It is over a year since changes to the Empty Property Rate (EPR) rules resulted in empty warehouses becoming liable for the same rates as occupied buildings.

When the new rating scheme was introduced (on April 1, 2008) UKWA, expressed considerable concern about the impact that the legislation would have on the logistics and third-party storage industries.

It would appear that these fears were well-justified, as Roger Williams, chief executive officer of UKWA, explains: "The Government's move to scrap rate relief on empty industrial property has led many landlords to demolish perfectly sound warehouse property as a way of avoiding paying the substantial amounts of tax that unoccupied facilities now incur. Indeed, a recent report by property consultants Lambert Smith Hampton, found that owners of properties tended to wait for 12 to 18 months once a property had become vacant before making the decision to demolish it, which indicates that the speed of demolition of warehouse buildings is likely to increase in the near future.