient evidence, until the contrary is proven, of the matters stated in the certificate.
(7) In this section and section 67B, “Act of 1978” means the Landlord and Tenant (Ground Rents) (No. 2) Act 1978.
Rateable valuation of property for purposes of condition 5 of section 10 of Act of 1978
67B. (1) The Commissioner may, for the purposes of condition 5 of section 10 of the Act of 1978, issue a certified copy extract of a valuation list in existence on the date of the grant of a lease of property to which that condition refers (as distinct from an extract of a valuation list published under this Act) stating the rateable valuation of that property on the date of such grant.
(2) A reference in this section to a certified copy extract of a valuation list includes a reference to a copy extract of a valuation list certified by a person duly authorised by the Commissioner to so certify.
(3) A certified copy extract of a valuation list issued under this section shall, until the contrary is proved, be regarded as a true copy of that extract.
(4) The production to a court or the Property Registration Authority of a certified copy extract of a valuation list issued under subsection (1), purporting to be an extract of a valuation list, shall, without proof of the signature of the Commissioner or other person duly authorised by the Commissioner, be sufficient evidence, until the contrary is proved, of the matters stated in the document.”.
Amendment of Valuation Acts 2001 to 2015 by Section 21 of the Local Government Rates and Other Matters Act 2019 (No. 24 of 2019)
The enactment of Sections 21 (b), (c) and (d) of the Local Government Rates and Other Matters Act 2019 (No. 24 of 2019), which commenced on 15th July 2019, has resulted in a number of amendments to sections 53 and 54 the Valuation Acts 2001 to 2015 and the substitution of a new section 56, as follows:
"56. (1) In this section—
‘appropriate year’ means the financial year immediately following the effective date in relation to the valuation list that, for the time being, stands published in respect of the area of the rating authority concerned;
‘consumer price index number’ means the All Items Consumer Price Index Number compiled by the Central Statistics Office;
‘consumer price index number relevant to the appropriate year’ means the consumer price index number most recently published by the Central Statistics Office before the effective date mentioned in the definition of ‘appropriate year’ in this subsection;
‘consumer price index number relevant to the preceding year’ means the consumer price index number lastly published by the Central Statistics Office before the day that falls 12 months before the day on which the consumer price index number referred to in the preceding definition is published;
‘preceding year’ means the financial year that immediately precedes the financial year mentioned in the definition of ‘appropriate year’ in this subsection.
(2) The Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government shall, with the consent of the Minister for Finance, make an order requiring a rating authority to exercise its powers to make rates in such a manner as to secure that the total amount liable to be paid to it in respect of rates made by it in the appropriate year does not exceed an amount determined by the formula
(A x (B + C) +G) + (A x (H+I))
where
A is the figure specified in subsection (3),
B is the total amount liable to be paid to the rating authority in respect of rates levied by it in respect of relevant property on the existing valuation list (but excluding relevant property on the Central Valuation List in the preceding year), and
C is an amount determined by the formula
D x (E + F)
where
D is the annual rate on valuation that was levied by the rating authority for the preceding year pursuant to section 3 of the Local Government Rates and Other Matters Act 2019,
E is the aggregate valuation of relevant properties in the area that, pursuant to the exercise of a revision officer’s powers under section 28(4)(b) of this Act, were included on the valuation list for the preceding year, as that list was amended for that area in relation to those properties under section 28(10),
F is the aggregate of the increases, if any, in valuations for relevant properties in the area that occurred during the preceding year pursuant to the exercise of a revision officer’s powers under section 28(4)(a) and which exercise resulted in amendments to the valuation list for that preceding year in accordance with section 28(10),
G is an amount to be decided by the Minister in consultation with the Commissioner to represent, in so far as is reasonably practicable, the estimated reduction in the total amount liable to be paid to the rating authority in respect of rates in the appropriate year pursuant to the exercise of the Commissioner’s powers under section 38 so that any amendment of the valuation list pursuant to the Commissioner’s powers under section 38, does not affect the total amount liable to be paid to the rating authority in respect of rates in the appropriate year,
H is the total amount liable to be paid to the rating authority in respect of rates levied by it, in respect of relevant property on the Central Valuation List in the preceding year,
I is an amount determined by the formula
D x (J + K)
where
D is the annual rate on valuation that was levied by the rating authority for the preceding year pursuant to section 3 of the Local Government Rates and Other Matters Act 2019,
J is the aggregate of all global valuation amounts that have been apportioned to the relevant rating authority in accordance with section 53(8), and entered on the Central Valuation List pursuant to the exercise of the Commissioner’s powers under section 53(1) of this Act, during the preceding year, and which exercise resulted in amendments to the Central Valuation List for that preceding year in accordance with section 55,
K is the aggregate of the increases, if any, of the global valuation amounts that have been apportioned to the relevant rating authority in accordance with section 53(8), and entered on the Central Valuation List during the preceding year pursuant to the exercise of the Commissioner’s powers under section 53(6) and which exercise resulted in amendments to the central valuation list for that preceding year in accordance with section 55.
(3) The figure mentioned in subsection (2) is the quotient, rounded up to 3 decimal places, obtained by dividing the consumer price index number relevant to the appropriate year by the consumer price index number relevant to the preceding year.”.
Please note that section 21(a) of the 2019 Act, which amends section 28(14) and inserts a new section 28(15) of the Valuation Acts, has not been commenced and will be commenced separately at a future date to be determined.
Amendment of Valuation Act 2001 by sections 3 and 4 of the Courts Act 2016 (No.22 of 2016)
Subsequent to the September 2016 “Administrative consolidation” prepared by the Law Reform Commission, section 3 of the Courts Act 2016 has amended Section 60 of the Valuation Act 2001, as follows:
Amendment of section 60 of Valuation Act 2001
Section 60 of the Valuation Act 2001 is amended by the insertion, after subsection (2), of the following:
“(3) The production to the Tribunal or a court of a certificate issued pursuant to section 67(4) purporting to state the value of a property determined under section 67(2) by an officer of the Commissioner or other person duly authorised to do so, shall, without proof of the signature of that officer or other person that he or she was duly authorised by the Commissioner to so certify, be sufficient evidence, until the contrary is proved, of the matters stated in the certificate.”.
Section 3
Section 3 of the Courts Act 2016 is a technical provision which substitutes a new text for section 60(3) of the Valuation Act 2001. The revised text of subsection (3) now provides that production to a Tribunal or Court of a certificate issued under section 67(4) by an authorised officer shall be sufficient evidence, until the contrary is proved, of the matters stated in the certificate. This obviates the need to otherwise “prove” such certificates before a Tribunal or the Court.
This provision came into effect on 28th December 2016.
Additionally, section 4 of the Courts Act 2016 has amended section 67 of the Valuation Act 2001, as follows:
Amendment of section 67 of Valuation Act 2001
Section 67 of the Valuation Act 2001 is amended by the substitution, for subsection (2), of the following:
“(2) Notwithstanding the preceding sections of this Act, the Commissioner may, in relation to property concerned that falls within Schedule 4 and for the purpose of the provision referred to in subsection (9), on application being made to him or her in that behalf by a person who appears to the Commissioner to have a sufficient interest in the matter, cause the value of the property to be determined in the manner specified in subsection (2A).
(2A) If the value of a property falls to be determined for the purposes of subsection (2), that determination shall be made by reference to the values of other comparable properties, as appeared on an existing valuation list (as distinct from those that appear on a valuation list published under this Act) relating to the same rating authority area as that property is situate in.”.
Section 4
Rateable valuation thresholds are in use to, for example, determine eligibility to acquire freehold title in accordance with ground rents legislation. Under the Landlord and Tenant (Ground Rents) (No.2) Act 1978, the ground rent tenant’s right to acquire the freehold arises in certain cases where the amount of the annual ground rent is less than the rateable valuation of the property concerned. In order to facilitate continued exercise of this right, and continued use in other situations in cases of non-rateable property, section 67 of the 2001 Act enables the Valuation Office to issue a certificate of rateable valuation to the ground rent tenant in the case of non-rateable property (i.e. property included in Schedule 4 of the 2001 Act).
In order to preserve this important mechanism, and continued usage of rateable valuation in matters unrelated to Circuit Court jurisdiction, section 4 inserts a new subsection (2A) in section 67 of the 2001 Act. It clarifies that the certificates issued under that section are based on the value of other comparable properties appearing on valuation lists existing prior to the rollout of the new valuation system provided for under the 2001 Act.
This provision came into effect on 28th December 2016.
Administrative consolidation of legislation governing the Valuation Office
In September 2016, the Law Reform Commission completed an administrative consolidation of the Valuation Act 2001, as amended, and the revised Act with annotations is now available on the Law Reform website
This revised Act has been prepared by the Law Reform Commission in accordance with its function under the Law Reform Commission Act 1975 (No. 3 of 1975) to keep the law under review and to undertake revision and consolidation of statute law.
All Acts of the Oireachtas up to and including the Energy Act 2016 (No. 12 of 2016), enacted on 30th July 2016, and all statutory instruments up to and including the Valuation Act 2001 (Global Valuation) (Apportionment) (RTÉ Transmission Network Limited) Order 2016 (S.I. No. 495 of 2016), made on 24th September 2016, were considered by the Law Reform Commission in the preparation of this Revised Act.
Valuation (Amendment) Act 2015
The Valuation (Amendment) Act 2015 has brought about a number of important changes to the rateable valuation code governing the assessment of commercial rates in Ireland.
The 2015 Act amends several provisions of the Valuation Act 2001 and has introduced a number of important new provisions in its own right. However, the 2001 Act remains in force and is the principal Act governing valuation law.
The Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform signed the Statutory Instrument which commenced the provisions of the Valuation (Amendment) Act 2015, other than section 14, on Monday 8th June 2015.
Please note that section 14 of the 2015 Act, which amends section 28(5) of the 2001 Act, has not been commenced and will be commenced separately at a future date to be determined.
The Irish Statue Book website keeps an electronic record of all Acts and Statutory Instruments. The links to the Acts governing the Valuation Office can be found below.
The long title of the 2015 Act is as follows:
"An Act to amend the Valuation Act 2001 and to facilitate the drawing up and compilation and maintenance of valuation lists so that the valuations fixed on rateable properties in a rating authority area are both (insofar as is reasonably practicable) correct and equitable and uniform relative to each other, to provide for the undertaking, by the occupiers themselves, of all or one or more of the steps in the valuation of certain premises, to provide for certain matters relating to state property and to provide for related matters."
The transitional provisions in relation to the Valuation (Amendment) Act 2015 (No. 10 of 2015) and the provisions relating to their operation and interpretation are set out in sections 41 to 45 of that Act.
The long title of the Valuation Act 2001 is as follows:
"An Act to revise the law relating to the valuation of properties for the purposes of the making of rates in relation to them; to make new provision in relation to the categories of properties in respect of which rates may not be made and to provide for related matters. This remains the principle Act governing the valuation of property for rating purposes in Ireland but has been amended."
