Business Rate reliefs and exemptions

Business rates will not be payable in the first three months that a property is empty. This is extended to six months in the case of certain industrial properties. After this period, rates are payable in full in accordance with the multipliers set by Government for unoccupied properties, this is called the Unoccupied Property Rate.

The exemption is property-based as opposed to account-based, therefore changes in Business Rates liability do not trigger a new period of empty exemption.

In addition, there are a number of exemptions available from the Unoccupied Property Rate.

Charities and Community Amateur Sports Clubs

Properties owned by charities and community amateur sports clubs are not subject to the three or six months period for the relief as long the following occupancy is for the same purpose.

Occupation prohibited by law

An unoccupied property is exempt where its owner is prohibited by law from occupying it or allowing it to be occupied. This situation may arise where we have taken legal action to prevent occupation on the grounds of a risk to health and/or safety.

Listed buildings

A building which is the subject of a building preservation notice, or which is included in a list of buildings of specific architectural or historic interest, is exempt.

Ancient monuments

Exemption extends to property which are included in a schedule of monuments.

Minimum rateable value

Property with a rateable value of less than £2,900 are exempt.

Personal representatives of deceased persons

A property is exempt where the owner is entitled to possession only in his capacity as the personal representative of a deceased person.

Insolvency and debt administration

Exemption from liability on unoccupied property also applies in the following situations (where governed by the appropriate legislation) where:

• there exists in respect of the owner's estate a bankruptcy order
• the owner is entitled to possession of the property in his capacity as trustee under a deed of arrangement
• the owner is a company which is subject to a winding up order or which is being wound up voluntarily
• the owner is entitled to possession of the property in the capacity of a liquidator

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Empty properties are inspected regularly, additional information may be required in some instances to support the empty relief application.

Empty relief requests for historic periods will not be awarded unless sufficient evidence is supplied which shows the premises were empty for the period in question.

This relief is aimed at helping small businesses where they are not entitled to another mandatory relief. Relief is based on the Rateable Value (RV) of your business premises in the relevant valuation period.

Who qualifies?

Businesses that occupy only one property in England and have an RV of less than £15,000 (£12,000 prior to April 2017).

If a business becomes liable for Business Rates for a second property, they may keep getting any existing relief on their main property for 12 months. Businesses may continue to qualify after the 12 months noted above if they occupy one main property and other additional properties, providing that the additional properties do not have individual RVs of more than £2,899 (£2,599 prior to April 2017) and the combined RV of all the properties is under £20,000 (£18,000 prior to April 2017).

Businesses that qualify for small business rate relief when they occupy more than one property, can only be granted relief on the main property.

Relief amount

Relief is on a sliding scale.

From April 2010 to 31 March 2017 properties with an RV of up to £6,000 receive 100 per cent relief.

Properties with an RV between £6,000 and £12,000, will receive tapered relief and relief will gradually reduce from 100 per cent at £6,000 to 0 per cent at £12,000.

From 1 April 2017 Small Business Rate Relief (SBRR) will double and the thresholds will increase to benefit a greater number of businesses.

Properties with an RV of up to £12,000 will receive 100 per cent relief.

Properties with an RV between £12,000 and £15,000 will receive tapered relief and relief will gradually reduce from 100 percent at £12,000 to 0 percent at £15,000.

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A rural settlement is defined as a settlement with a population of no more than 3,000 which is wholly or partly within a council's defined rural settlement area.

The rural rate relief scheme

Certain types of properties in a rural settlement with a population below 3,000 may be entitled to full relief. The property must be the only general store, the only post office or a the only food shop and have a rateable value of less than £8,500, or the only public house or the only petrol station and have a rateable value of less than £12,500. The property must be occupied. 

We have a discretionary power to award 100 per cent rural rate relief to eligible business ratepayers.

We will automatically award 100 per cent rural rate relief if your property meets the eligibility criteria and apply it to your bill. We do, however, require you to make a "De Minimis" Declaration in relation to Subsidy Allowance to confirm the award of the relief.

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Charities and registered Community Amateur Sports Clubs are entitled to 80% relief where the property is occupied by the charity or the club, and is wholly or mainly used for the charitable purposes of the charity (or of that and other charities), or for the purposes of the club (or of that and other clubs).

We have the discretion to reduce the bill further.

We can also give relief to certain bodies not established or conducted for profit. This is a discretionary relief. The purpose of the organisation applying for the relief must be philanthropic, religious or concerned with education, social welfare, science, literature or the fine arts.

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Section 44a of the Local Government Finance Act 1988 enables us to grant relief on business premises that are partly occupied, as long as this situation is for 'a short time only'.

The situation must be happening at the present time, so retrospective claims cannot be considered.

This is a discretionary power, and we must be satisfied that the property is part occupied before requesting a certificate of apportionment from the Valuation Office Agency, which determines the rateable value for both the occupied and unoccupied parts of the property.

In order to apply for S44a relief, the ratepayer must put a request in writing to the authority, including a plan of the property clearly marking the areas that are occupied and unoccupied. A plan will also be required to show how it is intended to bring the unoccupied part back into use and within what timescales.

A visit will then be arranged to view the premises and confirm the details of the plan. If the relief is agreed upon, then a request will be sent to the Valuation Office Agency for a certificate. Once this is received and processed, an amended bill will be sent to the ratepayer reflecting the relief granted.

The relief will end at the expiry of the 'short period', depending upon the circumstances of the case, or at the end of the financial year if that is sooner.

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Sometimes there are exceptional circumstances where we can reduce or remit the amount of Non-Domestic Rates you pay if you would suffer hardship if we don't and it is the best interests of our Council Tax payers.

This is in accordance with Section 49 of the Local Government Finance Act 1988.

Who can apply for hardship relief?

We can award hardship relief to any ratepayer.

How is the decision made?

We treat all applications on their own merit and will consider several factors before making our decision including:

• your current circumstances
• why you need hardship relief
• the 'interests' of our council tax payers. We consider the community financial interests and employment prospects.

You must provide evidence of your hardship to support your application. This must include a copy of your last three year's audited accounts or trading accounts, but may also include bank statements and cash flow statements or any other evidence you think is relevant to your application.

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From 1 April 2026, the Government is introducing updated Transitional Relief and an expanded Supporting Small Business (SSB) scheme to help ratepayers manage changes in their bills following the 2026 revaluation.

These schemes apply automatically where eligible - you do not need to apply.

Transitional Relief (2026 to 2029)

The Government has introduced a redesigned £3.2 billion Transitional Relief scheme to limit how much a ratepayer’s bill can increase each year as a result of the revaluation.

Annual increases are capped depending on the property’s rateable value. These caps ensure that businesses facing large rises move to their full liability gradually, over several years. Transitional Relief will be automatically applied to eligible bills.

Supporting Small Business (SSB) Relief (2026)

The SSB scheme protects ratepayers losing:

• Small Business Rate Relief
• Rural Rate Relief
• Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Relief

Under this scheme, bills will increase by a maximum of £800 or the relevant transitional cap - whichever is higher. 
The SSB scheme ensures small businesses do not experience sharp increases as a result of changing relief entitlement.

The 1p Transitional Relief Supplement

If your business does not qualify for Transitional Relief or Supporting Small Business Relief, the Government requires that a 1p supplement is added to your business rates multiplier for one year from 1 April 2026.

This supplement helps fund the national Transitional Relief scheme. You will see this reflected in the multiplier used to calculate your bill.

If you do qualify for Transitional Relief, you may still notice the 1p supplement displayed on your bill for transparency. However, you will not pay extra because of it.

The transitional rules ensure that your final charge is capped, meaning:

• the supplement is shown as part of the calculation
• the transitional cap overrides it, so your total amount payable cannot exceed your protected transitional limit
• your bill is automatically adjusted so that you do not pay more than you would under the capped calculation

This means that while the supplement appears on the bill, it does not increase the amount you pay if you qualify for Transitional Relief.

In summary:

• transitional relief and SSB apply automatically if you qualify
• businesses not receiving either scheme will pay a 1p supplement to help fund Transitional Relief
• businesses receiving Transitional Relief may still see the supplement, but they will not pay extra, as transitional protections offset it in full

We have the discretion to award up to 100% relief from the rates due under Section 47 of the Local Government Finance Act 1988. This relief can be awarded to organisations that are not for profit, and the property is being wholly and mainly used for charitable purposes; these being for the purposes of education, social welfare, science, literature, or fine arts; or the property is used for recreation by a not-for-profit organisation, society, or other organisation.

The organisation does not need to be receiving mandatory charitable relief to apply; however, those organisations in receipt of 80% mandatory relief can apply for a ‘top-up’ amount of up to 20% of the rates due.

More detailed information regarding the policy when considering applications can be found below. This includes information relating to the length of the award and the decision-making process.

Should you wish to make an application you will need to complete the application form and supply 2 years of accounts together with a copy of the organisation’s constitution.

In 2026-27, all pubs and live music venues will benefit from a 15% business rates relief on top of the support announced at Budget 2025. Their bills will then be frozen in real terms for a further two years.

Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Business Rates Relief scheme

The 2025/26 Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Business Rates Relief scheme provided eligible occupied retail, hospitality, and leisure properties with a 40% relief. The total value of relief available per business, whether occupying one or more properties, was capped at £110,000.

From the 1st of April 2026, the temporary Retail, Hospitality and Leisure (RHL) relief scheme in England ends and is replaces by a permanent system of lower business rates multipliers for qualifying properties with a rateable value of under £500,000.