Use of Empty Rates Relief for Commercial and Industrial Properties

Response to this request is long overdue. By law, under all circumstances, Lewisham Borough Council should have responded by now (details). You can complain by requesting an internal review.

Dear Lewisham Borough Council,
I would like to request responses to the following questions:
1) For how many commercial properties within the London Borough of Lewisham have there been multiple applications for empty rates relief in the past three years with a time lapse of no less than approximately four and a half months between applications?
2) For how many industrial properties within the London Borough of Lewisham have there been multiple applications for empty rates relief in the past three years with a time lapse of no less than approximately seven and a half months between applications?
3) What are the addresses of the properties covered by your answers to questions (1) and (2) above?
4) Who are the proprietors of the properties covered by your answers to questions (1) and (2) above?
5) For each proprietor covered by your response to question (4), what is their interest in the property (for example, freehold or leasehold)?
6) For each proprietor covered by your response to question (4), are they a Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT)?
7) If the applicants for empty rates relief for the properties covered by your answers to questions (1) and (2) above are not the proprietors of those properties, who are the applicants?
8) For each of the properties mentioned in your answers to the questions above, on what date did the London Borough of Lewisham receive the most recent application for empty rates relief, and was such relief granted?
Alternatively, if you already operate a publication scheme for any of the information requested above, please can you let me know where and how I can access this scheme in order to obtain that information? Of course, for any information requested above that is not part of a publication scheme, I would still like to receive that information from you by way of this Freedom of Information request.
I understand that certain landowners are exploiting a loophole in the Non-Domestic Rating (Unoccupied Property) (England) Regulations 2008 to avoid paying business rates for long periods of time while keeping their properties empty.
An empty commercial or industrial property will be exempt from paying business rates for a certain period of time. After three months (for a commercial property) or six months (for an industrial property) of being empty, the landowner must start paying business rates again.
I am aware that certain landowners will enter into a lease of at least six weeks at the end of this three or six month period with the sole intention of using this lease to avoid paying business rates for a further three or six months once the lease expires.
This is done to get around regulation 5 of the Non-Domestic Rating (Unoccupied Property) (England) Regulations 2008, according to which a lease of less than six weeks would not achieve this goal.
It is worth noting that, despite the six week lease, the property is likely to remain continuously empty by any reasonable definition of the word, as High Court case-law has found that simply installing Bluetooth apparatus into a premises is enough for that property to be “occupied”.
I trust there will be no issues regarding the ‘personal data’ exemption to disclosing information. I understand that ‘personal data’ is limited to data about identifiable living individuals and does not extend to information about companies or organisations. To the extent that the vast majority of answers you can provide to my questions above will relate to companies and organisations, I expect you will be able to disclose those answers without breaching your obligations under the Data Protection Act.
However, if you take the view that some of the requested information does constitute ‘personal data’, I trust you will be able to find a way of processing it fairly and lawfully such that you are able to fulfil your duties under the Data Protection Principles. I implore you to find a way of doing so, especially given the public interest in disclosing this information, given its importance to the public discussion on issues such as tax avoidance, homelessness and property speculation. Such importance was recently recognised by Judge Fiona Henderson, who noted in the context of a freedom of information case brought against Camden London Borough Council that “the public interest lies in putting empty properties back into use” and who thereby ordered the disclosure of certain information that would facilitate this. It is suggested that the information requested herein would also facilitate this, by contributing to the public discussion on properties that remain empty and hopefully driving forward public policy proposals that would bring such properties back into use.
Yours faithfully,
L Jones

Foi, Customer, Lewisham Borough Council

Dear L Jones,

 

Re: Freedom of Information Act 2000

Environmental Information Regulations 2004

Reference No: 435081

 

Thank you for your recent request for information from the London Borough
of Lewisham. Your request is being handled under either the Freedom of
Information Act 2000 or the Environmental Information Regulations 2004.

 

Your request is being considered and you will receive a response within
the statutory timescale of 20 working days, subject to the application of
any exemptions/exceptions. Where consideration is being given to
exemptions/exceptions, the 20 working day timescale may be extended to a
period considered reasonable depending on the nature and circumstances of
your request. In such cases you will be notified and, where possible, a
revised time-scale will be indicated. In all cases we shall attempt to
deal with your request at the earliest opportunity.

 

There may be a fee payable for the retrieval, collation and provision of
the information requested where the request exceeds the statutory limit or
where disbursements exceed £10. In such cases you will be informed in
writing and your request will be suspended until we receive payment from
you or your request is modified and/or reduced.

 

Your request may require either full or partial transfer to another public
authority. You will be informed if your request is transferred. If we are
unable to provide you with the information requested we will notify you of
this together with the reason(s) why and details of how you may appeal (if
appropriate). Please note that the directorate team may contact you for
further information where we believe that the request is not significantly
clear for us to respond fully.

 

Kind Regards,

 

Simone Sparkes

Customer Resolution Administrator - Corporate Complaints & Casework Team –
Information Governance Team

 

London Borough of Lewisham

Address: 5th Floor, Laurence House, Catford, London, SE6 4RU

Email: [email address]

Ext: 42189

 

 

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