Business rates reductions and relief

Business improvement relief 2024

From 1 April 2024, improvement relief will support businesses wishing to invest in their property. It will ensure that no ratepayer will face higher business rates bills for 12 months as a result of qualifying improvements to a property they occupy.

The relief will apply to works completed by 31 March 2028 (with qualifying works completed by that date benefitting from 12 months of relief).

It's possible that improvement works lead to the split or merger of a property, creating a new property. The value in the certificate is the change in rateable value from the improvement works and not from the new hereditament being larger (due to a merger) or smaller (due to a split).

The certificate can be amended during the 12-month period if further improvement works take place.

You can provide supporting evidence if you have: 

• increased the size of, or improved the physical state of an existing property
• occupied the property every day since the improvement works started

Please upload the following to our evidence form:

• floor plans
• photographic evidence of improvements made

A business rates inspector will visit the premises to assess if improvements have been made.

This assessment will be provided to the Valuation Office Agency (VOA). They will make the final decision about whether the relief can be awarded.

A certificate showing the new rateable value will be issued by the VOA by post or email.

Transitional relief

Property values normally change a good deal between each revaluation. Transitional arrangements help to phase in the effects of these changes by limiting increases in bills. To help pay for the limits on increases in bills, there also have to be limits on reductions in bills.

Under the transition scheme, limits continue to apply to yearly increases and decreases until the full amount is due (rateable value times the appropriate multiplier). The scheme applies only to the bill based on a property at the time of the revaluation.

If there are any changes to the property after a revaluation, transitional arrangements will not normally apply to the part of a bill that relates to any increase in rateable value due to those changes. Any transitional adjustments are shown on the front of your bill.

Empty properties

Business rates will not be payable in the first three months that the property is empty (six months for certain industrial properties). After this period, empty rate is payable at the full rate. There are a number of exemptions such as listed buildings and land used as storage. Properties with a rateable value of less than £2,900 are also exempt.

Please remember to notify us immediately when you move or vacate any property. Documentary evidence may be required to alter our records.

Partly occupied property relief

A ratepayer is liable for the full non-domestic rate whether a property is wholly occupied or only partly occupied. Where a property is partly occupied for a short time, we have discretion to award relief in respect of the unoccupied part.

Mandatory relief

Mandatory relief is given to charities/friendly societies or the trustees of a charity, Community Amateur Sports Club (CASC) or organisations which are specifically exempted from registration with the Charity Commission, where the property is being wholly or mainly used for charitable purposes. In these cases the business rates will be reduced by 80%.

Discretionary relief

Section 47 of the Local Government Finance Act 1988 empowers us to award certain businesses and organisations relief from rates. This relief can be awarded in addition to any mandatory relief to a body qualifying under Section 45.

There is a limited budget for discretionary rate relief and so it is necessary for us to restrict eligibility to certain organisations. Only organisations eligible for mandatory relief (80% relief funded by central government), can be awarded discretionary rate relief.

Those not eligible include: charity shops and cafés, housing associations, buildings used mainly for worship and bodies operating a restrictive membership policy. Different arrangements are in place for schools and museums.  

Hardship relief

This discretionary relief can be granted by us if you are experiencing hardship and your business is considered to be important to the local community.

Small business rate relief

Ratepayers who occupy a property with a rateable value which does not exceed £50,999 (and who are not entitled to other mandatory relief or are liable for unoccupied property rates) will have their bills calculated using the lower small business non-domestic rating multiplier, rather than the national non-domestic rating multiplier.

In addition, generally, if the sole or main property is shown on the rating list with a rateable value which does not exceed £15,000, the ratepayer will receive a percentage reduction in their rates bill for this property of up to a maximum of 100%. For a property with a rateable value of no more than £12,000, the ratepayer will receive a 100% reduction in their rates bill.

Generally, this percentage reduction is only available to ratepayers who occupy either: 

• one property
• one main property and other additional properties – providing those additional properties each have a rateable value which does not exceed £2,899

The rateable value of the property, or the combined rateable value of all the properties, must not exceed £19,999 outside London or £27,999 in London on each day for which the reduction is being sought. If the rateable value increases above those levels, relief will cease from the day of the increase.

The Government has introduced additional support to small businesses. For those businesses that take on an additional property which would normally have meant the loss of small business rate relief, the Government has confirmed that they will be allowed to keep the relief for a period of 12 months.

Retail discount

At the Autumn Statement on 22 November 2023, the Chancellor announced the introduction of a new business rates relief scheme for retail, hospitality and leisure properties worth around £2.1billion in 2024/25. 

The 2024/25 Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Business Rates Relief scheme will provide eligible, occupied, retail, hospitality and leisure properties with a 75% relief, up to a cash cap limit of £110,000 per business. 

If you’re a ratepayer who occupies more than one property, you’ll be entitled to relief for each of your eligible properties – up to the maximum £110,000 cash cap per business. 

You should not exceed this limit across all of your properties in England under any circumstances.

What properties will benefit?

Occupied properties that are wholly or mainly used as:

• shops, restaurants, cafes, drinking establishments, cinemas or live music venues
• for assembly or leisure, sports clubs, village halls, nightclubs, tourist attractions
• hotels, guesthouses, self-catering accommodation

Please contact the team with the date you opened for trade for the relief award to be considered.

You should tell us immediately if:

• you believe that receiving the discount will breach the £110,000 cash cap limit
• your business will exceed the Small Amounts of Financial Assistance limit of £343,000 over 3 years (including 2022/23)
• we have automatically granted you the discount but you are not eligible for any reason

You can refuse the relief for each eligible property anytime up to 31 March 2025 but cannot withdraw your refusal for either all or part of the financial year.

Please contact us if you would like the discount removed.

The Government has issued guidance on the operation of the scheme. For further information please contact us.

Discount for becoming a London Living Wage employer

You can get a discount on your business rates by becoming an accredited London Living Wage employer.

Documents

Please refer to the documents below for full details of eligibility before completing and submitting your application.