If you pay business rates you may be eligible for a business rate relief or exemption. Below is a list of the available reliefs and exemptions, with their application forms.
Small business rate relief
In general terms, if the rateable value of your premises is £12,000 or less and you occupy only one main commercial property in England, you will be eligible for small business rate relief. For rateable values between £12,001 and £15,000, a tapered amount of relief applies. For rateable values of £15,000 and over but less than £51,000, small business rate relief does not apply. However Business Rates liability will be calculated using the small business rates multiplier.
Find out more about small business rate relief.
Supporting small business relief
Supporting Small Business (SSB) Relief provides support to businesses losing some or all of their entitlement to either small business rate relief because of the revaluation, or losing retail, hospitality and leisure relief, which ceases on 31st March 2026.
The amount is capped at the higher of £800 or the relevant transitional relief caps from 1st April 2026.
Businesses will not need to apply for SSB as it will be applied to bills automatically.
The scheme will operate for three years with the current SSB 2023 scheme applicable until 31st March 2026, being extended for a further one-year term. However, entitlement may end earlier if the eligibility criteria are no longer met.
Only occupied premises will be in scope for the scheme with charities and community amateur sports clubs not being eligible.
For further information, see Appendix 1: 2026-27 Discretionary Rate Relief Schemes.
Empty (Unoccupied) Property Exemptions
If your property is unoccupied, you may be eligible for an unoccupied property exemption. Find out more from Empty property exemptions for businesses.
If your business premises are empty, please provide evidence to support this using the Business rates evidence form.
Transitional Relief
Transitional Relief will be automatically awarded for eligible premises. For further information see Transitional Relief.
Relief for charitable organisations
Charities, or trustees of a charity, can apply for an 80% reduction in their business rates. The reduction depends on the property being occupied either wholly or mainly for the charity's purposes. To qualify, the organisation should be:
- registered as a charity with the Charity Commission, or
- comply with the objectives of a charitable organisation.
Other types of organisations that may qualify are:
- Girl Guide and Boy Scout groups
- Societies registered under the Friendly Societies Act
Charity shops may also qualify if:
- they are used wholly or mainly for the sale of goods donated to the charity, and
- the proceeds of sale are applied for the purposes of the charity.
Community Amateur Sports Clubs that are registered with the Inland Revenue as a (CASC) can apply for an 80% reduction in their business rates.
Charitable rate relief for private schools, except those ‘wholly or mainly’ concerned with providing full time education to pupils with an Education, Health and Care Plan, will end from 1st April 2025.
To apply, see application forms below.
Discretionary rate relief
The council has the discretion to award additional relief to charities and non-profit making organisations.
You can view the Discretionary Rate Relief Policy. and Appendix 1: 2026-27 Discretionary Rate Relief Schemes.
Please contact us for further information using the Business rates evidence form.
Hardship relief
This relief is intended to support businesses that are experiencing hardship. You can view the Hardship Relief Policy. Please contact us for further information using the Business rates evidence form.
Business Rates Retail, Hospitality and Leisure relief
Business Rates Retail, Hospitality and Leisure relief continues to apply from 1st April 2025. It will end on 31st March 2026, although eligibility may end earlier, if your business no longer meets the qualifying conditions. The relief amount is 40% of your bill for 2025/26 (compared to 75% for 2024/25) after any other reliefs have been awarded. There is no rateable value limit that applies to the relief.
For more information, please view the policy for 2025-26.
If you think you may qualify, please download and complete an application form.
Scan or take a picture of your completed form using your mobile phone and send it to us using the Evidence form.
If you were already getting retail, hospitality and leisure relief for 2024/25, it will usually continue on your bill for 2025/26. It will end if we believe that your business
- would reasonably be expected to exceed the £110,000 annual cap or
- is now an excluded business
Refusing Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Relief
If after checking the policy you believe you are not entitled to this relief or do not wish to get the relief for any reason, then tell us using the Evidence Form. Please note, however, that once the relief has been refused, it cannot be reinstated.
Heating networks business rate relief scheme
This relief was introduced from 1st April 2022 and was initially a discretionary rate relief scheme for the years 2022/23 and 2023/24. It became a mandatory rate relief scheme from 1st April 2024. You can view the discretionary scheme that applied to the above two years via Harrow’s Heat network business rate relief policy.
If you think you qualify for this relief, please send details of why you believe you qualify using our Business rates evidence form.
Apply
To apply you will need to:
- Download and complete the appropriate form below
- Scan the completed form and relevant documents using either a scanner or taking a picture of it using your mobile phone.
- Send the scanned/pictured image to your computer e.g. by email or text
- Attach the image and answer the questions on the evidence form