Reliefs and Exemptions

The 2023-24 Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Business Rates Relief scheme provided eligible, occupied, retail, hospitality and leisure properties with a 75% relief, up to a cash cap limit of £110,000 per business.

The relief will continue for the 2024-25 financial year for eligible businesses, up to a cash cap limit of £110,000 per business.

The  relief will be applied automatically to business rates bills to be issued in March 2024. A letter and declaration will be sent separately. If you have received any other relief which may count towards the £110,000 limit, this must be declared on the form and returned to the business rates team. If you wish to refuse the relief you can complete and return the refusal form to us.

Larger companies and national chains will not have the relief applied automatically. If you believe you qualify for the relief please contact us when you receive your 2024-25 rates bill or complete the declaration  Retail, Leisure & Hospitality Relief declaration 2024-25 (PDF) [100KB]

You can read the full guidance from Gov.UK here Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Guidance

Eligibility for the Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Relief Scheme

1. Hereditaments that meet the eligibility for Retail, Hospitality and Leisure scheme will be occupied hereditaments which meet all of the following conditions for the chargeable day:

a. they are wholly or mainly being used:

i. as shops, restaurants, cafes, drinking establishments, cinemas or live music venues
ii. for assembly and leisure; or
iii. as hotels, guest & boarding premises or self-catering accommodation

2. We consider shops, restaurants, cafes, drinking establishments, cinemas and live music venues to mean:

i. Hereditaments that are being used for the sale of goods to visiting members of the public:

• Shops (such as: florists, bakers, butchers, grocers, greengrocers, jewellers, stationers, off licences, chemists, newsagents, hardware stores, supermarkets, etc)
• Charity shops
• Opticians
• Post offices
• Furnishing shops/ display rooms (such as: carpet shops, double glazing, garage doors)
• Car/ caravan show rooms
• Second-hand car lots
• Markets
• Petrol stations
• Garden centre
•  Art galleries (where art is for sale/hire)

ii. Hereditaments that are being used for the provision of the following services to visiting members of the public:

• Hair and beauty services (such as: hairdressers, nail bars, beauty salons, tanning shops, etc)
• Shoe repairs/ key cutting
• Travel agents
• Ticket offices e.g. for theatre
• Dry cleaners
• Launderettes
• PC/ TV/ domestic appliance repair
• Funeral directors
• Photo processing
• Tool hire
• Car hire

iii. Hereditaments that are being used for the sale of food and/or drink to visiting members of the public:

• Restaurants
• Takeaways
• Sandwich shops
• Coffee shops
• Pubs
• Bars

iv. Hereditaments which are being used as cinemas

v. Hereditaments that are being used as live music venues:

• Live music venues are hereditaments wholly or mainly used for the performance of live music for the purpose of entertaining an audience. Hereditaments cannot be considered a live music venue for the purpose of business rates relief where a venue is wholly or mainly used as a nightclub or a theatre, for the purposes of the Town and Country Planning (Use Classes) Order 1987 (as amended).

3. We consider assembly and leisure to mean:

i. Hereditaments that are being used for the provision of sport, leisure and facilities to visiting members of the public (including for the viewing of such activities):

• Sports grounds and clubs
•  Museums and art galleries
• Nightclubs
• Sport and leisure facilities
• Stately homes and historic houses
• Theatres
• Tourist attractions
• Gyms
• Wellness centres, spas, massage parlours
• Casinos, gambling clubs and bingo halls

ii. Hereditaments that are being used for the assembly of visiting members of the public:

•  Public halls
•  Clubhouses, clubs and institutions

4. We consider hotels, guest & boarding premises and self-catering accommodation to mean:

i. Hereditaments where the non-domestic part is being used for the provision of living accommodation as a business:

• Hotels, guest and boarding houses
• Holiday homes
• Caravan parks and sites

To qualify for the relief the hereditament should be wholly or mainly being used for the above qualifying purposes. In a similar way to other reliefs (such as charity relief), this is a test on use rather than occupation. Therefore, hereditaments which are occupied but not wholly or mainly used for the qualifying purpose will not qualify for the relief.

The list below sets out the types of uses that the government does not consider to be an eligible use for the purpose of this discount. 

i. Hereditaments that are being used for the provision of the following services to visiting members of the public:

• Financial services (e.g. banks, building societies, cash points, bureaux de change, short-term loan providers, betting shops)
• Medical services (e.g. vets, dentists, doctors, osteopaths, chiropractors)
• Professional services (e.g. solicitors, accountants, insurance agents/ financial advisers, employment agencies, estate agents, letting agents)
• Post office sorting offices

ii. Hereditaments that are not reasonably accessible to visiting members of the public

Please be aware that the cut-off date for applications in respect of the 2023-24 financial year was 30.09.2024. Any applications received after this date will only be granted retail relief from 1 April 2024.

You can read the Torridge Retail, Leisure and Hospitality Policy here:  Torridge Retail, Leisure & Hospitality Policy 2023-24 (PDF) [210KB]