Reliefs and Reductions
You may be able to reduce the amount of Business Rates you pay
by claiming one of the following reliefs described below.
Charity & Discretionary Relief
Charities are entitled to 80% mandatory relief where the
property is occupied by the charity and the property is wholly or
mainly used for charitable purposes.
Charities are entitled to 90% relief where the ratepayer is a
charity and the property is unoccupied but it appears that when
next in use the property will be wholly or mainly used for
charitable purposes.
Harlow Council has discretion to give further relief on the
remaining bill.
Harlow Council also has discretion to give relief on all or part
of any rate bill for property occupied by certain non-profit making
bodies, and can also consider giving rate relief in cases of
hardship or where part of a property is beyond use for a certain
period.
Community Amateur Sports Club Relief
Community Amateur Sports Club Relief is based on the charity
relief details as highlighted above. However, the sports club must
be registered as a Community Amateur Sports Club with the Inland
Revenue.
Small Business Rates Relief
This is available at 50% for ratepayers occupying single
properties with a rateable value up to £5,000, with relief
declining in percentage terms on a sliding scale until it is 0% at
£10,000.
The relief is only available to ratepayers with either:
(a) one property, or
(b) one main property and other additional properties providing
those additional properties have rateable values of less than
£2,200.
The rateable value of the property mentioned in (a), or the
aggregate rateable value of all properties mentioned in (b), must
be under £15,000 outside London or £21,500 within London.
The scheme is funded through a supplement on the rate bills of
those businesses not eligible for the relief. The supplement is
built into the standard non-domestic rating multiplier. However,
ratepayers of eligible business properties with rateable values
between £10,000 and £15,000 (£21,500 within London) do not have to
contribute towards the relief and will have their bills calculated
using the lower small business non-domestic rating multiplier.
An application for the relief will cover the period of the
rating list (to 31st March 2010 for the current list).
If the application is received by 30th September
following the end of a financial year, relief will be awarded for
the previous financial year. In order to qualify for relief the
property must appear in the rating list on the 1st April
for the financial year being applied for.
Follow this link to
print off an Application for Small Business Rate
Relief .pdf (124kb)
Transitional Relief
Property values normally change a good deal between each
revaluation. Transitional arrangements help to phase in the effects
of these changes by limiting the amount by which a bill may rise
following a revaluation. To help pay for the limits on increases in
bills after a revaluation, there also have to be limits on
reductions in bills. Under the transition scheme, limits continue
to apply to yearly increases and decreases until the full amount if
due (rateable value times the multiplier).
The scheme applies only to the bill based on a property at the
time of revaluation. If there are any changes to the property after
the revaluation date, transitional arrangements will not normally
apply to the part of a bill that applies to any increase in
rateable value due to those changes.
This relief is applied automatically to your account. You do not
need to apply for it.
Unoccupied Property Rating
The Government has reformed empty property rates in order to
provide a strong incentive to bring empty property back into
use.
As of 1st April 2008, most property that has
been empty for more than 3 months – or in the case of industrial
property, for more than six months – will no longer receive a
reduction in rates.
After the initial three or six month rate-free
period expires, empty property will be liable for 100% of the basic
occupied business rate.
Property held by a charity or community
amateur sports club that will next be used for the purposes of the
charity/club will be exempt from the empty property rate.
If your property is not capable of beneficial
occupation – for instance, if it is in poor condition and cannot be
economically repaired – the valuation officer may judge that it
should be taken out of the rating list altogether.
Rate Relief for New, Non-Agricultural Business on Previously
Agricultural Land or Buildings
Rate relief is available for businesses with rateable value of
up to £6,000, where the business is set up on previously
agricultural land or buildings. Subject to certain conditions, the
business will get a 50% reduction in the rates bill for up to five
years. Local councils have discretion to give further relief on the
remaining bill on such property.
Please note that Harlow is not a designated rural area
and therefore Rural Rate relief is not available.
What happens after you claim a relief
If you have been given a relief on your bill the Council will
contact you annually to request a new application or check that
your circumstances remain the same.
If you do not return the form your relief may be
cancelled.