Business rate reliefs and exemptions

Information and guidance about available business rate reliefs and exemptions

Some businesses may be eligible for a reduction in their business rates bill. This page gives information and guidance on the following reliefs and exemptions, as well as how to apply.

  • Small business rate relief
  • Retail hospitality and leisure business rates relief (RHL) scheme 
  • Charity and non-profit making organisation relief 
  • Sporting rate relief
  • Rural rate relief
  • Relief for empty/unoccupied properties
  • Relief for partly occupied properties
  • Improvement relief
  • Supporting small business scheme (SSBR)
  • Discretionary rate relief policy

Small business rate relief

Small Business Rates Relief (SBR) is available to businesses that occupy a single property with a rateable value (RV) of less than £15,000.

If you take on an additional property while in receipt of SBR, you can continue getting existing relief on your main property for 12 months.

You could keep SBR on your main property after 12 months if all of your additional properties have rateable values below £2,900 and the total rateable value of all of your properties is less than £20,000.

The value of the relief is 100% when the rateable value is £12,000 or lower. Between £12,000 and £15,000 the relief decreases on a sliding scale for every pound of rateable value increased (e.g. at the RV of £13,500 the relief is 50%, at £14,000 the relief is 33%).

Apply for small business rate relief

Retail hospitality and leisure business rates relief (RHL) scheme 

The Government have extended the Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Relief scheme for a further year, and increased the Relief award against the Business Rates bill to 75% for 2024/25.

The Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Relief scheme will be extended for one year for 2025/26, retaining the existing eligibility criteria but reducing the level of relief to 40%, up to a cap of £110,000 per business.

This covers the Business Rates bills for businesses occupying property for certain Retail, Hospitality and Leisure purposes, where the main use of the premises is for visiting members of the public.

You can read the full guidance on the government website.

The Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Relief is a Government funded scheme with Government-set eligibility criteria, but it is awarded using the council's discretionary power. As such, the award must keep the business within subsidy control limits.

There is also a limit to the amount that any business can receive, which is to a maximum of £110,000 for the 2024/25 financial year across all of their properties in England.  Where the ratepayer has a qualifying connection with another ratepayer then those ratepayers should be considered as one ratepayer for the purposes of the cash caps. 

To apply please email businessrates@northdevon.gov.uk or telephone 01271 388361.

Charity and non-profit making organisation relief

Charitable organisations registered under the Charity Act 1960 and occupying a non-domestic property for that purpose, are entitled to business rates relief of 80% of the full bill or of the transitional bill where transitional arrangements apply.

Charity relief

We have the discretion to reduce all or part of the remaining 20% of the charity's bill. When applying for relief please ensure you include your charity's registration number and enclose a copy of your Articles of Association, Statement of Aims and Objects or Trust documents. 

Non-profit making organisation relief

We also have the discretion to reduce all or part of any rates bill in respect of a business rated property occupied by certain bodies not established or conducted for profit and whose main objects are charitable or philanthropic or religious or concerned with education, social welfare, science, literature, fine arts or the occupier is a club concerned with recreation.

When making your application please ensure that you enclose a copy of your latest audited trading accounts.

Apply for charitable rate relief

Sporting rate relief

Rate Relief can be granted to sports clubs that have registered with HM Revenue and Customs as Community Amateur Sports Clubs (CASCs).

In effect, 80% Mandatory Rate Relief will be automatically awarded on application, and consideration given to award an additional top-up rate relief of up to 20%.

Further information and forms to register as a CASC are available on the HM Revenue & Customs website.

To apply please email businessrates@northdevon.gov.uk or telephone 01271 388361.

Rural rate relief

Certain properties can receive help with their business rates if the business is in a rural area with a population below 3,000. The following are deemed to be rural settlements within the council’s area. The boundary of each settlement is the same as the parish boundary, except where otherwise defined.

Arlington; Ashford; Atherington; Berrynarbor; Bishops Nympton; Bishops Tawton; Bittadon; Bratton Fleming; Brayford; Brendon; Burrington; Challacombe; Chittlehamholt; Chittlehampton; Chulmleigh; Combe Martin; Countisbury; East & West Buckland; East Anstey; East Down; East Worlington; Filleigh; George Nympton; Georgeham; Goodleigh; Heanton Punchardon; Horwood; Instow; Kentisbury; Kings Nympton; Knowle; Knowstone; Landkey; Lovacott; Lincombe & Lee; Loxhore; Lynton & Lynmouth; Mariansleigh; Martinhoe; Marwood; Meshaw; Molland; Mortehoe; Newton Tracey; North Molton; Parracombe; Queens Nympton; Rackenford; Romansleigh; Rose Ash; Satterleigh & Warkleigh; Shirwell; Stoke Rivers; Swimbridge; Tawstock; Trentishoe; Twitchen; West Anstey; West Down; West Pilton; Westleigh; Witheridge

You will receive 100% relief on your business rates if your business is in an eligible area and you are one of the following:

  • the only village shop or post office, with a rateable value of up to £8,500
  • the only public house or petrol station, with a rateable value of up to £12,500

The council also has the discretion to allow up to 100% relief to any non-domestic property in a rural settlement with a rateable value up to £16,500 if the council is satisfied that the property is used for a purpose that benefits the local community.

To apply please email businessrates@northdevon.gov.uk or telephone 01271 388361.

Relief for empty/unoccupied properties

Business rates are not payable for the first three months that a property is empty (six months for industrial properties). After this period full rates are payable.

Empty property rate exemptions 

  • any property with a rateable value below £2,900
  • where liability falls on a charity and the property appears likely to be next used for charitable purposes
  • community amateur sports clubs where it is likely that the premises will be used again for the purpose of the club
  • empty listed buildings
  • empty property where the ratepayer is subject to insolvency action

To apply please email businessrates@northdevon.gov.uk or telephone 01271 388361.

Relief for partly occupied properties

In certain circumstances, the council can request that the valuation officer provides a certificate to apportion the rateable value of a property which is partially occupied for ‘a short time only'. This is called a Section 44a certificate.

This is normally used in situations where a property is occupied or vacated in stages, or where part of the property is unusable eg due to fire, flood or redevelopment.

The empty part can receive a complete exemption from rates for the first three months it is empty (or, if it is an industrial property, for the first six months).

After the initial rate-free period expires, in most cases the occupied business rate will apply again to the whole property

To apply please email businessrates@northdevon.gov.uk or telephone 01271 388361.

Improvement relief

You might get improvement relief if you make certain improvements to your property. If you're eligible, you'll get the relief for one year. It starts from when you complete your improvements.

Any improvements you make must:

  • increase the rateable value of your property
  • be completed on or after 1 April 2024

They must also either:

  • increase the size of your property
  • add new features or equipment to your property, such as heating, air conditioning or CCTV

Any improvements to existing features or equipment do not qualify.

You must have occupied the property during and after the improvement works to get improvement relief. You cannot pass on your relief to anybody else.

You do not need to apply or do anything differently. If you meet the necessary requirements, we will apply the relief to your bills.

The Valuation Office Agency (VOA) will value and certify qualifying improvements and issue a certificate to customers which shows: 

  • the new rateable value 
  • how much of the rateable value is due to the qualifying works 
  • when improvement relief should start and end 

If you have questions about a certificate of qualifying improvements, please contact the VOA at the email address on your certificate. Please note that the VOA cannot answer queries about the occupation condition or your business rates bill.

You can find out more about which improvements are eligible at GOV.UK at the following link: Business Rates Improvement Relief

Supporting small business relief schemes 2023-24 to 2025-26

Due to the Business Rates revaluation coming into force on 1 April 2023, the Government has announced a relief scheme for businesses which will cap bill increases at £600 per year for any business losing eligibility for some or all Small Business Rates Relief or Rural Rate Relief at the 2023 Valuation.

If your business was receiving one of these reliefs, the limit in the increase in your Business Rates bill will be set at £600 per year while the scheme exists. 

You do not have to apply for this relief as it will automatically be applied to your Business Rates bill

Discretionary rate relief policy

For more detail on discretionary rate relief please refer to our discretionary rate relief policy.