Rate reliefs and exemptions

From 1 April 2005 the Government introduced a new rate relief scheme to help small businesses.

From 1 April 2017, an eligible ratepayer will pay no rates on properties with rateable values up to £12,000, declining in percentage terms on a sliding scale until it is 0% at £15,000.

Generally, the relief is only available to ratepayers who are not entitled to another mandatory relief and occupy either:

• one property; or
• one main property and other additional properties with rateable values of less than £2,900 and a combined rateable value limit of £20,000 (The additional properties cannot qualify for this relief)

If your property has a rateable value below £51,000 your bill will be calculated by the small business multiplier as opposed to the standard multiplier.

Full details can be obtained from the Business Rates section.

What you need to do

If you already claim small business rate relief, you do not need to do anything else at this stage.

If you continue to meet the conditions for small business rate relief (which apply at the time, to the property and the ratepayer) you'll automatically continue to receive this in each new valuation period.

If you think you meet the criteria, but have not applied, you can download the small business application form.

If a business property is unoccupied, full business rates are usually still charged. These are waived for the first three months after a property becomes empty. For certain industrial properties, this is extended to six months. After this period, the 'person entitled to possession' becomes liable for the full charge.

There are a number of exemptions, including: 

• Listed buildings
• Properties with a rateable value of less than £2,900
• Properties owned by a charity and when next in use will be occupied by a charity

Partly unoccupied properties:

A ratepayer is liable for the full non-domestic rate whether a property is wholly occupied or only partly occupied. Where a property is only partly occupied for a short time, we have the discretion in certain cases to award relief in respect of the unoccupied part.

What you need to do

Ratepayers must notify the council immediately when a property becomes vacant.

Charities and registered Community Amateur Sports Clubs (CASCS) are entitled to 80% mandatory rate relief when the property is occupied by the charity or club and is wholly or mainly used for charitable or club purposes.

We have discretion to give further rate relief on the remaining bill and give relief to non-profit making organisations.

What you need to do

If you think you meet the criteria, but have not applied, you can download the charitable rate relief application form.

Local Authorities have a general power to grant discretionary local discounts.

For full details please contact the Business Rates Team on telephone 0191 4244 299 or email nndr@southtyneside.gov.uk

Some properties are exempt from Business rates. The District Valuer will not include an exempt property in the Valuation List.

Exempt properties include:

• Agricultural land and buildings
• Fish farms
• Places of religious worship
• Trinity House property (e.g. lighthouses, buoys and beacons)
• Sewers and accessories
• Property of Drainage Authorities
• Parks
• Property used for the disabled
• Air raid protection works
• Swinging Moorings
• Road crossings over watercourses
• Property in Enterprise Zones

All of the above are stated in broad terms. Within each of the classes a number of conditions may need to be met before the exemption is satisfied.

If you need further details about any of these classes, please contact the local authority. Appeals against an entry in the list should be made to the District Valuer.

The scheme is intended to help those ratepayers who have lost some or all of their Small Business Rate Relief as a result of the 2017 revaluation. 

This scheme was due to end on 31 March 2022, however, at the Budget on 27 October 2021, the government announced it would extend the current SSB relief scheme for one year to 31 March 2023.

The scheme will make sure that the increase per year is limited to the greater of either a percentage increase per year of 5%, 7.5%, 10%, 15% and 15% 2017 / 18 to 2022 / 23 (all plus inflation), or an increase of £600 per year.

In the first year of the scheme, all ratepayers losing some or all of their SBRR will see the maximum increase in their bill of £600.

The minimum increase will be £600 per year thereafter.

Transitional arrangements limit how much your bill can change each year as a result of revaluation. This means that significant changes (increases or decreases) to your bill are phased in gradually, if you're eligible.

The transitional relief scheme introduced in 2017 was expected to end on 31 March 2022.

However, at the Budget on 27 October 2021, the government announced that it would extend the transitional relief scheme to 31 March 2023.

Properties that will benefit must meet the following criteria:

• have a rateable value up to and including £100,000
• would have received transitional relief had the scheme not ended

The scheme will restrict bill increases to:

• 15% for businesses with small properties (up to and including £20,000 rateable value)
• 25% for medium properties (up to and including £100,000 rateable value).

This policy does not apply to those moving to lower bills.

Their bill will reduce on 1 April 2022.

Relief will be granted automatically to your business rate account if you are eligible.

The retail, hospitality and leisure business rates relief scheme will run from 2022 to 2023.

The scheme will provide eligible and occupied retail, hospitality and leisure properties with a 50% relief, up to a cash cap of £110,000 per business.

The Government is providing funding to local authorities so that they can provide a discount worth up to £1,500 a year on office space occupied by local newspapers.

This was due to run for 2 years from 1 April 2017. At Autumn Budget 2018, the Government extended the scheme for an additional year (2019/20).  This scheme provides up to a maximum of one discount per local newspaper title and per hereditament, and up to state aid limits.

The Government has announced an extension of the £1,500 business rates discount for office space occupied by local newspapers for an additional 5 years until 31 March 2025.

Please contact the Business Rates Team for further information regarding other reliefs that may be available, on 0191 424 4299 or email nndr@southtyneside.gov.uk.