Who Pays the Bill?
- Occupied Properties:The person or company that occupies the premises needs to pay the business rates. Sometimes the landlord of the property charges the occupier a rent that also includes an amount for the business rates. It remains a private matter between the landlord and occupier to decide who is going to make payment, however the bill will remain in the name of the occupier, and if it is not paid, action will be taken against the occupier, not the landlord, to recover the amount due.
- Unoccupied Properties: The person or company that has the right to occupy the property needs to pay any charge that is due (e.g. the leaseholder, tenant or the freeholder). Therefore, if a tenant moves out of a property but keeps the lease for a further six months, the tenant remains liable to pay any unoccupied rate charge that becomes due. If however the tenant’s lease ends, the landlord needs to pay the charge.
Unoccupied property rates are charged at 50% of the full amount after an initial three-month exemption. The exemption is based on the property’s circumstances, rather than the liable person’s. Therefore if a new owner takes over a property that has already been unoccupied for over three months, and keeps it empty, the 50% unoccupied rate is charged immediately.
A full list of all the types of exemption from the business rate is included in the Ways to Reduce Your Bill section of this web site.