Rating Manual section 5a: valuation of all property classes

From:

Valuation Office Agency

Published

5 May 2017

Updated:

22 February 2023, see all updates

1. Contents

Hostels, outdoor activity centres and religious retreats

This publication is intended for Valuation Officers. It may contain links to internal resources that are not available through this version.

1. Co-ordination

Hostels and Outdoor Activity Centres are subject to co-ordination procedures as outlined in the relevant practice note

2. Background

Hostels cover a wide variety of properties that can be grouped into 6 main categories. Many of this class, except for the most basic properties are likely to be composite hereditaments either where there is long-stay accommodation, where part of a farm or where there is accommodation for a manager or other staff.

2.1 Climbing Huts and Bothies

Climbing huts provide very basic self-contained accommodation with mattresses on bunks or sleeping pallets.

Normally there will be rudimentary cooking and toilet facilities but no wardens. The huts are often owned or rented by climbing clubs each member having his or her own key. Reciprocal arrangements are regularly made between kindred clubs to allow their members to occupy climbing huts of other clubs. Members may be required to pay a small fee to stay at these huts.

2.2 Camping or Stone Barns

This category often comprises converted farm buildings providing basic facilities although these can vary between buildings. Minimum facilities are normally a sleeping area shared by all visitors, tables and benches used for eating and preparing of food, a supply of cold water and one or more flush toilets. Some may have one, or a combination, of basic heating, hot water, showers and cooking facilities. The Youth Hostel Association (YHA) has identified camping barns as a major growth area. Usually owned and operated by farmers many are managed and let by the YHA or the Countryside Commission.

2.3 Youth Hostels

The major player in this market is the YHA which aims to offer low price accommodation for those wishing to explore the countryside or visit heritage cities. The YHA is a registered charity, all profits being reinvested in the hostel network. With the introduction of camping barns meeting the demand for the most basic accommodation, facilities in the traditional hostels have been continually improved.

Increasingly youth hostels offer rooms with fewer beds, normally bunks, sometimes with their own washing facilities. Many hostels now have family rooms (2 bunk beds) with en-suite facilities. Members, and non-members, can often occupy on a self-catering, full or half board basis or a mixture of all these.

Most of the new YHA hostels have been established in partnership with other organisations such as local authorities and other public sector bodies or voluntary organisations.

There are other hostel owners but these tend to follow closely the pricing regime of the YHA.

2.4 Agricultural Workers’ Hostels

This will cover a range of accommodation, often poor, and will range from converted farm buildings to portacabins and caravans with facilities in separate buildings. This accommodation is usually seasonal in nature and will remain in assessment year round unless used for another purpose. Many of these will be borderline domestic/non-domestic and further guidance on this can be found in the Council Tax Manual – Practice Note 8 at paragraphs 4.20 – 4.24.

2.5 Urban Hostels

This covers a wide range of properties and uses from properties occupied by the YMCA and YWCA providing both long and short-stay accommodation, women’s refuges, drug rehabilitation hostels, Salvation Army Hostels and staff hostels. Many of these will be composite, or entirely domestic, and further guidance may found in the Council Tax Manual – Practice Note 8 at paragraph 4.11.

2.6 Outdoor Activity Centres

These can range from converted hotels to timber buildings on large sites. Many of the more basic sites will be little more than camping barns. Almost all of the centres will provide hot meals and offer bunk beds, dining rooms, kitchens, classrooms and instructors’ accommodation.

The centres are normally found on large sites. Catering mainly for children and teenagers there will be basic on site activities such as ropes, slides and nets and there will also be storage accommodation for equipment used off site, such as canoes. There are some private operators in this market, although many are run by local authorities and charities. For the largest sites reference should be made to the instructions for Holiday Centres RM : V5 : S490.

3. Survey Requirements

Hostels should be measured to Net Internal Area (NIA) in accordance with the VOA Code of Measuring Practice for Rating Purposes except for temporary structures, such as caravans and portacabins, which should be measured to GEA (Gross External Area).

The survey should include the following information:

The type of premises, age, number of dormitories/bedrooms (number of bed spaces in each and whether en-suite or not) construction, services (including heating), the date when last refurbished, type extent and quality of ancillary facilities (areas for dining rooms, lounges and other social facilities should be separately shown), parking, location, details of bathroom and WC facilities; details of any sporting or activity facilities within the hereditament should also be recorded. Full details of any long-term living accommodation whether for proprietors, staff or users of the hostel should be noted.

4. Basis of Valuation

It is recommended that the unit used for comparison and valuation is a single bed space. This is a berth for sleeping one person - a double bunk will be the equivalent of two bed spaces.

The valuer should always “value as you devalue”, so that where analysis is on a single bed space basis, reflecting normal ancillary accommodation, the valuation scheme should be on the same basis. Valuers should still reflect the extent and quality of the ancillary accommodation in the adopted valuations, as well as any additional or unusual rateable features.

Evidence of the number of bed spaces is often readily available in brochures. The YHA brochure for example gives the number of bed spaces as well as a pen picture of its hostels. Where information is not readily available it can be obtained by phoning the relevant hostel.

In view of the lack of rental evidence and doubts in respect of some of the accounts evidence for this class it is important for valuers to stand back and consider whether the proposed valuation is reasonable having regard to the type, quality and location of the property and the values of other physically similar hereditaments in the locality. Care should be taken to ensure valuations are not out of line with physically similar hereditaments used for holiday accommodation or other purposes.

What rents are available should be analysed both in terms of price per bed space and as a percentage of gross receipts so that comparison may be made with those where only the gross receipts are known.