Some buildings are designed to be used by Town Councils or public sector/healthcare/military workers, and are therefore quite unique and it’s simply not appropriate or possible to value them for a commercial use. The contractor’s test is the method of valuation used for property where there is no open market.It is also the method of valuation adopted ‘as a last resort’ for rating. The contractor’s method works on the idea of the cost of the land plus the cost of the buildings upon it equals the value of the property as a whole.