1. These Regulations may be cited as the Valuation for Rating (Decapitalisation Rate) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1997 and shall come into operation on 1st April 1997.
2.—(1) In these Regulations—
“the 1977 Order” means the Rates (Northern Ireland) Order 1977;
“church property” means any premises to the extent of which may fall within Article 41(2)(b) of the 1977 Order;
“contractors principle” means the method of ascertaining the net annual value of hereditaments by reference to their costs of construction or provision or to their capital value;
“decapitalisation rate” means the percentage rate which is applied to the cost of construction or provision or to the capital value of any hereditaments for the purpose of the contractors principle;
“hereditaments” means any hereditaments or any part of them.
(2) In these Regulations “educational establishment” means any hereditaments which are constructed or adapted for use, and which are wholly or mainly used for the purpose of—
(a)a school within the meaning of Article 2(2) of the Education and Libraries (Northern Ireland) Order 1986(1);
(b)an institution for the provision of further education within the meaning of Article 100 of the Education Reform (Northern Ireland) Order 1989(2) which is managed by—
(i)an Education and Library Board; or
(ii)a body not established for profit;
(c)a higher education institution within the meaning of Article 30(3) of the Education and Libraries (Northern Ireland) Order 1993(3) or a facility provided by an Education and Library Board under Article 101 of the Education Reform (Northern Ireland) Order 1989.
(3) In these Regulations “healthcare property” means any hereditament constructed or adapted wholly or mainly either—
(a)for the reception or treatment of persons suffering from any illness, injury or infirmity; or
(b)as a maternity home,
and used for such a purpose.
(4) Any reference in these Regulations to hereditaments used for any particular purpose includes a reference to hereditaments which are not for the time being in use but which when last in use were used for that purpose.
3. These Regulations apply in relation to the ascertainment of the net annual value of any hereditament for the purpose of any valuation list which comes into force on or after 1st April 1997.
4. Where, for the purposes of paragraph 1 of Part I of Schedule 12 to the 1977 Order, the net annual value of a hereditament is ascertained by reference to the contractor’s principle in circumstances where these Regulations apply, the decapitalisation rate shall be—
(a)3.67 per cent in the case of any hereditaments consisting of any church property, healthcare property or an educational establishment; and
(b)5.5 per cent in any other case.
Sealed with the Official Seal of the Department of Finance and Personnel on
L.S.
V. N. Hewitt
Assistant Secretary
21st February 1997.