Business rates reductions

At the Autumn Statement 2022, the Chancellor announced a new business rates relief scheme for retail, hospitality, and leisure properties, worth an estimated £2.1 billion in 2023-24. This has been extended for 2024/25.

The Retail, Hospitality and Leisure (RHL) relief scheme will provide eligible, occupied, retail, hospitality, and leisure properties with 75% relief, up to a cash cap of £110,000 per business.

Under the cash cap, no ratepayer can in any circumstances exceed the £110,000 cash cap across all of their hereditaments in England. Where a ratepayer has a qualifying connection with another ratepayer then those ratepayers should be considered as one ratepayer for the purposes of the cash caps.

Government guidance for 2024/25 provides local authorities with information about the intended operation and delivery of the policy. The Government anticipates that local authorities will include details of the relief to be provided to eligible ratepayers for 2024/25 in their bills for the beginning of the 2024/25 billing cycle. The Government has published guidance setting out the eligibility criteria for the scheme.

Cash cap and refusal declaration

In line with the conditions set by the government, a ratepayer may only claim up to £110,000 of support under 2024/25 Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Relief Scheme for all of their eligible hereditaments. This cash cap applies at a Group company level (so holding companies and subsidiaries cannot claim up to the cash cap for each company) and also to organisations which, although not a company, have such an interest in a company that they would, if they were a company, result in its being the holding company.

Furthermore, the Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Relief Scheme is subject to the Minimal Financial Assistance limits under the Subsidy Control Act. This means no recipient can receive over £315,000 over a 3-year period (consisting of the current financial year and the 2 previous financial years). Extended Retail Discounts granted in 2021/22 do not count towards the limit. Covid business grants received from local government and any other subsidy claimed under the Minimal Financial Assistance or Small Amounts of Financial Assistance limit over the 3-year period should be counted.

Therefore, to claim the Retail, Hospitality and Leisure relief you must not have exceeded either the £110,000 cash cap for 2024/25 or the Minimal Financial Assistance limit of £315,000 over 3 years (including 2022/23, 2023/24 and 2024/25). See further details of the cash cap and subsidy control.

You do not need to take any further action if you have only received 2024/25 Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Relief on one premises, and you have not received more than the Minimal Financial Assistance limit of £315,000 over 3 years (including 2022/23, 2023/24 and 2024/25).

If the following applies to you, please complete the declaration in Form A (accepting the relief and declaring that you comply with the cash cap and exemption threshold) and return it to City of London Business Rates with RETAIL RELIEF in the subject title.

• you (or if appropriate a company in your Group) have received the 2024/25 Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Relief Scheme support on more than one property but to a level below the £110,000 cash cap. You should list the other Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Relief being granted for premises other than the one to which this account relates, and
• you (or if appropriate a company in your Group) have not received more than the Minimal Financial Assistance limit of £315,000 over 3 years (including 2022/23, 2023/24 and 2024/25). If appropriate you should list the other subsidies you have received.

If the following applies to you, please complete Form B (refusing the relief) and return it to City of London Business Rates with DECLINE RETAIL RELIEF in the subject title.

• you have exceeded the cash cap on other properties, or
• you have received more than the Minimal Financial Assistance limit of £315,000 over 3 years (including 2022/23, 2023/24 and 2024/25).

The government and the City of London Corporation will not tolerate any business falsifying their records or providing false evidence to gain this discount, including claiming support above the cash cap or the exemption threshold. A ratepayer who falsely applies for any relief, or provides false information or makes false representation in order to gain relief may be guilty of fraud under the Fraud Act 2006.

In his 2022 Autumn Statement the Chancellor announced that the 2023 Supporting Small Business (SSB) scheme will cap bill increases at £600 per year for any business losing eligibility for some or all Small Business Rate Relief or Rural Rate Relief at the 2023 revaluation. SSB was first introduced at the 2017 revaluation to support ratepayers facing bill increases greater than the Transitional Relief caps due to loss of Small Business Rate Relief or Rural Rate Relief.

Central government guidance on the relief can be found on Gov.uk's Business Rates Relief page. 

What is heat networks relief?

Heat networks take heat or cooling from a central source(s) and deliver it to a variety of different customers such as public buildings, shops, offices, hospitals, universities and homes. By supplying multiple buildings, they avoid the need for individual boilers or electric heaters in every building. Heat networks have the potential to reduce bills, support local regeneration and be a cost-effective way of reducing carbon emissions from heating.

Heat networks play an important role in decarbonising heat and support delivery of our net zero commitments. They are uniquely able to unlock otherwise inaccessible large-scale renewable and recovered heat sources such as waste heat and heat from rivers and mines.

Which Properties will benefit from the relief?

In order to be eligible for Heat Network Relief the hereditament must be:

1. Wholly or mainly used for the purposes of a heat network, and
2. the heat is over the next 12 months expected to be generated from a low carbon source (irrespective of whether that source is located on the hereditament or on a different hereditament).

The heat network relief guidance provides further information.

A ratepayer is liable for the full non-domestic rate whether a property is wholly occupied or only partly occupied.

Where a property is partly occupied and a clearly defined area is going to be left empty for a short period of time only, the local authority has the discretion in certain cases to grant relief in respect of the unoccupied part under Section 44A of the Local Government Finance Act 1988.

Partly occupied rate relief (Section 44A) is aimed at situations where there are practical difficulties in occupying/vacating part of an assessment.

Relief will not be granted retrospectively and the property will be inspected by one of our officers to verify your claim.

The empty area of the assessment must be unfurnished.

If the City of London decides to grant the relief it will request that the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) provides a certificate that apportions the rateable value between the occupied and unoccupied parts. The temporary apportioned value will enable the City of London to calculate your relief entitlement but does not replace the value in the rating list. Once your relief has been calculated, a revised demand will be issued showing your entitlement.

The relief will end on the day that there is a change in the extent of the partial occupation or 31 March in the financial year in which relief is applied for or the property becomes completely occupied or unoccupied. You must notify the City of London immediately if there is any change to the partial occupation.

If you wish to apply for this relief, please complete the Section 44A application form below.

Please note whilst your application is being processed your current rates remain due and payable.

Occupiers of properties with a rateable value under £51,000 automatically have their bill calculated using the lower Small Business Rate multiplier, unless they are entitled to another mandatory relief. The reduction is not available on empty properties.

Amount of relief

As a result of recent government changes, the level of Small Business Rate Relief has been increased for eligible ratepayers from 1 April 2017 as follows:

• Rateable value up to £12,000 – no rates payable
• Rateable value between £12,001 & £15,000 – tapered relief between 100% and 0%

Eligibility

If the sole or main occupied property has a rateable value up to £15,000, the ratepayer will receive a percentage reduction in their rates bill for this property (see above).

To be eligible for relief, you must occupy either:

1. one property with a rateable value under £15,000, or
2. one main property plus other additional properties, providing those additional properties each have rateable values less than £2,900.

The total rateable value of all the occupied properties must be under £28,000.

If you are in receipt of relief you must notify the local authority if:

1. You take up occupation of an additional property.
2. You occupy an additional property outside of the City of London and the rateable value of this property is increased.

If you do not notify the City of London within four weeks, relief will cease with effect from the day that the change happened. If you are still eligible, relief will apply again with effect from the day that you notify the local authority.

From 14 February 2014, ratepayers are entitled to keep an existing award of small business rate relief for 12 months where they take up occupation of an additional eligible property, which would have previously disqualified them from relief.

To apply for this relief please download the Small Business Rate Relief application form below.

Non-domestic properties that are empty get 100% empty rate relief for three months from the date on which they become empty and unoccupied. Industrial properties get six months empty rate relief.

Following this period, the full charge is payable unless the property is exempt from empty property rates.

Empty rate exemptions

A property qualifies for an empty rate exemption (no rates are payable while the property remains empty and unoccupied) in these circumstances:

• the rateable value is less than £2,900
• it’s a listed building
• occupation is prohibited by law (it must be shown that the law provides the owner must not occupy the property in the circumstances currently prevailing or the effect of a prohibition or enforcement notice is to prohibit the owner from occupation)
• the owner is entitled to possession only in their capacity as the personal representative of a deceased person
• the property is the responsibility of a liquidator, administrator or trustee in bankruptcy
• properties that are held by a charity and will be used for charitable purposes when next occupied
• properties that are held by a community amateur sports club and will be used for this purpose when next occupied

Mandatory charitable rate relief for charities and CASC’s

You could get charitable rate relief if your property is mainly used for charitable purposes.

To be eligible, the property must be used by either:

• a charity, or the trustees of a charity
• a community amateur sports club (CASC)

If you consider that your organisation qualifies for this please apply using the following links:

Registered Charity Mandatory Rate Relief Application Form

Registered CASC Rate Relief Application Form

Discretionary rate relief for charities, CASC’s and non-profit making organisations

Section 47 of the Local Government Finance Act 1988 allows the Common Council to grant Discretionary relief if:

• all or part of the hereditament is occupied for the purposes of one or more institutions or other organisations:
• none of which is established or conducted for profit and
• each of whose main objects are charitable or otherwise philanthropic or religious or concerned with education, social welfare, science, literature, or the fine arts;
• or the hereditament:
  • is wholly or mainly used for purposes of recreation, and
  • all or part of it is occupied for the purpose of a club, society or other organisation not established or conducted for profit.

The Court of the Common Council may in its discretion award up to 20% Discretionary relief to charitable organisations in receipt of 80% Mandatory rate relief.

It may also in its discretion award up to 100% of Discretionary relief to organisations not eligible for Mandatory relief.

This approach of granting Discretionary Rate Relief has regard to the impact of the Corporation’s wider financial position and cost to Council Tax payers. If you wish to apply for discretionary rate relief please use the link below. 

Discretionary Rate Relief Application Form

At the Court of the Common Council held on the 6 March 2024, it was agreed that a Discretionary 100% exemption would be awarded to those Nurseries within the City of London Corporation area that meet the following criteria:

• The nursery is on the Ofsted’s Early Years Register
• The premises are wholly or mainly used to provide the Early Years Foundation Stage of education
• The setting is registered with the City of London to provide the Free Early Education Entitlement (FEEE)

The exemption will provisionally be awarded from the 1 April 2024, however in certain circumstances this will be backdated as far as 1 April 2023 if appropriate.

If you believe you are eligible, please contact the business rates team clearly marking your email with the title NURSERY EXEMPTION and we will contact you with any necessary proofs required.

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, we will apply the relief to your bills providing you meet the qualifying occupation condition.

You can find out more about which improvements are eligible by going to gov.uk.

If you have questions about a certificate of qualifying works, please contact the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) at the email address on your certificate. 

What is improvement relief?

• Improvement relief supports businesses who have invested in their property.
• It provides relief from higher business rates bills, where the increase in your bill was due to making certain improvements to your property.
• The relief lasts for 12 months from when the improvement works were completed.

Who is eligible for improvement relief? Do I need to apply for it?

• You do not need to apply for improvement relief or do anything differently.
• We will apply the relief to your bills if you are eligible.
• To be eligible for improvement relief, you must: 
  • have qualifying improvement works, and
  • meet the occupation condition

How does improvement relief work?

• You will receive a certificate from the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) if you have qualifying works. The VOA will give the same information us.
• We will apply the relief and send you a revised bill if we are satisfied that you meet the occupation requirements. This means that you have occupied the property during and after the improvement works.

I think my certificate for improvement relief is wrong. Who should I contact?

• The Valuation Office Agency (VOA) values qualifying works and issues certificates to ratepayers.
• There is no right of appeal against the certified values, however, you should let the VOA know if you think there is something wrong with your certificate.
• You can contact the VOA using the email address on your letter.