by Denis Hall
Public-sector valuers are everywhere — deep in the countryside evaluating sites of special or scientific interest, discussing assessments with dissatisfied ratepayers and valuing every non-domestic property in England and Wales for the 1990 rating revaluation. Public sector it undoubtedly is: ceaseless deskwork it is not.
It may also come as a surprise to learn that the Valuation Office, the largest employer of valuers in the country, is relatively young — a 20th-century institution. It was established by the Finance Act of 1909-10 which implemented proposals by Lloyd George, then Chancellor, to tax increments in land values.
These and other refreshing revelations are dispensed with studious precision and genial authority by Richard Burrows, a superintending valuer at the Valuation Office in New Court, London.
He is concerned that people — especially younger people — realise that a career as a valuer in the VO is not the bureaucratic equivalent of a strait-jacket. “Since 1945 the Valuation Office has been charged with settling war damage; acquiring virtually all the land required for motorways, new towns, slum-clearance, education and town-centre redevelopment; carrying out three general rating revaluations; and implementing all the capital taxes as they affect land.” In short, the VO has played a major part in the post-war reconstruction of England and Wales.
With such a broad perspective, Mr Burrow’s concern at the image he believes the VO has acquired is understandable. “Because the last revaluation was completed in 1972-73, when a great many valuers were still at school, rating has increasingly acquired a reputation for being an unreal exercise, with assessments having to be made on an historic level of value.”
He wonders how much this distorted view of the VO’s work deters valuers from joining. The fact is that commercial and industrial rating remain professionally challenging, while the rating of dwellings is increasingly the work of supporting technical staff. “But several generations of valuers have cut their professional teeth on rating dwellings, a job in which young valuers have got to have their wits about them.”
This is especially so when facing what must be one of the more challenging experiences for any young professional: dealing with a case in court — which for the valuer is the Local Valuation Court.
“For most 21-year-olds it’s quite a culture shock to be suddenly pitchforked from a relatively quiet life at college into the real world, but they quickly learn how to prepare cases — and how to deal with ratepayers.”
The challenge is to get the balance right. On the one hand the young and relatively inexperienced surveyor has to approach the case in an orthodox way. On the other, the subject of the case — more often than not a reluctant ratepayer — will probably dispute the assessment vigorously and will have no inhibitions about breaking orthodox procedures in doing so. By way of this legal and emotional minefield the young valuer has to come to a satisfactory conclusion.
Not surprisingly some young valuers (including in his time Mr Burrows) are apprehensive about their first visit to the courts. “I dreaded it, you just don’t know what you are going to be asked.”
Some, on the other hand, positively relish the prospect. “I heard of one chap going in as early as six weeks after joining an office, but that’s very unusual, normally a valuer takes a case within 12 months.”
Regardless of attitude, Mr Burrows and other senior valuers recognise that court experience forces a young valuer to mature rapidly, and many are soon well capable of negotiating with senior partners of major surveying firms. “There is a noticeable difference between a valuer who has been in court and one who has not.”
It is also an experience that stands a valuer in good stead when facing a Lands Tribunal hearing — the appeal court for the Local Valuation Court — where, when in the VO, the dual role of advocate and expert witness may have to be played.
Not that rating is the only challenge. The VO can be called on by any government department and by a large number of other public authorities to provide valuation assistance. Advice is also given on the purchase, management development and disposal of land; the assessment of compensation arising from the taking of land by government departments, public bodies or local authorities either with or without compulsory purchase powers; compensation for injury to land following the exercise of statutory powers; the compensation arising from planning control and the assessment of rental values and advice in connection with the disposal of all types of property, including the district valuer’s special role in the “Right to Buy” initiative introduced by the Housing Act 1980.
The range of work that the VO can be asked to do is enormous and varies from office to office; but valuers are expected to cope with whatever comes their way.
It is demonstration of ability which dictates the progress or otherwise of a valuer’s career. Work is not allocated in neat slices according to grade; promotion does not result from age and seniority. Mr Burrows points to the stated recognition of this fact by many of the top people in his profession as confirmation. “Ability is the sole criterion by which a valuer is judged.”
Valuers are soon presented with the opportunity to take responsibility. “At an early stage they are given their heads on the more straightforward and simple work and quickly, if they are up to it, become largely their own masters in planning their day and dealing with their workload.”
Training consists of day-to-day guidance reinforced by distance-learning and residential training courses on technical and professional subjects. With the advancement of their careers, valuers attend specialised courses on management techniques and complex technical matters. Candidates are also sponsored by the VO for specialist qualifications in rating and agriculture.
All this expertise suggests that the qualifications necessary to apply for such a job must be of the highest standard. In fact a wide range of qualifications is eminently acceptable to the VO. For example, a pass in, or an exemption from, the final examination of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (General Practice or Land Agency and Agriculture Divisions), or that of the Incorporated Society of Valuers and Auctioneers (General Practice Division 1982 syllabus), with at least two years’ experience is required for an application for the post of valuer or senior valuer.
Possession of a degree or a diploma exempting holders from the RICS or ISVA examinations in the above divisions qualifies applicants for the post of graduate valuer.
A non-cognate degree, or a minimum of two GCE ‘A’ level subjects at ‘C’ grade or better, is required for applications of the post of Cadet Valuer. A Cadet is trained for three to five years while sitting the professional examinations (either RICS, ISVA or College of Estate Management).
A recruit to the VO joins a national network of regional and local offices with a head office, that of the Chief Valuer, in London. At present there are 13 regional offices, 131 local offices and six sub-offices. Six separate offices are staffed by mineral surveyors who deal with all aspects of valuation work requiring their specialist knowledge. Building surveyors are attached to regional offices to fulfil similar functions in their specialist areas.
The future, says Mr Burrows, promises to be an exciting one for the VO. An additional lane is to be added to the western section of the M25, the missing middle section of the M20 is to be built and a relief motorway is to be established to the north of the M6 at Birmingham. There is also the prospect of new bridges over the Severn and the Thames.
Valuers will be involved in all these undertakings, from producing estimates of the cost of the land required to evaluating the claims from property owners who want compensation for the resulting depreciation in the value of their interests.
Although these schemes may affect only a small number of offices, every local office has recently completed an exercise to value every property in the NHS estate. Many are now involved in new work relating to the Government’s proposals for the protection of the environment and sites of special scientific or historic interest.
And, of course, there is the huge task of valuing every non-domestic property for the 1990 rating revaluation. What other firm is faced with a portfolio valuation of some 2m properties to be completed in two years? It is a task which makes the VO an interesting and dynamic establishment. “The valuations for the 1990 revaluation will be related to April 1 1988 and so will require careful analysis of rental evidence and the exercise of considerable professional judgment.”
Right now the VO seems to be not only a useful springboard for young would-be valuers but also an interesting opportunity for those in mid-career. Where better to prove yourself in one of modern society’s more varied professions than in its largest organisation?