Reliefs and exemptions

Charities and registered Community Amateur Sports Clubs are entitled to 80% relief where the property is occupied by the charity or the club and is wholly or mainly used for the charitable purposes of the charity (or of that and other charities) or for the purposes of the club (or of that and other clubs).

Calderdale Council has discretion to give further relief on the remaining bill. For more about this, please contact us.

This is a mandatory relief of 80% where:

• the property is occupied by the charity or club;
• and is wholly or mainly used for charitable purposes or as a registered Community Amateur Sports Club.

If you think you are entitled to relief, please complete and return the: 

Charity rate relief application form(PDF 64KB)

Important note: Before you complete the form, please read our Business rates - privacy notice. This tells you what we do with your personal information.

For information about Discretionary Rate Relief, see: Discretionary Rate Relief (DRR).

Business rates are generally payable in respect of unoccupied non-domestic property. However, they are generally not payable for the first three months that a property is empty. This is extended to six months in the case of certain industrial premises, whilst certain other properties such as vacant listed buildings are not liable for business rates until they are reoccupied.

You can get full details on exemptions from Calderdale Council or visit: Business rates relief (GOV.UK).

Empty property rates are payable on most commercial properties by the 'person entitled to possession'. This is usually the leaseholder, the tenant if there is one or the freeholder if not.

For the first three months a property is empty, no rates are payable. This period is extended to six months for property classed as industrial, which includes:

• factories;
• warehouses;
• and workshops.

After this, empty rates are charged are 100% of the occupied rate, unless one of the exemptions below applies:

• Those where the rateable value (RV) is less than:
  • £2,200 from 1st April 2005 to 31st March 2009;
  • £15,000 from 1st April 2009 to 31st March 2010;
  • £18,000 from 1st April 2010 to 31st March 2011;
  • £2,600 from 1st April 2011;
  • £2,900 from 1st April 2017.
• Properties where occupation is prohibited by law.
• Properties empty due to action taken by the crown or any public/local authority. Either to prevent occupation or to acquire the property. For example a compulsory purchase order has been made.
• Listed buildings or those subject to a preservation order.
• Properties where the person liable, would be so only in his/her capacity as:
  • a personal representative of a deceased person;
  • a liquidator;
  • or a trustee under a deed of arrangement;
  • properties where the person entitled to possession is the subject of insolvency proceedings;
  • the owner is a company in administration.

For more details, visit: Exempted buildings and empty buildings relief.

The local authority has discretion to give hardship relief in specific circumstances.

A report was submitted to Cabinet on 2nd October 2017.

• This reviewed all the Council's existing discretionary rate relief schemes;
• and also considered the local discount schemes announced in the Autumn 2016 and Spring 2017 Budget statements. These were fully funded by the Government.

At the same time, members were asked to make a decision on whether to approve a policy for hardship relief. (A policy was not in place then.)

Cabinet recommended that a hardship scheme should not be brought in at that time.

A ratepayer is usually liable for the full non-domestic rate whether a property is wholly occupied or only partly occupied.

Where a property is partly occupied for a short time, in certain circumstances, we can apply to the Valuation Office Agency to provide a certificate apportioning the RV between the occupied and unoccupied parts. This is intended to assist phased occupation or phased removal from a property and not in circumstances where part only of a business property is used on a continuous basis. Relief may then be awarded in respect of the part that is not in use. This relief is known as Section 44(a) and can only be awarded for a maximum of 3 months or 6 months in the case of industrial properties.

If you think you are entitled to relief, please complete and return: 

Application for relief for partially occupied properties(PDF 72KB)

Important note: Before completing the form, please read our Business rates - privacy notice. This tells you what we do with your personal information.

Please note: From 1st April 2019, this scheme is no longer available. It has been replaced by the Retail Discount scheme. The Public House Relief Scheme was available for 2017/18 and 2018/19 only and provided relief of up to £1,000.

The rural rate relief scheme was introduced to help protect retail outlets and similar services in rural settlements with a population below 3,000.

Under the scheme, the following businesses in designated rural settlements are entitled to 50 % mandatory rate relief.

The sole village shop or post office with an RV of up to £8,500. Shops selling food for human consumption, but excludes confectionery and catering outlets like takeaways.

The sole public house or petrol filling station with an RV of up to £12,500.

The Rural Rate Relief changed from 50% to 100% on 1st April 2017.

For more details, visit: Rural rate relief (GOV.UK).

Discretionary Rural Rate Relief

This gives us the discretion to allow relief for any rural business in a designated rural settlement, if:

• The rateable value of the property is £16,500 or less.
• The property is used for purposes that benefit the local community. Also, that it would be reasonable to allow relief having regard to the interests of Council Tax payers. This is because the relief is partly funded by Council Tax receipts.

The Government is providing funding to local authorities so that they can provide a discount worth up to £1,500 for 2 years from 1st April 2017. The relief will apply for 2019/20 to office space occupied by local newspapers. This is up to a maximum of one discount per local newspaper title and per hereditament and up to state aid limits.

On 27th January 2020, the Government announced an extension of the £1,500 business rates discount scheme. This is for office space occupied by local newspapers. The discount will now apply for a further five years to 31st March 2025.

The relief will be delivered through local authority discretionary discount powers (under section 47(3) of the Local Government Finance Act 1988). To see the eligibility criteria and guidance note for this relief, visit: The case for a business rates relief for local newspapers (GOV.UK).

At the Autumn Statement on 22 November 2023 the Chancellor announced the extension of the business rates relief scheme for retail, hospitality and leisure properties (RHL relief). 

The relief is intended to support businesses that make our high streets and town centres a success and help them to evolve and adapt to changing consumer demands.

At present, this is a temporary measure for the above years only.

You could qualify for relief of 75% for 2023/24 and 2024/25 if your business is occupied and mainly being used as a: 

• Shop.
• Restaurant, café, bar or pub.
• Cinema or music venue.
• Hospitality or leisure business (for example a gym, spa or hotel, guest house or boarding premises). 
• For assembly and leisure purposes.

There is a limit of up to £110,000 per business.

Your business property must be being used:

• For the sale of goods to visiting members of the public.
• For the provision of services to visiting members of the public.
• For the sale of food and / or drink to visiting members of the public.
• As a cinema.
• As a live music venue.
• For the provision of sport, leisure and facilities to visiting members of the public. 
• For the assembly of visiting members of the public.

The cash cap and subsidy control

The award of relief is subject to limits. 

No ratepayer can, in any circumstances, exceed the £110,000 cash cap across all of their business properties in England. 

Where a ratepayer has a qualifying connection with another ratepayer, those ratepayers should be considered as one ratepayer for the purposes of the cash caps. 

A ratepayer is be treated as having a qualifying connection with another:

1. Where both ratepayers are companies, and
   • One is a subsidiary of the other, or
   • Both are subsidiaries of the same company.

Or

2. Where only one ratepayer is a company. The other ratepayer (the second “ratepayer”) has such an interest in that company as would, if the second ratepayer were a company, result in its being the holding company of the other.

Relief is awarded subject to the Minimal Financial Assistance (MFA) thresholds under the Subsidy Control Act. This means no ratepayer can receive more than £315,000 over a 3-year period. (This covers 2024/25 and the two previous financial years.)

For more details, visit: Retail Hospitality and Leisure Relief 2024/25 (GOV.UK).

False claims

Important note: The Government and Calderdale Council will not tolerate:

• Any business that falsifies their records;
• or give false evidence to gain this discount. (This includes support claims that are above the cash cap or the exemption threshold.)

A ratepayer may be guilty of fraud under the Fraud Act 2006, if:

• they falsely apply for relief;
• provide false information;
• or make false representation to gain relief.

Apply for or reject RHL Relief

To apply, select:

Apply for RHL Relief

If you get the RHL relief on your bill, but are not entitled to it, select:

Reject RHL Relief

For more information about small business rate relief, see: Small business rate relief.

This scheme caps bill increases to £600 per year. It is for any business that loses eligibility (at the 2023 Revaluation) for some or all of either:

• Small Business Rates Relief (SBRR);
• Rural Rate Relief.

This makes sure ratepayers do not face large bill increases in 2023/24, after Transitional Relief and SBRR have been applied.

Ratepayers stay in the SSBR scheme for:

• three years;
• or until they reach the bill they would have paid without the scheme.

Any relief you are entitled to will be shown on your bill, you do not need to apply.

If you had SSBR in 2022/23 and also get it for 2023/24, it will end on 31st March 2024.

For more details, visit: 2023 Supporting Small Business Relief (GOV.UK).

At a revaluation, some ratepayers will see reductions or no change in their bill whereas some ratepayers will see increases. Transitional relief schemes are introduced at each revaluation to help those facing increases. Transitional relief is applied automatically to bills.

The general revaluation of all business property takes effect from 1st April 2023.

• This scheme aims to reduce the impact of sudden and significant rises in rates bills that may arise.
• Changes to rateable values after a revaluation means ratepayers may pay slightly more or less for their Business Rates.
• If you have a large rise in your property's rateable value, the bill increase will be phased in. This will take place over a number of years by deducting a fixed percentage.

For more details, visit: Transitional relief (GOV.UK).