Business rate discount for retail premises, hospitality and leisure venues

If you have a retail, hospitality or leisure property you may be eligible for a business rate discount.

From 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024 the relief is 75%.

From 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025 the relief is 75%.

From 1 April 2025 to 31 March 2026 the relief is 40%.

The 2025-26 Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Business Rates Relief scheme will provide eligible, occupied, retail, hospitality and leisure properties with a 40% relief, up to a cash cap limit of £110,000 per business. If your business has, together with any other companies in the same group for Cash Cap purposes, received Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Relief/Expanded Retail Discount from any other local Authorities, you will need to tell us.

• other properties' reference number
• local authority providing relief or discount
• properties' address
• value of Expanded Retail Discount received for each

If your business does not wish to receive the Expanded Retail Discount in respect of a hereditament in Mid Devon’s area or contact us via our portal My Business Rates account and send us a message

 

Eligibility for the Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Relief Scheme

Hereditaments that meet the eligibility criteria for the Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Scheme 2025/26 will be occupied hereditaments which meet all of the following conditions on the chargeable day:

Properties that will benefit from the relief will be occupied hereditaments that are wholly or mainly being used:

• as shops, restaurants, cafes, drinking establishments, cinemas and live music venues
• for assembly and leisure
• as hotels, guest and boarding premises and self-catering accommodation

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

1. 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 and garage doors)
   • Car/caravan show rooms
   • Second hand car lots
   • Markets
   • Petrol stations
   • Garden centres
   • Art galleries (where art is for sale/hire)

2. 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

3. 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
4. Hereditaments which are being used as cinemas

5. 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.

We consider assembly and leisure to mean:

1. 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
   • Museum and art galleries
   • Nightclubs
   • Sport and leisure facilities
   • Stately homes and historic houses
   • Theatres
   • Tourist attractions
   • Gyms
   • Wellness centres, spas and massage parlours
   • Casino, gambling clubs and bingo halls

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

   • Public halls
   • Clubhouses, clubs and institutions

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

1. 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

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. 

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. We will consider if particular properties not listed are broadly similar in nature to those above and, if so, the Council considers them eligible for relief. Conversely, properties that are not broadly similar in nature to those listed above should not be eligible for relief.

The government has guidance on the types of businesses that fall within each of the above categories and the authority will consider this when making any decision regarding entitlement.

 

Ineligible properties

The list below sets out the types of uses that we don't consider to be retail use for the purpose of this discount:

• retail properties that are being used for the provision of the following services to visiting members of the public such as:
  • financial services such as banks, building societies, cash points, bureau de change, payday lenders, betting shops, pawn brokers
  • medical services such as vets, dentists, doctors, osteopaths, chiropractors
  • professional services such as solicitors, accountants, insurance agents/ financial advisers; and
  • post office sorting offices
• retail properties that are not reasonably accessible to visiting members of the public

Refusal Of Relief

You are entitled to decline this relief when awarded, you’ll need to return a declaration to  that affect, this will be sent to you as part of the award letter & subsidy control declaration.  Once you’ve refused the relief it cannot be awarded again should you change your mind.   

Backdating

RHL will be backdated to the previous year or the occupation date, subsidy rules apply as does a 'cash cap' a formal declaration will be required. Please see our policy for further information.

Subsidy Control Limits (formerly known as State Aid)

The business must also keep within their obligations under the Subsidy Control Act. This is where the business receives additional aid from Government bodies such as discretionary help or grants.

Please note, if you are unsure of you legal obligations regarding subsidy control, the Council is not able to provide you with any advice. You will need to keep evidence of the award under subsidy control.

For more information, please read the Government Guidance note.

Accepting the relief means that you confirm that you do not breach your subsidy control levels, and will notify the Council of any relevant subsidy control awards totalling above £315,000 in accordance with the subsidy control rules.

 

Please note you will be asked to  declare your ‘subsidy position’ if relief is awarded