Business Rates - Reductions Relief

Revenues and Benefits/Finance

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There are a number of ways you can reduce your business rates bill. If you think you qualify for any of the reliefs shown, contact the Business Rates Office. Please see below for further details.

Unoccupied property rating

Non domestic properties which are unoccupied may be liable to empty property rates. Rates are charged at 50% of the full rate bill or of the transitional bill where transitional arrangements apply. Liability begins after the property has been empty for 3 months. Certain types of property, for instance factories, warehouses and small properties with rateable values of less than £2200 pay no empty property rates.

Charitable and discretionary relief

Registered charities are entitled to relief from rates on any non domestic property which is wholly or mainly used for charitable purposes. Relief is given at 80% of the full rate bill, and individual councils have discretionary powers to give further relief on the remaining balance. Councils also have discretion to give relief on all or part of any rate bill for property occupied by certain non profit making bodies. Rate relief can also be considered in cases of hardship or where part of a property is not in use for a short period of time.

Rate relief for registered community amateur sports clubs

Sports clubs that have registered with the Inland Revenue as Community Amateur Sports Clubs (CASCs) will now qualify for mandatory rate relief of 80%. Billing authorities can also top up the relief at their discretion effectively granting CASCs the same rights to rate relief as registered charities.

Rural rate relief

The occupier of a general store or post office in a settlement appearing in a billing authority's rural settlement list (i.e. below 3,000 population) is entitled to rate relief if it is the only such store, food shop or post office in that settlement and the rateable value is £8,500 or less. Relief is given at 50% of the full rates bill with discretionary powers to grant the remaining 50%. Mandatory relief of 50% of the full rates bill can also be granted to petrol filling stations and public houses provided the rateable value is below £12,500 and they are the only business of that nature in the settlement.

Any council may decide to give up to 100% relief to any other business in a rural settlement with a rateable value up to £16,500, if it is satisfied that the business is of benefit to the community, having regard to the interests of the council taxpayers in the district.

Small Business Rate Relief

This relief is only available to ratepayers who apply to their local authority and occupy either:

a) one property, or

b) one main property and other additional properties providing those additional properties each have a rateable value of less than £2,600.00

The rateable value of the property mentioned in (a), or aggregate rateable value of all properties mentioned in (b), must be under £18,000 outside London or £25,500 within London, including on 1 April each year.

Ratepayers who satisfy these conditions will have the bill for their single or main property calculated using the lower small business non-domestic rating multiplier rather than the ordinary non-domestic rating multiplier that is used to calculate the liability of other businesses.

In addition, if the single or main property is shown on the rating list with a rateable value of up to £12,000, the ratepayer will receive a percentage reduction in their rates bill for this property of up to a maximum of 50% for a property with a rateable value of not more than £6,000.

If an application for relief is granted, provided the ratepayer’s circumstances do not change, the application will not need to be reviewed. Certain changes in circumstances will need to be notified to the local authority by the ratepayer (other changes will be picked up by the local authority). The changes that must be notified are:

a) the ratepayer taking up occupation of a property they did not occupy at the time of making their application for relief, and

b) an increase in the rateable value of a property occupied by the ratepayer in an area other than the area of the local authority that granted relief.

Notification of these changes must be given to the local authority with four weeks of the day after the day the change happened. If this happens, there will be no interruption to the ratepayer’s entitlement to the relief. However, failure to notify the authority within this timeframe will mean the ratepayer ceases to be entitled to the relief with effect from the day the change happened. If they are still eligible, the ratepayer will be entitled to the relief again with effect from the day they notify the local authority. A notification that the ratepayer has taken up occupation of an additional property must be by way of a fresh application for relief; notice of an increase in rateable value must be given in writing.

Further information

If you need further help or information about your bill, please contact the Business Rates Office using our online form or Telephone: (01354) 654321 or Email us at businessrates@fenland.gov.uk. Help us deal with your questions quicker by having your account number ready when you call.