Land taxation appeals

1. Right of appeal and need for permission to appeal

A party to proceedings before an LVT may appeal to the Lands Chamber under section 175 of the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002. Permission to appeal is required in all cases.

2. If the LVT has given permission to appeal

Permission must be sought from the LVT concerned. If the LVT gives permission, notice of appeal must be given to the Registrar of the Tribunal within 1 month of the grant of permission to appeal. Use Form LRA 1 (Notice of Appeal) if the appeal concerns enfranchisement or LRX 1 (Notice of Appeal) for other issues such as service charges. The time limit may be extended, but no extension will be given unless there is justification for it. A statement of case must be included with the Notice of Appeal or else an application must be made for an extension of time in which to file and serve the statement of case. An additional fee of £100 is payable. Guidance about what must be contained in the statement of case is provided in the Practice Directions. Please note that the Tribunal does not have access to LVT documents or files so you must also provide a copy of the decision from which you are appealing and a copy of the notice from the LVT giving permission to appeal. The fee for starting an appeal is £250 payable to the 'Tribunals Service' (not the Lands Chamber).

3. If the LVT has refused permission to appeal

If the LVT refuses permission to appeal, application for permission may be made to the Lands Chamber within 14 days of being sent the LVT decision refusing permission. This time limit may be extended but no extension will be granted unless there is justification for it. The application for permission to appeal must be made on form LRA 2 if the application concerns enfranchisement, or form LRX 2 for other issues such as service charges. It must set out the grounds of appeal and the reasons for the application for permission to appeal. The applicant must satisfy the Tribunal that permission to appeal should be given, so the reasons should be set out fully. Please note that the Tribunal does not have access to LVT documents or files, so you must also provide a copy of the decision from which you wish to appeal, a copy of your application to the LVT for permission to appeal, and a copy of the notice from the LVT refusing permission to appeal, together with all other documents you refer to or rely upon. The fee for filing an application for permission to appeal is £200 payable to the 'Tribunals Service' (not the Lands Chamber). Note that you must also pay the £250 fee for starting an appeal and this will be refunded if permission to appeal is refused.

On receiving an application for permission to appeal, unless it believes the appeal lacks all merit, the Tribunal sends a copy of the application to each respondent. Respondents are informed of the time limit within which any written representations regarding the application must be made. The Tribunal considers any representations received and the applicant's reasons for the application before deciding whether to give permission. Only in special circumstances is a hearing held. If the Tribunal gives permission to appeal, it may do so on such conditions as it thinks fit.

4. Approach of the Lands Chamber to applications

On the permission to appeal form the applicant must specify that their reasons for making the application fall within one or more of the following grounds:

• The decision shows that the LVT wrongly interpreted or wrongly applied the relevant law.
• The decision shows that the LVT wrongly applied or misinterpreted or disregarded a relevant principle of valuation or other professional practice.
• The LVT took account of irrelevant considerations, or failed to take account of relevant consideration or evidence, or there was a substantial procedural defect.
• The point or points at issue is or are of potentially wide implication.
• Reasons other than set out above.

In general permission to appeal will only be granted if it appears to the Tribunal that there are reasonable grounds for concluding that the decision of the LVT may have been wrong for one or more reasons (a), (b) and (c), or if the point or points at issue are of potentially wide implication (reason (d)). In considering whether to give permission the Tribunal will have regard to the importance of the point to the decision itself and in terms of its wider implications. It also considers the proportionality of an appeal.

5. Procedure on appeal, respondent's notice, appellant's reply

Part 4 of the Rules sets out the procedure relating to appeals. The Practice Directions also contain rules that must be followed. A statement of case must be provided with the notice of appeal or else an application for an extension of time must be made in accordance with the guidance provided on the notice of appeal form and with payment of the £100 fee for extensions.

Subject to any direction given by the Tribunal, a person who wishes to respond to an appeal must file and serve a respondent's notice within 1 month of the date on which the Tribunal sent a notice giving the appellant permission to appeal or a copy of the notice of appeal.

If an application for permission has been made to the Lands Chamber and permission has been given, the application may be treated as notice of appeal for the purposes of Rule 24; and if a potential respondent has made representations in relation to the application, those representations may be treated as a respondent's notice for the purposes of Rule 25.

Within 1 month of receiving a respondent's notice, the appellant has the option of sending or delivering an appellant's reply to the Tribunal and every respondent. The appellant's reply is a means of responding to the arguments of the respondent, if necessary.

Further information on the next steps, alternative procedures and the rules that apply is provided in the flowchart for appeals from the LVT, the Rules, the Practice Directions and the Explanatory Leaflet.

Leasehold Valuation Tribunals Appeals Procedure Flowchart (PDF 0.19mb)