BusinessRateChecker

Counts, totals and medians for the business properties in an area, grouped by street, sector, property_type, postcode_sector, postcode, verdict or council: number of properties, total and median rateable value, median £ per m² (with n_per_m2, how many properties it is based on: per-unit and trade-valued properties are left out), verdict counts (the website's five verdicts), flagged count and share (strong_case + worth_checking, as on the overpayment map) and total indicative annual saving. Area is required. Optional filters: sector, property type, rateable value range. Up to 50 groups, sortable. Costs 2 credits.

area_breakdown

BusinessRateChecker's verdict on whether a property's rateable value looks high against comparable properties, exactly as on the website report: strong_case, worth_checking, no_obvious_issues, not_enough_evidence or needs_turnover (with the website's wording in label, and flagged as on the overpayment map), with a suggested rateable value and indicative annual saving where there is one (and, where transitional relief probably caps this year's bill, the saving after it), the confidence, the hedge text that must be relayed with any figure, and a scheme_check showing how the VO's own valuation scheme values similar-sized properties (a saving on a property that sits within its scheme's range is a weak case on rate alone). Pass sole_property=false for a ratepayer with other business properties (Small Business Rate Relief then does not apply) or true if this is their only one. Also carries everything the full report sets out: grounds (every finding with its evidence), checks (rateable value, floor area, allowances, reliefs), route (Check, Challenge, Tribunal) and next_steps. Same engine as the website report. Costs 5 credits (one verdict per property per day).

get_overpayment_verdict

Free, no sign-in. Plain-English reference for 2026/27 with official sources, for England (default) or Wales (country: wales): how a bill is worked out, the multipliers, small business rate relief, retail/hospitality/leisure (England) or food and drink hospitality relief (Wales), pubs, charitable, rural and empty property relief, transitional relief, how a Check, Challenge and Appeal work, the deadlines, and who to contact. The two countries have different topic lists: omit topic to list them for the chosen country.

explain_business_rates

Search the 2026 rating list for England and Wales. Give a full postcode (e.g. 'WR3 8TJ') or an outward code (e.g. 'WR3'), optionally narrowed by words from the address or the description (e.g. 'unit 96a', 'cafe'), or a council's ba_code. Returns up to 20 properties with property_id, address, description, rateable value and business name where known. One building can hold many separate entries (floors, suites): ask which one if that matters. Use the property_id with the other tools. Costs 1 credit.

find_properties

Which surveying firms represent ratepayers in business rates appeals. Returns the 12-month league of firms at the Valuation Tribunal for England (cases, attended, won, win rate, typical reduction, councils, latest decision, website), or the firms matching a name. With an area (postcode or council) it also returns the firms that represented ratepayers at the tribunal there in the same 12 months, and rating firms from our directory with an office within 50 km (firm, size, nearest office, distance, website). Firms only; no individual is named. BusinessRateChecker does not recommend or endorse any firm. Costs 1 credit.

find_rating_surveyors

The comparable properties behind the verdict, with their rate per square metre, distance and allowances, a plain account of how they were found (search.method, nearest_km, furthest_km, same_scheme_count), and a scheme_check: how the VO's own valuation scheme values similar-sized properties and whether the subject sits below, within or above that range. Costs 3 credits.

get_comparables

The full rating-list entry for one property: address, description, rateable value, how it is valued (valuation_basis: floor area, Zone A, per unit, or trade for hotels and pubs), floor area and valuation lines, estimated 2026/27 bill before reliefs, Small Business Rate Relief status, and whether the Valuation Office has changed it (currency, with case_status). Costs 1 credit.

get_property

How a property's rateable value has changed: earlier rating lists where held, and Valuation Office alterations on the 2026 list, including Check and Challenge outcomes. Costs 2 credits.

get_rating_history

How the rateable values the Valuation Office AMENDED in one month moved, for one council (billing authority) by name or code, or a short list of every council (name, code, number amended, % change) if neither is given. Covers only the properties amended that month, not the whole council, and one month is never a trend: call it for several months to see a direction. Always read pct_change with n_amended, top1_share_pct and median_mover_pct; pct_change is null when not publishable, and rankable=false means do not rank the place against others. For £ per m², property counts or overpaid shares across a council, use area_breakdown instead. Costs 1 credit.

get_area_statistics

How the rateable values the Valuation Office AMENDED in one month moved across England (and Wales, from the October 2026 month), for one broad sector (industry, offices, retail or other, the VO's own grouping). Covers only the properties amended that month. Read pct_change with n_amended and median_mover_pct. For £ per m² or overpaid shares, use area_breakdown with group_by sector for an area. Costs 1 credit.

get_sector_statistics