Reliefs and exemptions

Any businesses that are experiencing difficulty paying their business rates should email us at business.rates@leicester.gov.uk.

You can get this relief if you only occupy one business property in England and that property has a rateable value (RV) of less than £15,000. The relief does not apply to empty properties. 

From 1 April 2017, you will get 100 per cent relief for a property with an RV of £12,000 or less, meaning you will not pay any business rates for it. The application form 'Small business rates relief' can be found at the bottom of this page. 

For properties with an RV of between £12,001 and £14,999, the rate of relief is awarded on a sliding scale decreasing from 100 per cent to 0 per cent. Here are some indicative examples: 

Rateable Value	Percentage Reduction
Up to £12,000	100 per cent
£12,750	75 per cent
£13,500	50 per cent
£14,250	25 per cent
£15,000 and over	0 per cent

Under the current legislation, if you take on a second property you can still keep the relief on your original property for a year. 

If you occupy more than one property, you can get small business rate relief as long as the RV of each of your other properties is less than £2,900 and the total RV of all the properties (including the main one) is less than £20,000. The relief is applied to the main property.

If your property has an RV below £51,000, your business rates will be calculated using the small business multiplier instead of the standard one. This is the case even if you have multiple properties. The higher multiplier will apply if you are liable to pay rates on an empty property or if you are in receipt of mandatory relief. 

The multiplier shows the percentage (pence in the pound) of the RV that you pay in business rates. Please visit the link 'Details of the current multipliers and how your rates are calculated' above for details.

At Autumn Statement 2022 the Chancellor announced that a new Supporting Small Business (SSB) relief scheme which will cap bill increases at £600 per year for those ratepayers who as a result of the change in their rateable value at the revaluation, are losing some or all of their Small Business Rate Relief.

The relief is applied after any entitlement to Small Business Rate Relief.

The Government has published guidance setting out the eligibility criteria for the scheme. This guidance can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/business-rates-relief-2023-supporting-small-business-relief-local-authority-guidance. 

Transitional relief will phase in the effect of significant changes in liability, which arise from the revaluation of non-domestic properties.

There are limits on the percentage by which bills may increase each year. Special rules deal with changes in rateable values and the merger or splitting of existing properties. Any new properties entered into the rating list after 1 April 2023 will not be subject to transitional relief for this valuation period.

The limits on increases for the 3 year valuation period 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2026 are detailed below. These increases are in addition to any adjustment for inflation (except for year 1, 2023/2024).

Property size

Small

• 2023-2024 - 5%
• 2024-2025* - 10%
• 2025-2026* - 25%

Medium

• 2023-2024 - 15%
• 2024-2025* - 25%
• 2025-2026* - 40%

Large

• 2023-2024 - 30%
• 2024-2025* - 40%
• 2025-2026* - 55%

* Year 2 and 3 caps are before inflation. Note: these are year on year caps on increases. 

Property size is determined by rateable value. Small is up to £20,000, medium is above £20,000 and large is above £100,000.

If you are entitled to transitional relief this will automatically be awarded and be shown on your bill.

The aim of this scheme is to help create the right environment for businesses to achieve their growth plans, create jobs, and contribute to the economic development of Leicester.
The scheme is split into three themes: 

1. Supporting high-growth businesses;
2. Bringing properties with significant economic value back into use; and
3. Attracting inward investors 

Businesses can apply for relief through a competitive application process. Awards are discretionary, and meeting the criteria does not automatically trigger relief. The 'Discretionary business rate relief grant scheme' policy and application form can be found at the bottom of this page.

The owner or the leaseholder is liable to pay rates on an empty property. Properties are exempt from business rates for the first three months after they become vacant, or six months in the case of certain industrial properties such as factories or workshops. The exemption starts from the date the property first becomes empty. If you buy or lease a property that is already unoccupied, the exemption does not start again when you acquire it. The empty property must be occupied for at least six weeks before a further three- or six-month exemption can begin. 

After the initial exemption, rates are payable in full unless any of the following conditions apply: 

• The rateable value of the property is under £2,900
• The property is a Grade I or Grade II listed building
• The Valuation Office Agency removes the property from the rating list
• Occupation of the property is prohibited by law
• Action is taken by the Crown or any local or public authority to prohibit occupation of the property or to acquire it
• The person entitled to possession of the property is acting in their capacity as a personal representative of a deceased person; or as a liquidator, an administrator or as a trustee under a deed of arrangement or is subject of bankruptcy proceedings (up to the date the property is sold or the lease is disclaimed by the Official Receiver or the insolvency practitioner). 

Properties owned by charities and community amateur sports clubs are not liable to empty property rates if the property’s next use is likely to be wholly or mainly for charitable purposes or for the purposes of a sports club. 

Generally the full rate applies but where a property is partly occupied for a short time, we have discretion in certain cases (for example, a phased move from one property to another) to award relief in respect of the unoccupied part by apportioning (effectively splitting) the rateable value between the occupied and unoccupied parts of the property. To qualify for this reduction, both the occupied and unoccupied parts must be in the possession of the same person or company. You can view the policy at the bottom of this page.

To apply for this relief, please complete and return 'Section 44a relief - application form (partly occupied properties)' (link at the bottom of this page). On receipt of your completed application, one of our officers will visit and inspect your property. If you qualify for the relief, we will request a certificate from the Valuation Office Agency to confirm the temporary split.

After the initial 3-month exemption period (or 6 for a qualifying industrial property), the apportionment will cease and the full occupied rate will apply to the whole property.

Charities and registered community amateur sports clubs can apply for charitable relief, which can reduce the bill by 80 per cent.

The property must be occupied by the charity or the club and 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). 

To apply for these reliefs you generally need to be registered either as a charity on the Charity Commission website or as a CASC on the HMRC website. Links to both sites can be found at the top of the page. You can apply by completing and returning the application form 'Rate relief for charities – application form’ at the bottom of this page. For charity shops you must also complete the ‘Rate relief for charity shops –application form’ at the bottom of this page.

Discretionary relief can be granted for up to 100 per cent of the rates charged to certain non-profit making bodies. To be eligible, the organisation must be a non-profit making body and the property used for charitable, philanthropic or religious purposes, or concerned with education, social welfare, science, literature or the fine arts, or used wholly or mainly for recreation by a not-for-profit club or society (meaning, objectives which are broadly charitable). 

Charities and community amateur sports clubs can also apply for this relief as a top up to the 80 per cent reduction (see above). 

To apply, you need to download, complete and return the ‘Rate relief for charities – application form’ at the bottom of this page.

Any business suffering hardship can apply for help with their rate charge. Any reduction in your rates bill is discretionary and must be in the council tax payers’ interest. We review applications on an individual basis and consider such things as: 

• The effect of unemployment and its impact on the community;
• Loss of service provided to the tax payer;
• Level of hardship and the steps the business has taken to improve its situation;
• Details of the business accounts over several years. 

The 'Limited company relief application form' and the 'Sole trader/partnership relief application form' can be found at the bottom of this page.