Registered Charities are entitled to relief from rates on any Non-Domestic property that is wholly or mainly used for charitable purposes. Relief is given at 80% of the bill. Local councils have discretion to give further relief on the remaining bill.

For full information on these reliefs see our Discretionary Business Rate Relief Policy. [PDF, 0.2MB]

You can also read the Discretionary Business Rate Relief Guidelines. [PDF, 0.2MB]

A not-for-profit organisation is one that is not made or used for profit, and are charitable, but the organisation itself is not registered as a charity.

We have the discretion to provide relief if:

• the organisation has a positive and measurable impact on its’ local community
• the organisation is easy to access for members of the community in the district, and how much the service is used by the community will also be considered
• facilities are being provided, that would otherwise not be available to the local community
• training or education is provided by and for the organisation, to residents or members of the organisation.

For full information on this relief see our Discretionary Business Rate Relief Policy. [PDF, 0.2MB]

You can also read the Discretionary Business Rate Relief Guidelines. [PDF, 0.2MB]

Hardship Relief is available to business in specific exceptional circumstances. You may be able to receive this relief if your business is suffering from unexpected hardship, which is outside of normal risks associated with the business.

Hardship Relief can be granted at our discretion if:

• you would be in financial difficulties without it
• giving Hardship Relief to you is in the interests of local people

For full information on these reliefs see our Discretionary Business Rate Relief Policy. [PDF, 0.2MB]

You can also read the Discretionary Business Rate Relief Guidelines. [PDF, 0.2MB]

A ratepayer is responsible for the full Non-Domestic Rate whether a property is wholly occupied or only partly occupied. If a property is partly occupied for a short period, we have discretion in certain limited cases to award relief for the unoccupied part.

For full information on these reliefs see our Discretionary Business Rate Relief Policy. [PDF, 0.2MB]

You can also read the Discretionary Business Rate Relief Guidelines. [PDF, 0.2MB]

CASC’s are entitled to 80% mandatory relief. We have discretion to consider giving up to an additional 20% in Discretionary Top-Up Relief.

If an amateur sports club is not a registered charity or a CASC, we would encourage the organisation to submit an application to either HMRC for CASC status or to the Charity Commission for charitable status. If you don’t have either of these statuses, it will not prevent your application from being considered.

For full information on these reliefs see our Discretionary Business Rate Relief Policy. [PDF, 0.2MB]

You can also read the Discretionary Business Rate Relief Guidelines. [PDF, 0.2MB]

Local newspapers are entitled to relief if their property is used as office premises for journalists and reporters on a local newspaper. The relief is a £1,500 reduction in business rates for eligible properties per year.

You can only get the relief for one property per newspaper even if more than one property is used as offices for the newspaper. If several local newspapers use the same office, they can only get the relief on one newspaper title.

For full information on these reliefs see our Discretionary Business Rate Relief Policy. [PDF, 0.2MB]

You can also read the Discretionary Business Rate Relief Guidelines. [PDF, 0.2MB]

You could qualify for Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Relief if your business is completely or mainly being used as a:

• shop
• restaurant, café, bar or pub
• cinema or music venue
• hospitality or leisure business - for example, a gym, a spa or a hotel.

If you’re eligible, you could get 75% off your Business Rates bills.

The most you can get in each tax year is £110,000 per business.

If you opt out of Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Relief for the 2022 to 2023, or 2023 to 2024 tax years, you cannot change your mind.

For full information on these reliefs see our Discretionary Business Rate Relief Policy. [PDF, 0.2MB]

You can also read the Discretionary Business Rate Relief Guidelines. [PDF, 0.2MB]

The deadline for applications for the 2023/2024 liability year was 30 September 2024. Applications received after this date will only be considered in exceptional circumstances.

In the Autumn 2024 Budget, the Chancellor announced that the Retail, Hospitality and Leisure relief scheme will be extended for one year for 2025/26, retaining the existing eligibility criteria but reducing the level of relief to 40%, up to a cap of £110,000 per business.

Section 69 of the Localism Act 2011 allows Local Authorities to award rate relief to all types of business, at their discretion.

This relief is fully funded by the local authority, so applications will only be considered for funding if they result in real benefits for local residents, like potential for further investments and jobs.

For full information on these reliefs see our Discretionary Business Rate Relief Policy. [PDF, 0.2MB]

You can also read the Discretionary Business Rate Relief Guidelines. [PDF, 0.2MB]

At the 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.

The scheme will run from 1 April 2023 until the 31 March 2026. Eligible ratepayers will remain in the scheme for either 3 years or until they reach the bill they would have paid without the scheme. The scheme ends on 31 March 2026.

You do not need to apply, this relief will be automatically applied to relevant bills.