Improvement relief

If you make certain improvements to your property, you may get relief from higher business rates bills. You do not need to apply for improvement relief or do anything differently. If you meet the necessary requirements, your council will apply the relief to your bills. You can find out more about which improvements are eligible by going to GOV.UK and searching ‘business rates reliefs’. If you have questions about a certificate of qualifying works, please contact the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) at the email address on your certificate.

Eligibility

Any improvement you make must:

• increase the 'rateable value' of your property
• be completed on or after 1 April 2024.

They must also either:

• Increase the size of your property.
• Add new features or equipment to your property, such as heating, air conditioning or CCTV.

Any improvements to existing features or equipment do not qualify. You must have occupied the property during and after the improvement works to get improvement relief. You cannot pass on your improvement relief to anybody else.

You do not need to apply for improvement relief. The VOA will be told if you've made an improvement to your property and will decide if you qualify for improvement relief.

If you qualify, the VOA will send a certificate to you and the council showing:

• The property's new rateable value.
• How much improvement relief you are getting.
• When the relief ends.

Once the council has confirmed you were occupying the property, you'll get a reduced business rates bill.