General FAQs

The Valuation Office is Ireland's State property valuation organisation and has carried out valuation functions since 1830. The mission of the Valuation Office is to support Government policy by delivering an effective and impartial property valuation service for citizens and other stakeholders. 

The core business of the Valuation Office is to provide ratepayers and local authorities with accurate, up-to-date valuations of commercial and industrial properties, in accordance with the Valuation Acts 2001 to 2015. These valuations form the basis for levying approximately €1.5 billion of local government funding each year through the commercial rates system.

The programme has already been completed in Carlow, Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown, Fingal, Kildare, Kilkenny, Laois, Leitrim, Longford, Offaly, Roscommon, Sligo, South Dublin and Westmeath County Councils and Dublin City Council, Waterford City and County Council and Limerick City and County Council rating authority areas. In keeping with the recurring nature of the programme, a second revaluation of the South Dublin County Council rating authority area was also completed in 2017.

The current phase of the programme is known as “Reval 2019”. This phase (which commenced in late 2017 and will conclude in September 2019) will result in the revaluation of commercial and industrial properties in Cavan, Louth, Meath, Monaghan, Tipperary, Wexford and Wicklow County Councils. The Fingal County Council area will also undergo a second Revaluation having initially been the subject of a Revaluation in 2009.

The remaining local authority areas will be revalued under a phase known as “Reval 2021” which will commence in late 2019 and conclude in 2021.

Revision is the means through which the valuation of an individual property may be reassessed (“revised”) between Revaluations of the entire rating authority area in which that property is located. The legislation governing revision of valuations is set out in the Valuation Act 2001, as amended by the Valuation (Amendment) Act 2015.

An occupier of a property, an interest holder in that property, or the Local Authority in whose rating authority area the particular property is located may make an application to the Commissioner of Valuation to have the valuation of a property revised.  An application for Revision may result in a valuation increasing, decreasing or remaining the same.

There are very specific grounds to be met, set out in legislation, before a valuation may be revised.

All applications for a revision of valuation must be made on the specified format accompanied by a fee of €250.

For a valuation to be revised, a “Material Change of Circumstances” (MCC) must have taken place. Under the Valuation Acts, an MCC is defined as:

1. The erection/construction of a new property
2. A change in value caused by structural alterations
3. The total or partial destruction of a property,
4. The amalgamation of one or more properties
5. The subdivision of a property
6. The exemption of a property under Schedule 4
7. A property becoming licensed or ceasing to be licensed under the Licensing Acts.      

No. Your Local Authority sets the Annual Rate on Valuation (ARV). The setting of the ARV is a function of the elected members of each Local Authority and is conducted by them each year. This information is usually available on the Local Authority’s website.

The amount of rates to be levied is the product of the valuation assessed by the Valuation Office multiplied by the ARV set by the local authority.

Any queries you may have regarding the amount of rates, method of payment etc. should be made directly to the Rates Office of your Local Authority.