Rate relief

• 2024/25 Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Relief
• local discounts
• partly occupied relief
• small business rate relief
• relief for charities, community amateur sports clubs and other non-profit making organisations 
• rate relief for businesses in rural areas
• 2023 Supporting Small Business Relief

Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Relief scheme

2024/2025

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

Guidance on the eligibility criteria and the scheme can be found at  Gov.uk: Business Rates Relief: 2024/25 Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Scheme.

2025/2026

At the Autumn Statement on 30 October 2024 the Chancellor announced the extension of the business rates relief scheme for retail, hospitality and leisure properties in 2025/26. The 2025/26 Retail Hospitality and Leisure Business Rates Relief scheme will provide eligible, occupied, retail, hospitality and leisure properties with a 40% relief, up to a maximum cash cap of £110,000 per business.

We anticipate that relief to eligible ratepayers for 2025/26 will be applied as 2025/26 bills are issued.

Guidance on the eligibility criteria and the scheme can be found at Gov.uk: Business Rates Relief: 2025/26 Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Scheme.

Local discounts

We have a general power to grant discretionary local discounts. 

Contact Business rates for more information.

Partly occupied relief

We have discretionary powers to grant relief on a property that is partly unoccupied/not fully occupied, if this is only for a 'short period of time'. Partially occupied rate relief is not intended for when part of a property is temporarily not used, it is for where there are practical difficulties in occupying or vacating all of a property.

Application for partly occupied rate relief under Section 44a (PDF, 130 KB).

Small business rate relief

You can get this relief if you only occupy one business property in England and that property has a rateable value (RV) of less than £15,000. The relief does not apply to empty properties.

You will get 100% relief for a property with an RV of £12,000 or less, meaning you will not pay any business rates for it. For properties with an RV of between £12,001 and £14,999, the rate of relief is awarded on a sliding scale decreasing from 100% to 0%. Here are some examples:

If you take on a second property you can still keep the relief on your original property for a year.

If you occupy more than one property, you can get small business rate relief as long as the RV of each of your other properties is less than £2,900 and the total RV of all the properties (including the main one) is less than £20,000. The relief is applied to the main property.

Apply for small business rate relief.

Relief for charities, community amateur sports clubs and other non-profit making organisations

Charities and registered community amateur sports clubs can be entitled to 80% relief if they occupy the property and it's mostly used for that purpose. We also have discretion to give further relief on the remaining bill. Contact Business rates for more information.

Apply rate relief for charities, community amateur sports clubs and other non-profit making organisations.

Rate relief for businesses in rural areas

Businesses in rural areas (with a population less than 3000) may be entitled to a 100% reduction if they occupy:

• the only general store, post office or food shop with a rateable value under £8,500
• the only public house or petrol station with a rateable value under £12,500

List of areas classed as rural (PDF, 112 KB).

Apply for rural rate relief.

2023 Supporting Small Business Relief

If your business is facing a large increase in business rates, because you can no longer claim small business or rural rate relief (due to a change in your business's rateable value at the 2023 revaluation), you may qualify for this relief. If you are eligible, you do not need to do anything as the relief will be applied as the 2025/26 bills are issued.

Contact Business rates if you have not heard from us, and you think you are eligible.