Research reports

20 June 2025

Jun 2025 – Hardly a week goes by when yet another report is published on some aspect of the market, trends, and so on.

Sometimes a client will provide me with a report published by a trade organisation, or a survey of comments by local businesses, and such like, regarding the state of the market at the time. Another source is research reports produced by leading commercial property agents.

Unlike the client who in most cases has only read what is relevant to the client’s needs, I also read the report author’s methodology.

In the same/similar way that advertisers say that 8 out 10 people prefer ‘x’ which might sound impressive – until the claim is investigated and finds that just 75 people were asked for their opinion – such reports are normally generalisations and of no assistance whatsoever for the rent review. One might think that an inexperienced party can be forgiven for thinking otherwise, but surveyors are also ‘guilty’ and on referral will pad reports with pages of irrelevancies in the hope presumably of convincing the third party that what might be happening in the market generally should apply to a particular property in a particular town.

In my opinion, such generalisation is in the same league as reasoning, as inexperienced parties do, a direct link between Rateable Value and their rent. It doesn’t help that the VOA, in explaining how the RV has been arrived at, says the market rent of the premises (and in many instances the first zone depth 6.1m (20 ft) when actually in some places it is 4.572m (15′) or 9.144m (30′). Not only is the assumption for rating valuation different from rent review, but also per R v Paddington Valuation Officer and Another Ex parte Peachey Property Corporation Ltd 1965 there is no correlation between Rateable Value and actual rent.

Throwing enough mud at the wall in the hope that some of it will stick adds unnecessarily to third-party costs on rent review. Especially if the third party has to travel miles away to inspect the property merely to confirm first thought. In my opinion, surveyors generally overcharge for reports/submissions to third parties as is, without adding to the costs to justify their fees.

Return to Import