HC Deb 29 January 1980 vol 977 cc621-2W
Mr. Wheeler

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what are the rateable value limits of the Leasehold Reform Act as fixed by the 1974 amendment; and what they would be if revised in line with inflation to 1980.

Mr. Geoffrey Finsberg

The rateable value limits for the Leasehold Reform Act 1967 as amended by the Housing Act 1974 are such that a house comes within the Act if one of the following conditions is satisfied:

  1. (a) on 23 March 1965 or, in the case of a house built after that date, on the date on which the house entered the valuation list the house had a rateable value of not more than £400 in Greater London or £200 elsewhere; or
  2. (b) the tenancy was granted on or before 18 February 1966 and the rateable value on 1 April 1973 or, in the case of a house built after that date, on the date on which the house entered the valuation list did not exceed £1,500 in Greater London or £750 elsewhere; or
  3. (c) the tenancy was granted after 18 February 1966 and the house first entered the valuation list on or after 1 April 1973 and on that date or, in the case of a house built after that date, on the date on which the house entered the valuation list the rateable value did not exceed £1,000 in Greater London or £500 elsewhere.

It would not be appropriate to revise the limits to reflect inflation because the present limits reflect the most recent valuation which came into effect on 1 April 1973. The rateable value of a house does not normally vary between rating revaluations and, therefore, it would not be appropriate to revise the limits to reflect inflation.