Charitable Relief
There are two types of charitable relief for business rates; mandatory and discretionary:
1. Mandatory Relief
Under LGFA 1988 sec 43 Charities can get relief from business rates if the property is used for charitable purposes. This means that the property is used for a non-profit making enterprise which is for the benefit of the community or a group. An example of this is Charity shops which sell donated goods and are staffed by volunteers. The charity has to be registered with the Charities Commission, or exempt from registration (e.g. Scouts organisations).
The bill is reduced by 80%. LGFA 1988 sec 45 also states that for unoccupied charitable properties these will receive mandatory relief of 80% on their 50% unoccupied charge.
2. Discretionary Relief
Under LGFA 1988 sec 47, Councils have the discretion to award further relief called discretionary relief. LB Havering currently give discretionary relief to many non-profit making organisations within the community e.g. Elderly persons Clubs.
Discretionary Relief can be given on its own up to 100%, or in addition to mandatory relief. All charities, voluntary bodies, clubs or societies can apply for relief. The conditions that need to be satisfied before an authority can consider Discretionary Relief are: the ratepayer is a charity or trustees for a charity and the property is mainly used for charitable purposes the property is occupied for the purposes of one or more institutions / organisations none of which are established to run at a profit, and whose main objectives are charitable, religious, or concerned with education, social welfare, science, literature or the fine arts.
The property is wholly or mainly used for the purposes of recreation, and all or part of it is occupied for the purpose of a club society or other organisation not established or conducted for profit.
LGFA 1988 sec 48 allows for discretionary relief to be awarded on unoccupied properties that fit the above criteria.
Click here to apply for charitable relief.
Small Business Rates Relief
The relief is available to ratepayers with either:
• 1 property; or
• 1 main property and other additional properties, providing the additional properties do not have individual rateable values of more than £2,600, and the combined rateable value of all the properties is under £18,000 (or £25,500 in London). The threshold for the combined rateable value is dependent on the location of the main property.
To apply for this relief please download the application form on the right hand side of this page and send to the address stated on the application form.
Budget announcement 2011
The Chancellor of the Exchequer announced at the Budget extra help for small businesses.
The current temporary increase in Small Business Rate Relief, which started on 1 October 2010 and was due to end on 30 September 2011, will now continue for a further year (1 October 2011 to 30 September 2012).
The measure doubles the usual rate of relief so that ratepayers with rateable values below £6,000 pay no rates at all for the period, while ratepayers with rateable values between £6,000 and not more than £12,000 receive tapered relief from 100% - 0%.
There are no other changes to the scheme and the Government has confirmed that it will meet the costs of the increased levels of relief.
You need take no action. Once the legislation is in place, you will be sent a revised bill. In the meantime, you must continue to pay your current instalments, if you have any. Current collection and enforcement procedures will continue to apply to ratepayers who miss scheduled instalments.
What if I have more than 1 property?
The intention behind the scheme is that the ratepayer should be able to obtain relief against 1 property only.
So, for example, if you have several properties and none has a rateable value of more than £2,600 and the total value of all the properties is under £18,000 or £25,500 if the property for which you wish to have the relief is within London, you need to identify the property for which you wish to claim relief. The remaining properties would be charged using the higher multiplier.
Requirement to notify of a change in circumstances
If an application for relief is granted, provided the ratepayer continues to satisfy the conditions for relief which apply at the relevant time as regards the property and the ratepayer, they will not need to re-apply for relief in each new valuation period.
Certain changes in circumstances will need to be notified to the local authority by the ratepayer (other changes will be picked up by the local authority). The changes which must be notified are -
• the ratepayer taking up occupation of a property they did not occupy at the time of making their application for relief, and
• an increase in the rateable value of a property occupied by the ratepayer in an area other than the area of the local authority which granted the relief.
Notification of these changes must be given to the local authority within four weeks of the day after the day on which the change happened. If this happens, there will be no interruption to the ratepayer’s entitlement to the relief.
CASCs
Community Amateur Sports Clubs that register with Her Majesty Revenues and Customs upon receipt of a copy of their registration certificate will be entitled to 80% rate relief.
Appealing against rateable value
A ratepayer (and certain others who have an interest in the property) can appeal against the value shown in the list if they believe it is wrong. Further information on the grounds for making an appeal, and on how to make one, can be found on the VOA website at www.voa.gov.uk or from your local valuation office.
The effect of successful appeals against values shown in the rating list that came into force on 1 April 2000 will normally be backdated to the beginning of the financial year in which they are made, although there are exceptions to this.
Hardship relief and how to apply
Hardship relief can be granted up to 100% of the business rates bill. This is a decision that we have to make based on extreme cases of hardship and for businesses which are particularly important to the local community. This takes account of the fact that local Council Tax payers will cover part of the cost of the relief.
Each case is considered on its own merits.