In 2026-27, all pubs and live music venues will benefit from a 15% business rates relief on top of the support announced at the Budget 2025. Their bills will then be frozen in real terms for a further two years.

Eligibility

Pubs
Relief will be awarded to pubs that meet all of the following characteristics:

a. is open to the general public,

b. allows free entry other than when occasional entertainment is provided,

c. allows drinking without requiring food to be consumed, and

d. permits drinks to be purchased at a bar.

For these purposes, the meaning of pub does not include:

a. Restaurants, cafes, nightclubs, snack bars,

b. Hotels, guesthouses, boarding houses,

c. sporting venues,  

d. festival sites, theatres, concert halls, cinemas,

e. museums, exhibition halls, and

f. casinos

The proposed exclusions in the list in the paragraph above is not intended to be exhaustive and it will be for the Local Authority to determine those cases where eligibility is unclear.

Live music venues
Live music venues are properties that are:

a. wholly or mainly used for the performance of live music for the purpose of entertaining an audience.

b. Can be used for other activities but only if those other activities are:

i. ancillary or incidental to the performance of live music (e.g. the sale of food or drink to audience members).  

ii. Do not affect the primary use of the premises for the performance of live music (e.g. because the activities are infrequent such as use of the venue as a polling station or fortnightly community event).

Properties are not a live music venue for the purpose of this relief if the property is wholly or mainly used as a nightclub or a theatre, for the purposes of the Town and Country Planning (Use Classes) Order 1987 (as amended).

What you’ll get

If you are a pub or live music venue that meets one of the above definitions, you will benefit from 15% business rates relief in 2026-27. This relief will apply on top of any Transitional Relief or Supporting Small Business Relief you are eligible for.

Your business rates bill will then be frozen in real terms in 2027-28 and 2028-29, meaning it will only go up by inflation in those years.  

To get an estimate of what your business rates bill will be next year, including this relief please visit GOV.UK.

This relief will be automatically applied to eligible accounts and therefore there is no formal application process.

As with other reliefs, the amount awarded will be recalculated in the event of a change of circumstances. This could include, for example, a backdated change to the rateable value or to the hereditament. This applies to change of circumstances arising during the year in question or during a later year
 

This relief is aimed at helping small businesses where they are not entitled to another mandatory relief.

Relief is based on the Rateable Value (RV) of your business in the relevant valuation period.

Who qualifies

• Businesses that occupy only one property in England and have an RV of less than £15,000.
• Businesses may qualify if they occupy one main property and other additional properties, providing that:
  • the additional properties do not have individual RVs of more than £2,899 and
  • the combined RV of all the properties is under £20,000

Businesses that qualify for small business rate relief when they occupy more than one property can only be granted relief on the main property.

Businesses receiving small business rate relief that take on an additional property which would currently disqualify them from receiving relief, will continue to receive their existing relief for 12 months.

Small business rate relief is funded by a supplement added to all other rates bills. However, if your property has a rateable value above £15,000 but below £51,000, your bill will have already been calculated using the lower small business multiplier. This means that although you are not entitled to the relief, you will not have to pay the supplement.

How much relief you will get

Relief is on a sliding scale.

From 1 April 2017, Small Business Rate Relief (SBRR) thresholds are as follow:

• Properties with an RV of up to £12,000 will receive 100 per cent relief.
• Properties with an RV between £12,000 and £15,000 will receive tapered relief and relief will gradually reduce from 100 per cent at £12,000 to 0 per cent at £15,000.
• If you are not receiving the relief and you think that you are eligible, then please complete the online enquiry form

Charity Relief

If your property is used wholly or mainly for charitable purposes, you are automatically entitled to an 80% reduction of your bill (mandatory relief), though you will need to apply to the Council to make sure you receive it. In addition, the Council may award discretionary rate relief for all or part of the remaining 20% of the bill (discretionary relief). If the property is a charity shop, the property must be wholly or mainly used for the sale of goods donated to the charity and the proceeds must be applied to the purposes of the charity.

If your organisation is not a charity but is another type of non-profit making organisation, you are not automatically entitled to relief, but the Council may award discretionary rate relief for all or part of the bill. To qualify, the organisation must be charitable, religious, or concerned with education, social welfare, science, literature or the fine arts, or the property must be used wholly or mainly for the purpose of recreation. If your business property is in a designated rural area, you may be able to claim rural rate relief.

Discretionary Relief

For more information please visit the Rate Relief Policy

Discretionary Rate Relief for Community Groups

Discretionary Rate Relief to Support Local Charities, Community Groups as well as amateur sports clubs, not for profit organisations and certain rural businesses. Previously, groups such as these have been supported by the Council using Section 47 of the Local Government Finance Act 1988 and support is often a 'top-up' to Mandatory Relief. 

For more information please visit the Rate Relief Policy

Hardship Relief

If you are suffering severe hardship and cannot pay your Business Rates bill the Council may decide to award up to 100% (discretionary) rate relief. The Council will only do this in extreme cases of hardship and for businesses which are particularly important to the local community.

Business Rates Charitable Relief Application Form .pdf (66.19 KB)

If your business is in a rural village with a population below 3000, and it is one of the following types of business:

• The only village general store or post office, and the rateable value of the property is less than £8,500.
• A food shop with a rateable value of less than £8,500. (Restaurants and take-away premises are not included).
• The only village pub, or the only village petrol station with a rateable value of less than £12,500.

The above premises have to be occupied and eligible ratepayers are entitled to relief at 100% of the full charge.

Non-domestic properties which are unoccupied or partly occupied may be liable to empty property rates.

For more information on this topic please visit the Empty Properties section.

If you think your rateable value is wrong, you can make a proposal to alter it.  This is know as making an appeal.

For more information on making an appeal please visit our section on appealing against Rateable Value.