Reviewing and appealing a CIL liability notice
Community Infrastructure Levy liability has its own review and appeal routes with fixed statutory deadlines and two different decision makers. Starting work closes most of them.
A Community Infrastructure Levy liability notice is not a planning decision, and you cannot challenge it through a planning appeal. The routes are set out in the Community Infrastructure Levy Regulations 2010, and they run to a different timetable with different decision makers. Regulation 113 gives you a review by the collecting authority, regulation 114 gives you an appeal to the Valuation Office Agency on the chargeable amount, and separate regulations cover apportionment, relief refusals and surcharges. Miss the deadlines and the figure stands, however wrong it is.
The single most damaging mistake is starting work. Appeals on the chargeable amount cannot be pursued once development has started, so a liability notice that looks wrong needs attention before the first spade goes in the ground.
What the liability notice states
The collecting authority issues a liability notice as soon as practicable after planning permission first permits development. It sets out the chargeable amount, the chargeable development, the rates applied, the index figures used and who the authority believes is liable.
Read it against your own floorspace schedule line by line. The three things that go wrong most often are the gross internal area of the proposed development, the deduction claimed for existing buildings in lawful use, and the indexation figure. The existing building deduction is the most contested, because it requires the building to have been in lawful use for a continuous period of at least six months within the relevant period before permission first permits development, and councils apply that test strictly.
The notice is not a demand. The demand notice comes later, after a commencement notice, and that is the document that triggers payment dates.
Requesting a review of the chargeable amount
Regulation 113 lets a person who has assumed liability, or the owner of the land, request a review of the calculation. The request must reach the collecting authority within 28 days beginning with the day the liability notice was issued.
The review is carried out by a senior officer who had no part in the original calculation. The authority must notify the outcome within 14 days of receiving the request, and if it does not, you can move straight to appeal.
Keep the request narrow and arithmetic. Set out the figure you say is wrong, the figure you say is right, and the evidence. Floor plans with areas marked, a measured survey, business rates records or utility bills for the existing building, and the charging schedule rate you say applies. Arguments about whether the levy is fair have no place here and will not be read.
Appealing the reviewed amount
Regulation 114 provides an appeal to the Valuation Office Agency against the chargeable amount. It has two gates. You must have requested a regulation 113 review first, and the appeal must be made within 60 days beginning with the day the liability notice was issued.
That 60 days runs from the liability notice, not from the review decision. A review requested on day 27 and decided on day 41 leaves you 19 days, which is why the review request should go in early rather than on the last available day.
The appointed person at the Valuation Office Agency decides on the papers. The decision is on the calculation, so the evidence is measurement and documentation rather than argument about planning merits. If the appeal succeeds the authority must issue a revised liability notice.
Separate appeals on apportionment and relief
Not everything goes to the same place, and the deadlines differ.
| Ground of appeal | Regulation | Decided by | Deadline |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chargeable amount | 114 | Valuation Office Agency | 60 days from the liability notice |
| Apportionment between owners | 115 | Valuation Office Agency | 28 days from the demand notice |
| Charitable relief refusal | 116 | Valuation Office Agency | 28 days from the decision |
| Residential annex or extension exemption | 116A | Valuation Office Agency | 28 days from the decision |
| Self build exemption | 116B | Valuation Office Agency | 28 days from the decision |
| Surcharge imposed | 117 | Planning Inspectorate | 28 days from the surcharge |
| Deemed commencement date | 118 | Planning Inspectorate | 28 days from the determination |
Apportionment matters where more than one person owns part of the chargeable development. The authority apportions the liability between material interests, and an owner who thinks the split is wrong appeals under regulation 115 rather than arguing about the total.
Self build exemption and its deadlines
The self build exemption for a whole dwelling is claimed before commencement, on the authority's form, and the authority must grant it before work starts. The claim is in two parts. The first part is submitted with the exemption claim. The second part is submitted within six months of completion, with the evidence the regulations list, which includes proof of title, a building regulations completion certificate and one of the accepted forms of financial evidence.
Two traps catch self builders repeatedly. The first is starting before the authority has notified its decision on the claim, which invalidates it. The second is missing the six month window after completion, which causes the exemption to be withdrawn and the full amount to become payable.
There is also a clawback period. A disqualifying event within three years of completion, such as selling or letting the dwelling, removes the exemption. Refusal of a self build exemption is appealed under regulation 116B to the Valuation Office Agency within 28 days of the decision, and the grounds are narrow: that the authority has wrongly decided the development does not qualify.
The commencement notice rules around self build exemptions have been amended since the original regulations, and the treatment of a missed notice is not what it was in 2010. Check the current consolidated text before assuming the exemption is lost, because the position now turns on a surcharge in many cases rather than outright withdrawal.
Surcharges and how they are challenged
Surcharges sit in regulations 80 to 86 and are mechanical. Failure to assume liability, failure to submit a commencement notice and a disqualifying event each attract a surcharge of 20 per cent of the chargeable amount, capped at £2,500. Late payment attracts 5 per cent at 30 days, again at six months and again at 12 months, with a minimum amount. Failure to respond to an information notice attracts a fixed surcharge.
Appeals against a surcharge go to the Planning Inspectorate under regulation 117, within 28 days of the surcharge being imposed. A neighbour or third party has no standing in a levy appeal, which works differently from third party involvement in a planning appeal. The grounds are that the claimed breach did not occur, that the authority failed to serve the liability notice properly, or that the surcharge was calculated incorrectly. The Inspectorate will not reduce a surcharge because the consequence feels harsh, and appeal decisions on other matters, which are only indicative of how inspectors approach an issue, carry little weight on a mechanical calculation.
Where the authority has determined a deemed commencement date because no commencement notice was given, regulation 118 provides a separate appeal on that date alone.
Timescales that cannot be extended
The levy deadlines are statutory and the collecting authority has no discretion to extend them. Put three dates in the diary the day a liability notice arrives: day 28 for the review request, day 60 for the appeal, and the date you intend to start on site.
Submit the assumption of liability form and the commencement notice before starting, even where you believe the charge is wrong. Those are separate obligations, and failing them adds surcharges to a figure you are already disputing. If you are also preparing the application material, the policy case in a Planning Statement is a different exercise entirely and will not help you here.
Where the amount is large and the measurement contested, get a measured survey to the RICS code before the review request rather than after the appeal is lodged. And keep every piece of correspondence, because the Valuation Office Agency decides on the papers you supply.
This is general guidance, not legal advice. Check the position with your local planning authority or a qualified professional before relying on it.
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Frequently asked questions
Can I appeal a CIL liability notice to the Planning Inspectorate?
Only for some grounds. Appeals on the chargeable amount, apportionment and refusal of relief or exemption go to the Valuation Office Agency under regulations 114 to 116B. Appeals against a surcharge or a deemed commencement date go to the Planning Inspectorate under regulations 117 and 118. The routes are not interchangeable.
How long do I have to challenge the chargeable amount?
Request a review by the collecting authority under regulation 113 within 28 days beginning with the day the liability notice was issued. An appeal to the Valuation Office Agency under regulation 114 must be made within 60 days of that same liability notice, not 60 days from the review decision.
Does starting on site affect my right to appeal?
Yes, and seriously. Appeals on the chargeable amount cannot be pursued once development has started. Any dispute about floorspace, the existing building deduction or the rate applied has to be raised and resolved before work starts, which is why the review request should go in immediately.
What happens if I miss the self build evidence deadline?
The exemption is withdrawn and the full chargeable amount becomes payable. Part two of the claim, with proof of title, a building regulations completion certificate and the accepted financial evidence, must be submitted within six months of completion. A disqualifying event within three years, such as selling or letting, also removes it.
Can a surcharge be reduced because it is disproportionate?
No. Surcharges under regulations 80 to 86 are mechanical. An appeal under regulation 117 succeeds only where the breach did not occur, the liability notice was not properly served, or the calculation is wrong. The Planning Inspectorate has no power to moderate a correctly calculated surcharge on fairness grounds.
Sources and further reading
This article is general guidance about the planning system in England and, where stated, the rest of the UK. It is not legal or professional advice. Check your local planning authority’s validation requirements and take professional advice for your specific site.