By Sophie Tracey, Lucy Shepherd

In a decision that will be welcomed by property owners, a recent case has considered the meaning of ‘occupation’ in the context of business rates and has decided that the motivation for occupation is not relevant.

Background

Principled Offsite Logistics Ltd (POLL) applied for judicial review to challenge a local authority’s decision to seek a rates liability order for non-payment of business rates – national non-domestic rates – in respect of various properties.