But what business rates reliefs are there, exactly? Our business rates advisors provide a rundown of the main reliefs you could be eligible to claim.
Properties which are wholly / mainly used for Retail, Hospitality and Leisure use were able to claim 75% relief in the business rates charge for the 2024/25 financial year.
However, this has subsequently been reduced to 40% for the current 2025/26 year, with the cap remaining at £110,000 per year.
For the 2026 Rating List (Revaluation), it was the Government’s intention to replace the existing scheme by introducing two lower multipliers (rates in the pound) for Retail, Hospitality and Leisure properties.
The relief would be funded by introducing a “super” multiplier for properties with Rateable Values (RVs) of £500,000 or above.
However, the House of Lords recently voted to “halt” these reforms as, in their opinion, Government had failed to justify their £500,000 Rateable Value threshold.
For Revaluation 2026, all non-domestic properties will be prescribed new RVs which may be at an increased level when compared to the previous Rating List.
Transitional limits are set so that, if your property’s RV increases by more than a certain amount, the increase in your rates liability will be phased in, ensuring that the increase to your business rates charge is gradual.
Where a property is totally unoccupied, you could be eligible for a three or six month exemption period from business rates (100% relief).
The relief starts from when the property becomes empty. After this time a full business rates charge may apply.
Where part of a property is empty, partial empty rate relief could be applied to the unoccupied portion for a three or six month period. Industrial properties attract six months relief with shops / offices, three months.
Note: Empty and Partial Empty Rate Relief applies to the property. Therefore, if the previous occupier has already claimed the three or six month period, the Council may not grant any further relief to you.
However, it may be possible to reoccupy the property for a 13-week period (this has recently been extended) and then vacate to be eligible for an additional three or six month period of relief.
If you make certain improvements to your property, you may be able to claim one year’s rate relief which starts from when the improvements were completed.
To be eligible, any improvements must increase the RV of the property and be completed on or after 1 April 2025.
They must also either increase the size of the property or add new features of equipment such as heating, air conditioning, CCTV.
However, improvements to existing features or equipment do not qualify and the property must be occupied during and after the works. The level of relief is discretionary, and your local Council will decide how much improvement relief you are entitled to.
This relief requires the ratepayer to disclose any improvements made to the Valuation Office Agency (VOA). This all ties in with their Duty to Notify provisions whereby the onus will be on the ratepayer to advise the VOA of any changes to their property within 60 days of the change.
Although these provisions have not yet been implemented, we believe Government may introduce them in a phased manner during the 2026 Rating List.
SBRR is a scheme that reduces or eliminates business rates for eligible small businesses and is based on a cumulative amount of all your properties RVs.
This relief was introduced to help businesses facing large increases in their business rates following the 2023 revaluation, as some ratepayers had lost all or part of their small business rate relief.
However, it will end on the 31 March 2026, and no announcements have yet been made by Government suggesting this will be implemented again for the 2026 Revaluation or substituted with a different business rates relief.
If you are a charity (or the trustees of a charity) or a community amateur sports club (CASC), you may be eligible for up to 80% rate relief with an additional discount at the discretion of the Council.
This relief is divided into sections and is relevant in rural settlements where the population does not exceed 3,000 – usually a village or hamlet.
Rate relief of 100% is available for General Stores, Post Offices, Rural Food Shops, Public Houses and Petrol Filling Stations, dependent on whether you meet the criteria. More information on this relief is available upon request.
Each Council can use their discretion to grant this relief if they are of the opinion that you would be in financial difficulty without it, and it would be in the interests of local people to grant the relief.
Many of the above reliefs are discretionary, with each Council adopting their own policies and criteria, so it is important to seek professional advice from a business rates expert, who will be able to ensure you take advantage of what you are eligible for.
The Non-Domestic Rating Act 2023 became law in Autumn 2023, affecting all occupiers, owners and investors in commercial property.
Below is a summary what it implemented:
