Non-Domestic Rates
Non-Domestic Rates, or Business Rates, collected by local authorities are the way that those who occupy non-domestic property contribute towards the cost of local services. Under the business rates retention arrangements introduced from 1 April 2013, authorities keep a proportion of the business rates paid locally. This provides a direct financial incentive for authorities to work with local businesses to create a favourable local environment for growth since authorities will benefit from growth in business rates revenues. The money, together with revenue from council taxpayers, revenue support grant provided by the Government and certain other sums, is used to pay for the services provided by local authorities in your area. Further information about the business rates system, including transitional and other reliefs, may be obtained at gov.uk.
Rateable Value
Apart from properties that are exempt from business rates, each non-domestic property has a rateable value which is set by the valuation officers of the Valuation Office Agency (VOA), an agency of Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs. They draw up and maintain a full list of all rateable values, available at gov.uk/government/organisations/valuation-office-agency. The rateable value of your property is shown on the front of your bill. This broadly represents the yearly rent the property could have been let for on the open market on a particular date. For the revaluation that comes into effect on 1 April 2023, this date was set as 1 April 2021.
The Valuation Officer may alter the value if circumstances change. The ratepayer (and certain others who have an interest in the property) can appeal against the value shown in the list if they believe it is wrong. Full details on your rights of appeal are available from the Valuation Office Agency. Your billing authority can only backdate any business rates rebate to the date from which any change to the list is to have effect.
Further information about the grounds on which appeals may be made and the process for doing so can be found on the gov.uk website or obtained from your local valuation office.
National Non-Domestic Rating Multiplier
The local authority works out the business rates bill for a property by multiplying the rateable value of the property by the appropriate nondomestic multiplier. There are two multipliers: the national non-domestic rating multiplier and the small business non-domestic rating multiplier. The Government sets the multipliers for each financial year, except in the City of London where special arrangements apply. Ratepayers who occupy a property with a rateable value which does not exceed £50,999 (and who are not entitled to certain other mandatory relief[s] or are liable for unoccupied property rates) will have their bills calculated using the lower small business non-domestic rating multiplier, rather than the national non-domestic rating multiplier.
Business Rates Instalments
Payment of business rate bills is automatically set on a 10-monthly cycle. However, the Government has put in place regulations that allow businesses to require their local authority to enable payments to be made through twelve monthly instalments. If you wish to accept this offer, you should contact the local authority as soon as possible.
Revaluation 2023 and Transitional Relief Arrangements
The Transitional Relief scheme is designed to limit bill increases that have been caused by significant changes in rateable values, following a revaluation. You stop getting transitional relief when your bill reaches the full amount set by it.
The Government conducted a consultation on Transitional Relief (TR) arrangements and as a result, this removed the need for “revenue-neutral transitional arrangements.” The 2023 scheme will not fund upwards transitional relief (‘upwards caps’) by restricting falls in bills to raise revenue (‘downwards caps’).
This will make the business rates system fairer and more responsive. It will allow ratepayers whose properties see a fall in their rateable value to see the benefit of the revaluation reflected in their bills immediately. The government will Exchequer fund upwards caps for the 2023 TR scheme at a cost of £1.6 billion.
Rateable Value |
2023/24 |
2024/25* |
2025/26* |
Small (Rateable value up to £28k in London) |
5% |
10% |
25% |
Medium (Rateable value up to £28k to £100k in London) |
15% |
25% |
40% |
Large (Rateable value greater than £100k) |
30% |
40% |
55% |
Upwards caps |
*Year 2 and 3 caps are before inflation
If you are entitled to transitional relief this will be automatically awarded and be shown on the front of your bill.
Business Rate Reliefs
Depending on individual circumstances, a ratepayer may be eligible for a rate relief (i.e., a reduction in your business rates bill). There are a range of available reliefs. Further details are provided below and at gov.uk/introduction-to-business-rates or at camden.gov.uk/businessrates
Temporary Reliefs
Some of the permanent reliefs are set out below but other temporary reliefs may be introduced by the Government at a fiscal event. Further detail on current temporary relief is available at gov.uk/introduction-to-business-rates or at camden.gov.uk/businessrates
You should contact your local authority for details on the latest availability of business rates reliefs and advice on whether you may qualify.
Unoccupied Property Rating
Business Rates are generally payable in respect of unoccupied non-domestic property. However, they are generally not payable for the first three months that a property is empty. This is extended to six months in the case of certain industrial premises, whilst certain other properties such as vacant listed buildings are not liable for business rates until they are reoccupied. Full details on exemptions can be obtained from your local authority or from gov.uk/apply-for-business-rate-relief.
Partly Occupied Property Relief
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 for a short time, the local authority has discretion in certain cases to award relief in respect of the unoccupied part. Full details can be obtained from the local authority.
Small Business Rate Relief
If a ratepayer’s sole or main property has a rateable value which does not exceed an amount set out in regulations, the ratepayer may receive a percentage reduction in their rates bill for this property of up to a maximum of 100%. The level of reduction will depend on the rateable value of the property – for example eligible properties below a specified lower threshold will receive 100% relief while eligible properties above the lower threshold and below a specified upper threshold may receive partial relief. The relevant thresholds for relief are set out in regulations and can be obtained from your local authority or at gov.uk/introduction-to-business-rates.
Generally, this percentage reduction (relief) is only available to ratepayers who occupy either-
(a) one property, or
(b) one main property and other additional properties providing those additional properties each have a rateable value which does not exceed the limit set in regulations.
The aggregate rateable value of all the properties mentioned in (b), must also not exceed an amount set in regulations. For those businesses that take on an additional property which would normally have meant the loss of small business rate relief, they will be allowed to keep that relief for a fixed additional period.
Full details on the relevant limits in relation to second properties and the current period for which a ratepayer may continue to receive relief after taking on an additional property can be obtained from your local authority or at gov.uk/introduction-to-business-rates.
Certain changes in circumstances will need to be notified to the local authority by the ratepayer who is in receipt of relief (other changes will be picked up by the local authority). The changes which should be notified are-
(a) the property falls vacant,
(b) the ratepayer taking up occupation of an additional property, and
(c) an increase in the rateable value of a property occupied by the ratepayer in an area other than the area of the local authority which granted the relief.
Charity and Community Amateur Sports Club Relief
Charities and registered Community Amateur Sports Clubs are entitled to 80% relief where the property is occupied by the charity or the club and is wholly or mainly used for the charitable purposes of the charity (or of that and other charities), or for the purposes of the club (or of that and other clubs). The local authority has discretion to give further relief on the remaining bill. Full details can be obtained from the local authority.
Business Rate Supplements
The Business Rate Supplements Act 2009 enables levying authorities – county councils, unitary district councils and, in London, the Greater London Authority – to levy a supplement on the business rate to support additional projects aimed at economic development of the area. This power has also been extended to the mayors of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, Liverpool City Region, West of England, and West Midlands combined authorities. Business Rate Supplements (BRS) are not applicable to properties with a rateable value of £50,000 or below, and authorities have discretion to increase that threshold. The total maximum BRS which may be levied by a levying authority is 2p per pound of rateable value. Levying authorities have the power to apply such reliefs to the BRS as they think appropriate and in such cases must include an explanation of the rules for the application of those reliefs in the final prospectus for the BRS. The business rate supplement applicable in London is being levied by the Greater London Authority in relation to the Crossrail project, which delivered the Elizabeth line. The rateable value threshold in 2023-24 for the Crossrail BRS is £75,000. Further information may be found in the Crossrail BRS final prospectus which is available at london.gov.uk/crossrail-brs.
Rating Advisers
Ratepayers do not have to be represented in discussions about their rateable value or their rates bill. However, ratepayers who do wish to be represented should be aware that members of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS - website rics.org) and the Institute of Revenues, Rating and Valuation (IRRV - website irrv.org.uk) are qualified and are regulated by rules of professional conduct designed to protect the public from misconduct. Before you employ a rating adviser, you should check that they have the necessary knowledge and expertise, as well as appropriate indemnity insurance. Take great care and, if necessary, seek further advice before entering into any contract.
Information Supplied with Demand Notices
Information relating to the relevant and previous financial years in regard to the gross expenditure of the local authority is available in the other sections on this page. A hard copy is available on request by writing to the council or at 020 7974 6460.
Subsidy Control
The new UK subsidy control regime commenced from 4 January 2023. The new regime enables public authorities, including devolved administrations and local authorities, to deliver subsidies that are tailored for local needs. Public authorities giving subsidies must comply with the UK’s international subsidy control commitments. The subsidy control legislation provides the framework for a new, UK-wide subsidy control regime. Further information about subsidy control can be found on the gov.uk website at: gov.uk/government/collections/subsidy-control-regime.
