Guidance

Property attribute data (PAD)

Guidance on the information the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) holds about your property for Council Tax purposes.

Property attribute data is the information the VOA holds about the physical features of a property.Ìý

The information we hold about your property goes towards determining your Council Tax band.ÌýÌý

When data is collectedÌý

Property attribute data is historic. It usually relates to the state of a property on the most recent of the following dates:Ìý

  • at the Council Tax list compilation date, which is 1 April 1993 in England or 1 April 2005 in Wales
  • when it was entered into the Council Tax list, for example, when it was builtÌý
  • when its entry to the Council Tax list was last updatedÌý

We only update the data we hold under certain circumstances. They are:Ìý

  • when a property is soldÌý
  • the use of the property has changedÌý
  • a property has been split or mergedÌý

The data we holdÌý

At a minimum, property attribute data will include:Ìý

  • group, this broadly describes the architectural style of the property
  • type, for example a flat, an inner-terrace or a detached house
  • age, which is the time period when the property was builtÌý
  • floor area, which is the size of the property in m2. We measure properties in line with our code of measuring practice – guidance on how we measure different properties is available on 51²è¹ÝÌý
  • total number of rooms. We include living rooms, dining rooms, bedrooms and studies, but exclude conservatories, kitchens, utility rooms, bathrooms and toiletsÌý
  • number of bedrooms. We count all bedrooms, even if they are not currently being used as bedrooms. This includes box rooms and bedrooms being used as studies
  • number of bathrooms. We only list a bathroom if it has at least 3 fittings, for example, toilet, basin and shower. This means a toilet with just a basin would not be includedÌý
  • number of floors your property has. For example, a house with a ground floor and first floor is a 2-storey propertyÌý

Legally we cannot review improvements to a property until it is sold. Any improvements made to a property will only be reflected in the data once a sale has taken place.ÌýÌý

How to request your property attribute dataÌý

You can request your property attribute data by phone or using our contact form.Ìý

If you are requesting your data online, please select the following options:Ìý

  • select ‘I want to make a new enquiry’Ìý
  • select ‘Council Tax’
  • select ‘Other’

Then provide a description of your request.Ìý

You can only request your own property’s data, not that of your neighbours.ÌýÌý

We must verify that you are the taxpayer before we release the data. Please have a copy of your Council Tax bill ready to share with us as part of the verification process.Ìý

What to do if your data is incorrectÌý

If you are requesting your data to support a Council Tax band challenge, please note that incorrect data does not always mean your band is wrong.ÌýÌý

This is because bands are in a range, and the impact on your property’s valuation may not be significant enough to move you into a lower band.

Updates to this page

Published 13 November 2024
Last updated 11 February 2025 show all updates
  1. Added Welsh translation.

  2. Section on 'Data we hold' updated.

  3. Minor updates to content.

  4. First published.

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