Reliefs & Discounts

You can get Small Business rates Relief if:

• Your property’s rateable value is less than £15,000; and
• Your business only occupies one property

Or

• Your business occupies more than one property where;
  
  • The rateable value for your main property is less than £15,000; and
  • The rateable value for any additional properties is less than £2,899; and
  • The total rateable value for all of your properties is less than £20,000

If you receive small business rate relief, and then take on an additional property, you can continue to receive small business rate relief for up to 12 months, providing you remain in occupation

The relief will only apply to your main property

You are not eligible if:

• The property is empty
• You are in receipt of a mandatory relief (Charity and Community Amateur Sports Club Relief, Public Lavatory Relief or Rural Rate Relief)
• The property has a rateable value over £15,000
• The business occupies multiple properties, where one has a rateable value of more than £2,899 or where the total rateable value for all properties is more than £20,000

Apply online here

Small Business Rate Relief (Paper application)

Amount of Relief available

If you are eligible for Small Business Rate Relief, you will be entitled to:

If your property has a rateable value below £50,999, the amount you pay will be calculated using the Small Business Multiplier. This is the case even if you do not get small business rate relief and is automatically awarded.

Report a change in circumstance or respond to a review letter

If you are currently receiving Small Business Rate Relief (SBRR) and your circumstances have changed or you have received a SBRR review letter from us, you can use our online form to confirm your continued eligibility or provide details which may affect your existing award. Alternatively, you can contact us by email or telephone.

Charities and registered CASC are entitled to 80% mandatory relief.

You can get Mandatory Charity Relief if:

• The property is occupied by a registered charity; and
• The purpose of the property is to advance the charity’s aims and objectives
• The property is being used for charitable purposes
• The main purpose of the property must not be to generate a profit, except charity shops where the majority of goods available for sale must be donated and the proceeds of sale of such goods must be applied for the purposes of the charity

You can get Mandatory Community Amateur Sports Club Relief (CASC) Relief if:

• The property is occupied by a CASC; and
• The property is being used for charitable purposes

Apply online

Charity or Non Profit (Paper Application)

There is also a further up to 20% discretionary relief available in certain circumstances as detailed in our policy.

Apply online

A non-profit making organisation, which is not a registered charity, but has charitable objectives, can apply for up to 100% discretionary relief.

Each application is viewed on its own merits, and in line with the policy detailed above.

Apply online

You may be able to claim Hardship Relief if:

• You would be in suffering financial difficulties without it
• Awarding the relief is in the interest of the local community

Each application is viewed on its own merits, and in line with the policy

To make an application, please print and complete the below application, and return to the council

Hardship Relief Application

Transitional relief limits the amount which your bill can increase following a Business Rates revaluation.

Because there was a revaluation implemented from 1^st April 2023, from the 2023/24 financial year, if your bill increases by more than a certain amount, you will receive transitional relief.  This is so that any changes to what you pay are phased in gradually.

This relief is automatically awarded and shown on your bill if it applies.

If your bill is increasing from 1^st April 2023

Empty Property Relief

If a business property becomes empty, business rates will not be payable for the first three months, or six months in the case of certain industrial properties.

After this period, full rates are payable for most properties, although there are some exemptions for specific circumstances.

Other empty property exemptions

An unoccupied property is exempt from business rates where any of the following apply:

• the rateable value is less than £2,900 from 1 April 2017 
• occupation is prohibited by law
• the Crown or council has taken action to buy the property or to prohibit occupation 
• it's a listed building
• it's an ancient monument
• the ratepayer is a charity and the property's next use will be completely or mainly for charitable purposes
• the ratepayer is a Community Amateur Sports club (CASC) and the property's next use will be completely or mainly for sport 
• it's  exempt from business rates altogether
• the ratepayer is only the ratepayer because they are the personal representative or executor of someone who has died

Unoccupied properties are also exempt where any of the following insolvency or debt situations apply:

• there's a bankruptcy order in respect of the ratepayer or their estate
• the ratepayer is a company in administration, in liquidation, or subject to a winding-up order
• the ratepayer is the ratepayer because they are a trustee under a deed of arrangement 

Apply now (Paper Application)

Rural Rate Relief

Your property may be entitled up to 100% Rural Rate Relief if:

• it is in an eligible rural area with a population below 3000; and
• it is the only general store, food shop or post office and has a rateable value of up to £8,500; or
• it is the only public house or petrol station and has a rateable value of up to £12,500

The property must be occupied to be eligible, and one business of each type can be eligible, within the same area, providing they meet all the criteria. For example, a general store and a public house can both be eligible.

For the full guidance on eligibility, please read the Council’s policy

Apply online here

Rural Rate Relief (Paper Application)

In certain circumstances, the Council may use its discretion to award a part empty relief; also known as Section 44A (s.44A of the Local Government Finance Act 1988). In these circumstances the Council may request that the Valuation Officer apportion the rateable value of the property between the occupied and unoccupied elements

For the full guidance on eligibility, please read the Council’s policy

To make an application, please print and complete the below application, and return to the council

Part Occupied Property Relief Application

This Relief has been extended into 2025/26 at 40% rather than 75%. If you are already in receipt of Retail, Hospitality & Leisure Relief this will automatically be applied to your account.

The six-month statutory deadline was removed with effect from 1 April 2023, and local authorities were given the power to set their own local deadline.  Mid Sussex Council opted to continue the previous scheme, with the deadline closing six months after the end of the financial year (i.e. 30 September).    

Applications for 2023/24 Retail, Leisure & Hospitality Relief closed on 30th September 2024. Applications received after this date will not be considered eligible for this relief.

You can get the Retail, Leisure & Hospitality Relief if:

• you meet the eligibility criteria at Part 2 of the scheme (below): and
• the ratepayer for that chargeable day has not refused the relief for the eligible hereditament. The ratepayer may refuse the relief for each eligible hereditament anytime up to 30 April 2024. The ratepayer cannot subsequently withdraw their refusal for either all or part of the financial year.

Applications close 6 months after the end of the relevant financial year e.g. for 2024/25 applications close 30th Sept 2025.

Part 2: Eligibility for the Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Relief Scheme

1. Hereditaments that meet the eligibility for Retail, Hospitality and Leisure scheme will be occupied hereditaments which meet all of the following conditions for the chargeable day:

a) they are wholly or mainly being used:

i. as shops, restaurants, cafes, drinking establishments, cinemas or live music venues,

ii. for assembly and leisure; or

iii. as hotels, guest & boarding premises, or self-catering accommodation

2. We consider shops, restaurants, cafes, drinking establishments, cinemas, and live music venues to mean:

i. Hereditaments that are being used for the sale of goods to visiting members of the public:

• Shops (such as: florists, bakers, butchers, grocers, greengrocers, jewellers, stationers, off licences, chemists, newsagents, hardware stores, supermarkets, etc)
• Charity shops
• Opticians
• Post offices
• Furnishing shops/ display rooms (such as: carpet shops, double glazing, garage doors)
• Car/caravan show rooms
• Second-hand car lots
• Markets
• Petrol stations
• Garden centres
• Art galleries (where art is for sale/hire)

ii. Hereditaments that are being used for the provision of the following services to visiting members of the public:

• Hair and beauty services (such as: hairdressers, nail bars, beauty salons, tanning shops, etc)
• Shoe repairs/key cutting
• Travel agents
• Ticket offices e.g. for theatre
• Dry cleaners
• Launderettes
• PC/TV/domestic appliance repair
• Funeral directors
• Photo processing
• Tool hire
• Car hire

iii. Hereditaments that are being used for the sale of food and/or drink to visiting members of the public:

• Restaurants
• Takeaways
• Sandwich shops
• Coffee shops
• Pubs
• Bars

iv. Hereditaments which are being used as cinemas

v. Hereditaments that are being used as live music venues:

• Live music venues are hereditaments wholly or mainly used for the performance of live music for the purpose of entertaining an audience. Hereditaments cannot be considered a live music venue for the purpose of business rates relief where a venue 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).
• Hereditaments can be a live music venue even if used for other activities, but only if those other activities (i) are merely ancillary or incidental to the performance of live music (e.g. the sale/supply of alcohol to audience members) or (ii) do not affect the fact that the primary activity for the premises is the performance of live music (e.g. because those other activities are insufficiently regular or frequent, such as a polling station or a fortnightly community event).
• There may be circumstances in which it is difficult to tell whether an activity is a performance of live music or, instead, the playing of recorded music. Although we would expect this would be clear in most circumstances, guidance on this may be found in Chapter 16 of the statutory guidance issued in April 2018 under section 182 of the Licensing Act 2003.

3. We consider assembly and leisure to mean:

i. Hereditaments that are being used for the provision of sport, leisure and facilities to visiting members of the public (including for the viewing of such activities).

• Sports grounds and clubs
• Museums and art galleries
• Nightclubs
• Sport and leisure facilities
• Stately homes and historic houses
• Theatres
• Tourist attractions
• Gyms
• Wellness centres, spas, massage parlours
• Casinos, gambling clubs and bingo halls

ii. Hereditaments that are being used for the assembly of visiting members of the public.

• Public halls
• Clubhouses, clubs and institutions

4. We consider hotels, guest & boarding premises and self-catering accommodation to mean:

i. Hereditaments where the non-domestic part is being used for the provision of living accommodation as a business:

• Hotels, Guest and Boarding Houses
• Holiday homes
• Caravan parks and sites

5. To qualify for the relief the hereditament should be wholly or mainly being used for the above qualifying purposes. In a similar way to other reliefs (such as charity relief), this is a test on use rather than occupation. Therefore, hereditaments which are occupied but not wholly or mainly used for the qualifying purpose will not qualify for the relief.
6. The list set out above is not intended to be exhaustive as it would be impossible to list the many and varied uses that exist within the qualifying purposes. However, it is intended to be a guide for authorities as to the types of uses that the government considers for this purpose to be eligible for relief. Authorities should determine for themselves whether particular properties not listed are broadly similar in nature to those above and, if so, to consider them eligible for the relief. Conversely, properties that are not broadly similar in nature to those listed above should not be eligible for the relief.
7. The list below sets out the types of uses that the government does not consider to be an eligible use for the purpose of this discount. Again, it is for local authorities to determine for themselves whether particular properties are broadly similar in nature to those below and, if so, to consider them not eligible for the discount under their local scheme.

i. Hereditaments that are being used for the provision of the following services to visiting members of the public

• Financial services (e.g. banks, building societies, cash points, bureaux de change, short-term loan providers, betting shops)
• Medical services (e.g. vets, dentists, doctors, osteopaths, chiropractors)
• Professional services (e.g. solicitors, accountants, insurance agents/ financial advisers, employment agencies, estate agents, letting agents)
• Post office sorting offices

ii. Hereditaments that are not reasonably accessible to visiting members of the public

Details of the scheme in full are available on the Gov.UK website

Apply online now

Improvement Relief is intended to support businesses wishing to invest in their property. From 1 April 2024 the Improvement Relief scheme will ensure that no ratepayer will face a higher rates bill for 12 months, as a result of qualifying improvements made to their property.

The relief is scheduled to commence from 1 April 2024 and applies to works completed by 31 March 2028 (with qualifying works completed by that date benefitting from 12 months of relief)

Eligibility:

• The qualifying works condition. The works should

1. increase the area of any building in or on the hereditament

or

1. otherwise improve the physical state of the hereditament

or

1. add rateable plant and machinery to the hereditament.

Therefore, neither a newly constructed hereditament nor a refurbished hereditament (which had left the rating list during the works) will qualify. A change of use alone or the addition of land also will not qualify.

• The occupation condition. The same ratepayer has been in occupation of the hereditament on each day since the qualifying works commenced. This ensures the support is not diverted to landlords, developers or businesses which have merely inherited the improvements from a previous occupier.

For full details, please visit:

https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/business-rates-improvement-relief-draft-regulations/business-rates-improvement-relief-draft-regulations

Please note, you cannot make an application for this relief. Qualifying properties will be identified by the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) and passed to the Billing Authority to apply where the occupation condition is met.

You can get heat networks relief if your property is only used or mainly used as a ‘heat network’.

Eligibility:

A heat network supplies heating or cooling to other properties from a central source. To be eligible, the heat network must:

• take its energy from a low carbon source
• supply heating and cooling to other properties - for example, homes, shops, public buildings, hospitals, and offices

The heat network must not supply heat or cooling for industrial use - for example, to create products in factories.

If you meet the eligibility criteria, you will not pay any business rates.

For full details please visit: Business rates relief: Heat networks relief - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

To check if your property is eligible, please contact the VOA