Reports emerging from Whitehall indicate that HMRC-linked valuation inspectors will begin physical visits to homes as part of groundwork for a new property tax set to take effect from 2028. The move signals that the long-rumoured overhaul of how residential property is taxed in England has moved from speculation to active preparation, with officials understood to be trialling valuation methodologies ahead of a formal rollout. For an industry that has operated for more than three decades on the fiction of 1991 property values — the basis for current council tax bands — this represents the most concrete step yet towards a system rooted in real, current market pricing.