From the date that a property becomes empty (unoccupied property):
- We do not charge business rates on business properties for the first three months, or
- for the first six months on industrial properties
You’ll have to pay the full amount of business rates on your empty property, following either the three or six months empty rate relief.
A property is classed as empty if it is not being used and all stock and effects have been removed apart from fixtures and fittings.
There is no new rate-free period if there is a change in ownership, leaseholder or tenant.
Contact us with the date the property became empty so that we can apply the empty rate relief.
Contact the Business Rates team
Empty property definitions
Empty rate relief applies to more than just buildings. It also includes land, storage, car parks and so on. We refer to these types of property as hereditaments.
Partly occupied properties
If a property is only partly occupied, we can ask the Valuation Office Agency to divide up the property’s rateable value between its occupied and unoccupied parts for a short period of time.
This means the empty rate relief applies to the empty part of the property. You will have to pay the business rates towards the occupied part.
Removing a property from the rating list
If your property is in a poor condition and cannot be economically repaired, or it is it being converted into a domestic property the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) may decide that it should be taken out of the rating list or your rateable value should be reduced.
Visit the VOA website to view the options available to you.
Empty properties with no business rates
There are no business rates to pay on an empty property if:
- it is held by a charity and is likely to be next used for charitable purposes
- it is held by a community amateur sports club and is likely to be next used for the purposes of the club
