There are many reliefs available to reduce the business rates bill. However in order to qualify specific conditions must be met. A brief description for each type of relief & how to apply is shown below.
Mandatory Charitable relief / Community Amateur Sports Clubs
This relief is available to registered charities that are registered with the Charity Commissioners or are Community Amateur Sports Clubs . Provided that the property they are claiming for is being used wholly or mainly for the purposes of the charity or Sport. If the property you are applying for meets this criteria, an 80% reduction on the Business Rates Bill is due. If this is applicable to you please contact us for an application form.
Discretionary Rate relief / Top up Discretionary Relief
If an organisation is not a registered charity but has similar status, an application for discretionary rate relief can still be made. This is then reviewed by a panel of Councillors to decide on the amount of award. Top up Discretionary Relief can be claimed for those organisations getting Mandatory Relief, again this is reviewed by a panel of Councillors to decide on the amount of award. If this is applicable to you please contact us for an application form.
Rural Rate relief
The occupier of a store based in a rural area (as defined on the Council’s Rural Settlement List) is entitled to rate relief if it is the only store of it’s kind in the area and has a rateable value of £7,000 (increased to £8,500 from 1 April 2010) or less and is awarded at 50% of the bill.
This relief also applies if it is the only petrol station or public house within the settlement if the rateable value is below £10,500 (£12,500 from 1st April 2010).
The Council also has the discretion to remit all or part of the remaining 50% of the bill. If this is applicable to you please contact us for an application form.
Small Business Rates relief (SBRR)
SBRR came into effect on 1/4/2005 and all qualifying businesses have their rates calculated using the SBRR multiplier.
SBRR is available in the following instances:
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One property in England with an RV of less than £15,000.00 (increased to £17,999.00 from 1 April 2010)
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One main property and other additional properties in England providing those additional properties have RV’s less than £2,200 (increased to £2,600 from 1 April 2010) and the total value of all these properties remains under £15,000.00.
If this is applicable to you please contact us for an application form.
Important changes from October 2010
Small Business Rate Relief – increased for 1 year with effect from 01 October 2010 – 100% relief awarded to all eligible applicants with RV of £6,000 or less, and a tapered relief of between 99% and 0% for properties with rateable values between £6,001 and £12,000. For businesses with a rateable value of between £12,001 and £18,000 (or £25,500 in London), there is no discount, but the business will continue to be entitled to have their rates bill calculated using the Small Business Rate multiplier.
This increased relief ceases on 30 September 2011 and reverts to 50% relief with effect from 01 October 2011.
With effect from 01 October 2011 all eligible properties with a rateable value up to £17,999 outside London, or £25,499 within London will have their rates calculated using the Small Business Rate Relief (SBRR) multiplier.
Additional properties of up to £2,599 RV will be ignored in considering entitlement to SBRR, as long as the combined rateable value of all properties falls below the threshold which applies to the property in respect of which relief is sought.
In addition:
Small Business Rate Relief of 50% will be awarded to all eligible applicants with a rateable value of £5,999 or less and eligible properties with a rateable value of more than £6,000 but not more than £12,000 will receive relief on a sliding scale with each extra £120 of rateable value over £6,000 equating to 1% less relief.
2011/12 annual bill instalments will reflect these changes to SBRR-either zero or reduced instalments due for April-September and the instalments due for October 2011 - January 2012 will reflect the reduced SBRR.
Discretionary Rural Rate relief
The Council has the discretion to remit all or part of a bill on property if the rateable value is £14,000.00 or less (increased to £16,500.00 from 1 April 2010) and are satisfied that the property is of significant benefit to the local community. This is reviewed by a panel of Councillors to decide on the amount of award. If this is applicable to you please contact us for an application form.
Part Occupation
If part of a property has been made vacant, it is possible to apply for a reduction on the vacant part. The ratepayer should contact the Authority and request that the property be assessed separately for the occupied and unoccupied portions. If this is applicable to you please contact us for an application form.
Hardship relief
This is a relief which can be awarded when the ratepayer is experiencing exceptional hardship. Please contact us for further information.
Empty Properties
When a property is vacant, it is exempt from rates for 3 months. If the property is vacant after 3 months, rates are payable at 100%. The 3 month period applies to the property only regardless of a change in ownership / lease holder, although Industrial properties are eligible for an exemption when empty for up to 6 months.
Certain Industrial units are exempt from unoccupied rates – please contact our NNDR team for further information.
Exemptions
| Type of Property | Empty Properties after 01.04.08 |
| Industrial e.g. Factory, Warehouse, Workshop | Exempt for first 6 months after vacation date then pays full rates (100%) |
| All other properties e.g. Retail warehouses, Shops, Showrooms, Offices, Pubs, Petrol Stations, Hairdressers, Post Offices, etc | Exempt for first 3 months after vacation date then pays full rates (100%) |
| Charitable organisations where, when next in use, will be used by a Charity | Pays zero rates |
| Community Amateur Sports Clubs where, when next in use, will be used by a Charity | Pays zero rates |
| Properties with Rateable Values below £2,600 | Exempt whilst the property is empty |
| Properties administered by companies in administration | Exempt whilst the property is empty |
| Properties owned by bankrupt individuals or insolvent companies | Exempt whilst the property is empty |
| Listed buildings | Exempt whilst the property is empty |
| Owned by the personal representative of a deceased person | Exempt whilst the property is empty |
Discounts are reviewed Annually. Please remember if you currently receive a Relief and your circumstances change you must inform the Business Rates Team immediately
For further information please email nndr@angliarevenues.gov.uk or call (01842 756568)
