Guide to Measuring for Council Tax Purposes Introduction ‘The following guidance to the measurement of a dwelling for Council Tax purposes has been prepared to ensure consistency of measurement throughout the VOA in England & Wales ‘The guidance is based on the RICS/ISVA Code of Measuring Practice and should be regarded as an ‘explanation of that code in so far as it relates to the measurement for Council Tax within the VOA The guide deals solely with the basis of measurement and is not designed to cover other referencing requirements such as information on physical characteristics which are dealt with in detail elsewhere. ‘Where a hereditament comprises more than one dwelling, each dwelling should be measured separately. In some rare instances the basis of measurement adopted in your locality, for certain classes of property, may differ from the VO standard. Where this is the case, itis vital that you are aware of any Deduct garage area Measure triangular projectionNet Internal Area (NIA) For Council Tax, the basis of measurement for all flats and maisonettes is Net Internal Area (NIA) previously known as Effective Floor Area (EFA). Measurements are taken between the wall surfaces of each room (not skirting boards). Usually two measurements are sufficient to calculate the area of a room unless it is obviously out of square or there are features in the room that should be excluded. Bathrooms, WC’s and associated lobbies, as well as connecting corridor areas within a flat should not usually be measured. (In some parts of the country, local practice differs slightly, you should check this matter with your line manager) ‘Areas with @ headroom of less than 1.5m, except under stairways in rooms, should be excluded Note: Balconies should be mentioned on the VO 9072 Dwelling Survey sheet but they do not need to be measured. Garages or parking spaces should be mentioned on the VO $072 Dwelling Survey sheet but they do not need to be measured. Examples of typical measurements required when measuring a flat or maisonette to NIA Ignore chimney breast Measure large bay window Ignore small bay window Take average dimensionsRooms in the roof Atios may be purpose built along with the rest of the house or converted loft space. A fairly common ‘feature of rooms of this nature is the sloping celling. You must take sufficient measurements to enable its area to be calculated, which can then be added to the GEA of the dwelling. The area to be calculated Is that which has headroom of more than 1.5m. For example, in the illustration shown below, the floor of the ‘room in the roof’ measures 8.5m x 6.7m which gives an area of 23.4m* However, as you can see, on either side of the room is a section, which, because of the sloping ceiling, has @ headroom of less than 1.5m and therefore must be excluded from the area. The calculation is set out below: 2.50 x 6.70 = 16.75 Plus dormer (because no low headroom at this point) 050x110 =0.55 Total Net Internal Area =17.3 However, as this is a house it is necessary to calculate GEA, not NIA so therefore the wall thicknesses. should be added to the dimensions before calculating the are:- — Cavity external walls ......add 280m for each wall Solid external walls........add 28em for each wall = Internal walls .....-.---...€dd 1 1em for each wall If we assume that walls ‘A’ in the illustration are 22cm and walls 'B’ are 11cm then:- 2.50 + 0.22 (2x 0.11) = 72 x 6.70 + 0.44 (2x 0.22) = 7.14 = 19.42 Plus dormer window 0.61 (0.50 + 0.11) x 1.10 = 0.67 Total to be added to GEA 20.1When measuring the upper floor areas of a dormer, chalet, attic or any room in the roof ,for conversion to GEA all landings and stairwells must be included in the overall area. Oniy when working on NIA, as ina flat or maisonette, are corridors, landings and stairs excluded from the total area. Dormer Bungalows ‘A common question raised by the conversion of loft space in a bungalow is “When is a bungalow a house?”. The answer is when a significant proportion of the living accommodation is above ground floor level with access by means of a permanent staircase. Generally ‘significant proportion’ means grater than 50% of the GEA of the ground floor, Basements It the dwelling has a basement, sufficient measurements are required to enable an external area to be calculated by adding wall thicknessWork Aid Summary VOA Code of Measuring Practice for Council Tax purposes Gross External Area — GEA : used for Houses and Bungalows and Chalet style dwellings. Broadly speaking, GEA will include all areas within the external face of extemal walls, including all projections. Party walls are measured to centre lines. It will normally exclude: Open balconies Open fire escapes Open sided covered ways e.g. an open porch. Garages (detached and integral) and parking areas ‘Areas with a headroom less than 1.5 metres (except under stairs) e.g. altic rooms used as living accommodation or bedrooms with low sloping ceilings, but adding for notional wall thickness. geeNe Net Internal Area — NIA: used for flats and maisonettes Broadly speaking NIA for flats will include the net floor area of the internal rooms, measured to the internal wall finish (not skirtings). It will normally exclude:- Hallways and passages, Landings and stairways Bathrooms and WCs Cupboards opening off excluded areas Areas with a headroom of less than 1.5 metres re poPhunky Formulae! {all the formulae you'll ever need & same you'll hope you never usell) For Council Tax purposes dimensions should be shown to two places of decimals, areas to one place of decimals and total area to the nearest whole number. The symbols for metres - m and square metres - m? have been omitted, as these would not normally appear on survey sheets. Plane Figures (Areas) Square Area = Side x Side 600 Example 6-00 x 6-00 =360 600 Rectangle Area = Length x Width 800 Example 12:00 x 8-00 =96-0 1200 Triangle ‘Aree Basex Perpendicular Height : 2 | Exenple 15.00 x 1000 too 2Trapezium 10.00 Rhombus Rhomboid f__] 7 / , f fom At wi Parts of a Circle Area = Sum ofparallel sides = Perpendicular height 2 Example = 1000+ 8.00 * 4-00 2 - 1600 x 4.00 2 - 900 «400 - 360 Area = Base x Perpendicular height Example 6-00 x 5-00 = 30-0 Area = Base x Perpendicular height Example 14-00 x 7-00 = 98-0A) Acircle is a plane figure bounded by a curved line called the circumference B) A radius of a circle is a straight line drawn from the centre to the circumference C) A diameter of a circle is a straight line passing through the centre and terminated both ways by the circumference (see chord) D) An are is any part of the circumference E) A chord of a circle is a straight line joining any two points at the circumference, It follows therefore that the diameter is the largest chord of a circle F) A segment of a circle is that part of a circle bounded by an arc and a chord G) A sector of a circle is that part of a circle bounded by two radii and the arc between them Circle Note: 7 or Pi is a constant figure obtained by dividing the circumference of a circle by its diameter. Its numerical equivalent, for Valuation Office purposes, is 3-14 Area = =” Example = 3.14 x 5.00 x 5.00 = 3.14 x 25.0 = 78.5 fu _, * rT a, Example ax a0 x 1000 ¥ 3140Sector OR 500 Segment 500 Parabola . 13075 "131 Aros = Sector Anglo x K e2 Example = 6) «3.14 x 5:00 * 500 360 Mx B14 x 25 - Y x 795 - 13083 = 131 Area = Area of Sector - Angle of Triangle Example 90» 314 » $00 » $00 - $00 = 500 360 2 = MHA 80 Plane figure formed by cutting a cone parallel to its side10-00 Regular Polygon OQ Segment (Approximations) Formula Area =" circumscribing rectangle or base x perpendicular height Example Area =% x 18-00 x 10-00 = 2 x 6-00 x 10:00 = 1200 Plane figure with any number of equal angles and sides Formula Area = Side’ x K (Constant) Polygon No of Sides K Pentagon 5 172 Hexagen 6 2598 Heptagon 1 3634 Octagon 8 4828 Nomgen 9 6182 Decagon 10 7.694 Undecagon n 9.366 Dusdecagen 12 11196 Example Area = Side” x K = 10-00? x 2598 = 100-0 x 2598 = 2598 Areas %Chord x Perpendicular height Example 1% x 27-00 x 10-00 = 18-00 x 10:00 = 180-0 Amore accurate approximation Area ® —% Chord » Perpendicular height + height? 2chord1200 Hero's Formula 1500 / \t400 © ® O30 10-00" Example2 =f * 27-00 = 1000 + 2x2 = 1800 « 1000 + 1o0000 540 = 1800 + 185 = 1985 Area® % Chord x Perpendicular height Example 1% x 12-00 x 2:00 = 8-00 x 2:00 = 160, A more accurate approximation ‘Area 2 4 Chord * Perpendicular height + heighi® 2 chord 2-00" sample? « 1200 < 200 + ze 2 ane on. 212-00 goo = 200 + 800 540 160 + 03 = 163 For calculating the area of a triangle where it is not possible to measure the perpendicular height, but the dimensions of all three sides are available. Area =-56= 2x5 95-9 Where: S = the semi-perimeter and a, b and c equal the sides of a triangle 13-00 + 14-00 + 15-00 42-00 Example : S = 2 = 21-00 areaM-00 x8 007-00 x6-00 = ¥1056-0 = 84-0 Pythagoras's Theorem In a right-angled triangle the square described on the © @ hypotenuse is equal to the sum of the squares described on the other two sides. Example a* = b?+ c? 5:00 x 5:00 = (4:00 x 4-00) + (3-00 x 3-00) 25-0 = 16:0 +9-0 25-0 = 25-0 Hence b? = a? - c” or 400° = 5-00" - 3-007 And ¢? = a? - b? or 3:00? = 5-00? - 4:00" Therefore a= te = Vi6v9 = JB a5 = 5-9 = M64 jaw _ J5-16- 8-3