Catalogue description Land Values Reference Committee

The Land Values Reference Committee for England and Wales (consisting of the Lord Chief Justice of England, the Master of the Rolls and the President of the Surveyors' Institution) was established by the Finance (1909-1910) Act 1910 to regulate procedure in appeals made against assessments of land values and duties imposed by that Act; and a panel of persons was appointed by the Committee to act as referees for the purpose of determining such appeals. The Defence of the Realm (Acquisition of Land) Act 1916 provided for the appointment by the Reference Committee of a panel of referees to determine questions of compensation and land purchase prices to be paid under the Act. The Acquisition of Land (Assessment of Compensation) Act 1919 provided for the appointment by the Reference Committee of a panel of official arbitrators, to determine, in accordance with rules made by the Committee, disputes over compensation and rent apportionment in respect of land compulsorily acquired for public purposes. By the Law of Property Act 1925 these official arbitrators were empowered (under rules to be made by the Reference Committee) to discharge or modify restrictive covenants affecting land and to determine related questions of compensation. From 1941 to 1945 under the War Damage Acts, 1941 and 1943, an appeal lay from a determination of the War Damage Commission to one of the panel of referees appointed under the Finance (1909-1910) Act 1910 in accordance with rules made by the Reference Committee. The War Damage (Valuation Appeals) Act 1945, however, provided that such appeals should in future lie to the War Damage (Valuation Appeals) Panel, appointed by the Lord Chancellor. The Land Values Reference Committee ceased to exist when the Lands Tribunal took over the work of all these panels.