Business rate relief

Charities and registered community amateur sports clubs can get 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 can award a further 20% in certain circumstances, giving up to 100% relief.

We can also give up to 100% relief for a non-domestic property that is occupied by an organisation not established or conducted for profit.

Rate relief for charities and non-profit making organisations

We can give relief on grounds of hardship. Relief will be considered if it can be shown that:

• you would have financial difficulties if we did not grant relief, and
• it is reasonable for us to grant relief, considering the interests of Council Tax payers.

We will decide each case on its own merits.

Apply for hardship relief

Office space occupied by local newspapers can get a discount of up to £1,500 per year until 31 March 2025.

Newspaper relief can be claimed up to a maximum of one discount per local newspaper title and per property and up to subsidy allowance (state aid) limits.

If you think this applies to you, please contact us

We can give temporary relief to ratepayers who are only using a part of their property where the rest is completely unused.

This relief is only available where the unused part will remain so for a short time only. Partly occupied relief is stopped at the end of the rating year. If the part of your property that is unused is going to remain empty for the foreseeable future and it is capable of being split from the part that is being used, you can ask the Valuation Officer to split the assessment.

A Visiting Officer may visit your property to see if you are eligible for relief. If we decide that relief can be given, we will ask the Valuation Officer to issue a certificate to show the rateable values of the occupied and unoccupied parts. We will then send a revised bill.

Please note that until and unless we send you a revised bill, your current rates remain payable.

Apply for partly occupied relief

2024-25

Retail, leisure and hospitality businesses can get 75% relief on their business rates bill from 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025. This relief is capped and businesses can only receive relief up to the maximum limit of £110,000 relief across all eligible business properties.

If you have more than one occupied business property you can get a retail discount on each one that qualifies, up to the £110,000 cap. We will do our best to identify properties where an award of retail discount will mean that they are likely to exceed the cap and remove the discount.

If we have applied the discount but your business has or will exceed the cap level, you MUST tell us to opt out of the retail discount. We will remove the discount and send you a revised business rates bill. If we have removed the discount as we believe you may exceed the cap but you would like to receive it on your property, please contact us and confirm that you will not exceed the cap. We will reapply the discount and issue a revised bill.

You can refuse to receive a retail discount. Please tell us if you want to opt out of the retail discount. We will remove the discount from your account and send you an updated bill with instalments to pay.

2023-24

Retail, leisure and hospitality businesses can get 75% relief on their business rates bill from 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024. This relief is capped and businesses can only receive relief up to the maximum limit of £110,000 relief across all eligible business properties.

If you have more than one occupied business property you can get a retail discount on each one that qualifies, up to the £110,000 cap. We will do our best to identify properties where an award of retail discount will mean that they are likely to exceed the cap and remove the discount.

If we have applied the discount but your business has or will exceed the cap level, you MUST tell us to opt out of the retail discount. We will remove the discount and send you a revised business rates bill. If we have removed the discount as we believe you may exceed the cap but you would like to receive it on your property, please contact us and confirm that you will not exceed the cap. We will reapply the discount and issue a revised bill.

You can refuse to receive a retail discount. Please tell us if you want to opt out of the retail discount. We will remove the discount from your account and send you an updated bill with instalments to pay.

2022-23

Retail, leisure and hospitality businesses can get 50% relief on their business rates bill from 1 April 2022 to 31 March 2023. This relief is capped and businesses can only receive relief up to the maximum limit of £110,000 relief across all eligible business properties.

If you have more than one occupied business property you can get a retail discount on each one that qualifies, up to the £110,000 cap. We will do our best to identify properties where an award of retail discount will mean that they are likely to exceed the cap and remove the discount.

If we have applied the discount but your business has or will exceed the cap level, you MUST tell us to opt out of the retail discount. We will remove the discount and send you a revised business rates bill. If we have removed the discount as we believe you may exceed the cap but you would like to receive it on your property, please contact us and confirm that you will not exceed the cap. We will reapply the discount and issue a revised bill.

You can refuse to receive a retail discount. Please tell us if you want to opt out of the retail discount. We will remove the discount from your account and send you an updated bill with instalments to pay.

Properties that will be considered for a retail discount

Properties that are being used for the sale of goods to visiting members of the public:

• shops (like florists, bakers, butchers, grocers, greengrocers, jewellers, stationers, off-licences, chemists, newsagents, hardware stores, supermarkets)
• charity shops
• opticians
• Post Offices
• furnishing shops or display rooms (like carpet shops, double glazing, garage doors)
• car or caravan show rooms
• second hand car lots
• markets
• petrol stations
• garden centres
• art galleries (where art is for sale or hire).

Properties that are being used to provide the following services to visiting members of the public:

• hair and beauty services (like hairdressers, nail bars, beauty salons, tanning shops)
• shoe repairs and key cutting
• travel agents
• ticket offices (for example, for theatre)
• dry cleaners
• launderettes
• PC, TV or domestic appliance repair
• funeral directors
• photo processing
• tool hire
• car hire
• employment agencies
• estate agents and letting shops
• betting shops.

Properties that are being used for the sale of food and/or drink to visiting members of the public:

• restaurants
• takeaways
• sandwich shops
• coffee shops
• pubs
• bars.

Properties that are being used as cinemas.

Properties that are being used as live music venues:

• properties that are wholly or mainly used for the performance of live music for the purposes of entertaining an audience
• properties can be a live music venue even if they are used for other activities, as long as those other activities are secondary to the performance of live music (for example, the sale of alcohol to audience members)
• properties can still get a discount if they are used infrequently for other purposes.

Properties that are being used for the provision of sport, leisure and facilities to visiting members of the public (including for the viewing of such activities):

• sports groups and clubs
• museums and galleries
• nightclubs
• sport and leisure facilities
• stately homes and historic houses
• theatres
• tourist attractions
• gyms
• wellness centres, spas and massage parlours
• casinos, gambling clubs and bingo halls.

Properties that are being used for the assembly of visiting members of the public:

• public halls
• clubhouses, clubs and institutions.

Properties used as hotels, guest and boarding premises and self-catering accommodation:

• hotels, guest and boarding houses
• holiday homes
• caravan parks and sites.

Properties that will not be considered for a retail discount

• financial services (like banks, building societies, cash points, bureaux de change, short-term loan providers)
• medical services (like vets, dentists, doctors, osteopaths, chiropractors)
• professional services (like solicitors, accountants, insurance agents, financial advisers)
• Post Office sorting offices
• event companies
• trade suppliers to the retail, leisure or hospitality industries
• online retailers.

These are not complete lists. If you’re unsure if your business is eligible for a retail discount, please contact us.

The rural rate relief scheme was introduced to help protect the last retail outlets and similar services in rural areas with a population of less than 3,000.

Under the scheme, the following businesses in certain rural areas are entitled to 100% rate relief:

• the only food shop, general store or Post Office with a rateable value of less than £8,500
• the only public house or petrol station with a rateable value of up to £12,500

The property must be occupied.

It is possible for both a general store and a Post Office in the same rural area to qualify for this relief, if they both meet the conditions.

To qualify for relief, a general store must mainly sell both food and general household goods. Only part of the property need be used as a general store. For example, the business of a general store and another business could be carried out side-by-side in one premises. If there are two general stores in the same rural area, neither will qualify for this relief; although, if either functions as a Post Office, relief for this can be claimed separately.

If you don’t meet the above conditions, we may still award discretionary relief of up to 100% for a property in a rural area if:

• the property has a rateable value of £16,500 of less
• the property is used for purposes which are of benefit to the local community; and
• it would be reasonable for us to award relief, considering the interests of the Council Tax payers in the district.

Apply for rural rate relief

This relief is available to ratepayers who have lost some or all of their small business rate relief or rural rate relief as a result of an increase in rateable value as a result of a revaluation. This relief was introduced from 1 April 2017 to help phase-in large increases in the amount billed for those affected and an amended scheme is in place from 1 April 2023.

The scheme limits any increase in business rates to £600 per year. Relief will automatically be applied each year that the business is eligible to receive it; this could be every year or could end sooner if the bill amount without the relief is reached.

This means that in the first year of the scheme, all ratepayers losing some or all of their small business rate or rural rate relief will have the increase in their bill capped at £600. For subsequent years of the valuation period, the bill will increase by no more than £600 per year.

Should your property become empty during the period of the scheme or if you are entitled to mandatory relief for charities or community amateur sports clubs, you will no longer be eligible to receive supporting small businesses relief and your bill will return to the full amount due without this relief.

We automatically identify those ratepayers who should receive this relief and apply it to their bill.

If you feel that you qualify for this relief but it is not showing on your bill, please contact the business rates team.

All rateable values are reassessed at a general revaluation. From 1 April 2023 revaluations will take place every three years. On 1 April 2023, the new rating list came into effect and your bill will be based on the rateable value assigned to the property on this date.

Property values normally change a good deal between each revaluation, so transitional relief arrangements help to phase-in the effects of these changes on ratepayers’ bills. From 1 April 2023, only large rises are restricted so businesses are not suddenly asked to pay much larger amounts.  Where there is a decrease in rateable value, ratepayers will see the reduction in their bill straight away.

We will automatically include transitional relief when we calculate your bill. It is shown on the bill as ‘Transitional Adjustment’.

Transitional relief limits the percentage your business rates bill can be increased each year following revaluation. The transitional relief will apply each year until the full amount is due and your bill reaches what your full bill should be.

The full bill is calculated by multiplying the rateable value by the multiplier. More information is available on how are business rates calculated page.

More information on transitional rate relief is available on the GOV.UK website.

Non-domestic properties are exempt from paying business rates for the first three months that they are empty and unoccupied. After this time, most businesses must pay full business rates.

Some properties can get extended empty property relief:

• industrial premises, such as warehouses, are exempt for a further three months
• listed buildings are exempt until they become occupied again
• buildings with a rateable value under £2,900 are exempt until they become occupied again
• properties owned by charities are exempt if the property’s next use is likely to be wholly or mainly for charitable purposes
• community amateur sports club buildings if their next use is likely to be wholly or mainly for a sports club

After the exemption period ends business rates will be charged at 100%.

Please note that a change in ownership or tenancy will not affect the right to an exemption. For example, if someone purchases or leases a property that has already been unoccupied for over three months a new period of exemption cannot be applied.

• Policy for the Granting of Discretionary Business Rates Relief 2024 – volume 1 (PDF)
• Policy for the Granting of Discretionary Business Rates Relief 2024 – volume 2 (PDF)