Rating and Valuation (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1955

8 Provisions as to rates payable by charitable and other organisations

(1) This section applies to the following hereditaments, that is to say—

(a) any hereditament occupied for the purposes of an organisation (whether corporate or unincorporate) which is not established or conducted for profit and whose main objects are charitable or are otherwise concerned with the advancement of religion, education or social welfare;

(b) any hereditament held upon trust for use as an almshouse ;

(c) any hereditament consisting of a playing field (that is to say, land used mainly or exclusively for the purposes of open-air games or of open-air athletic sports) occupied for the purposes of a club, society or other organisation which is not established or conducted for profit and does not (except on special occasions) make any charge for the admission of spectators to the playing field:

Provided that this section shall not apply to any hereditament to which section seven of this Act applies, or to any hereditament occupied by an authority having, within the meaning of the Local Loans Act, 1875, power to levy a rate.

(2) For the purposes of the making and levying of rates in a rating area, for the year beginning with the date of the coming into force of the first new valuation list for that area (in this section referred to as " the first year of the new list"), and for any subsequent year, the amount of rates chargeable in respect of a hereditament to which this section applies shall, subject to the following provisions of this section, be limited as follows, that is to say—

(a) for the first year of the new list, the amount so chargeable shall not exceed the total amount of rates (including any special rates) which were charged in respect of the hereditament for the last year before the new list came into force;

(b) if, by virtue of the preceding paragraph, the amount of rates chargeable in respect of the hereditament is less than it would have been apart from that paragraph, the proportion by which it is thereby required to be reduced shall apply to any subsequent year during which the hereditament continues to be one to which this section applies, and accordingly the amount of rates chargeable in respect of the hereditament for any such year shall be reduced by that proportion:

Provided that this subsection shall have effect subject to the provisions of the Fifth Schedule to this Act in cases falling within that Schedule.

(3) Where paragraph (b) of the last preceding subsection has effect in the case of a hereditament, the rating authority may at any time give notice to the occupiers of the hereditament that, as from the end of a year specified in the notice, being a year ending not less than thirty-six months after the date on which the notice is given, the limitation imposed by virtue of that paragraph shall either cease to apply to the hereditament or shall be modified as mentioned in the notice ; and where such a notice is given—

(a) if the notice states that the limitation shall cease to apply, paragraph (b) of the last preceding subsection shall not apply to the hereditament as respects any year beginning after the end of the year specified in the notice;

(b) if the notice states that the limitation shall be modified, then, subject to the operation of any further notice given under this subsection, the said paragraph (b) shall have effect in relation to the hereditament as respects any such year with the substitution, for the proportion mentioned in that paragraph, of such lesser proportion as may be specified in the notice.

(4) The rating authority for a rating area shall have power to reduce or remit the payment of any rate charged in respect of a hereditament to which this section applies for the first year of the new list or any subsequent year, including power further to reduce or to remit the payment of any rate in the case of which the amount chargeable is required to be reduced by virtue of the preceding provisions of this section.

(5) The preceding provisions of this section, and the provisions of the Fifth Schedule to this Act, shall have effect, with the necessary modifications, in relation to rates charged for a rate period forming part of the first year of the new list, or of any subsequent year, as they have effect in relation to rates charged for the first year of the new list or for any subsequent year, as the case may be.

(6) Nothing in this section shall affect any exemption from, or privilege in respect of, rates under any enactment other than this section.