Rate reliefs

There are a number of different reliefs which can be granted to reduce the amount of business rates you need to pay.

Charity and discretionary relief

Charities are entitled to relief from rates on any non-domestic property that is wholly or mainly used for charitable purposes. Relief is given at 80 per cent of the bill.

Charities and Registered Community Amateur Sports Clubs (CASCs) are also entitled to 80% relief 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.

We also have discretion to give further relief on the remaining bill.

We also have discretion to give relief on all or part of any rate bill for property occupied by certain non-profit making bodies. 

Complete and return this form to apply for charity business rate relief (PDF File, 306kb).

Read the guidelines for discretionary relief (PDF File, 338kb) and get in touch if you feel that you may be entitled to this. Email us on business.rates@newark-sherwooddc.gov.uk or call 01636 650 000.

Hardship relief

 We have discretion to give hardship relief if we belief that both:

• you would be in financial difficulty without it
• it is in the interests of local people to grant hardship relief to your business

Complete and return our hardship relief form (PDF File, 295kb) if you believe you qualify for this type of relief.

Partly occupied property

A ratepayer is liable for the full non-domestic rate whether a property is wholly occupied or partly occupied.  Where a property is partly occupied for a short time, we have discretion to award relief in respect of the unoccupied part. 

To apply for partly occupied rate relief, email us on business.rates@newark-sherwooddc.gov.uk or call 01636 650000.

Rural rate relief

Certain types of business in rural villages, with a population below 3000, may qualify for rate relief of 100 per cent.

Businesses that qualify for this relief are the only general store, post office or food shop in the village, with a rateable value of up to £8500; any food shop with a rateable value of up to £8500; and the only pub or petrol station in the village with a rateable value of up to £12,500.

The property must be occupied to qualify for this relief.

Complete and return our rural rate relief form (PDF File, 378kb) if you believe you qualify for this type of relief.

Small business rate relief

This relief is designed to help small businesses reduce their business rate bill.

You can get small business rate relief if:
•    your property’s rateable value is less than £15,000
•    your business only uses one property - you may still be able to get relief if you use more

The available relief is for properties with a Rateable Value (RV):

• £12,000 or less – 100 per cent
• between £12,001 and £15,000 – percentage declining on a sliding scale

If you get a second property, you keep getting any existing relief on your main property for 12 months.

Ratepayers who occupy one main property and other additional properties which have rateable values less than £2,899 and the aggregate rateable value of all the properties is under £20,000 may also apply for the relief.

Complete and return our small business rate relief form (PDF File, 397kb) if you believe you qualify for this type of relief. The cost of the relief is paid for by all other ratepayers as a supplement on their rate bills.

Retail, hospitality and leisure relief scheme

You could qualify for retail, hospitality and leisure relief if your business is mainly being used as a:

• shop
• restaurant, café, bar or pub
• cinema or music venue
• hospitality or leisure business - for example, a gym, a spa or a hotel

In the 2025/26 billing year (1 April 2025 to 31 March 2026), you could get 40% off your business rates bills, if you meet the eligibility criteria.  The relief in previous years was 50% in 2022/23 and 75% for 2023/24 and 2024/25.

As the scheme limits the amount to £110,000 per business and not property, the Council has evaluated each business and only awarded the relief where it feels appropriate. Your bill will state Retail Hospitality and Leisure Relief Scheme if this has been granted for your business. 

For further information please visit https://www.gov.uk/guidance/business-rates-relief-202526-retail-hospitality-and-leisure-scheme.

Transitional relief

Supporting Small Business Relief

The Supporting Small Business (SSB) scheme caps business rate bill increases at £600 per year for those businesses losing eligibility for some or all Small Business Rate Relief or Rural Rate Relief as a result of the 2023 revaluation.

Newark and Sherwood District Council will administer a Supporting Small Business Relief Scheme, from 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2026, in accordance with the guidance released by government on 21 December 2022 and any updates thereafter.

The guidance is available on the gov.uk website.

The scheme run by the Council will not require an application process, relief will be awarded automatically where the governments eligibility criteria are met.

2023 Supporting Small Business Relief Policy (PDF File, 109kb)

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 improvement relief to anybody else.

Heat networks relief

You can get heat networks relief if your property is only used or mainly used as a ‘heat network’.

A heat network supplies heating or cooling to other properties from a central source. To be eligible, the heat network must:

• take its energy from a low carbon source
• supply heating and cooling to other properties - for example, homes, shops, public buildings, hospitals and offices

You will not pay business rates if your property is eligible for heat networks relief.