Huntingdonshire.gov.uk

A number of reductions, reliefs and exemptions from business rates are available. These include:

View our current Discretionary Rate Relief Policy [PDF, 2MB], that is used when determining some of the above reliefs.

Empty properties

Business rates are not payable for the first three months that a property is empty. This is extended to six months for certain industrial properties. After this period, rates are payable in full unless the property is classed as exempt, for example:

Empty properties:

that are listed buildings or monuments
that are subject to a building preservation notice
with a rateable value of less than £2,900
that are legally prohibited from being occupied
that are vacant due to action taken by the Crown or any public or local authority
where the owner is subject to a bankruptcy order.

Empty properties whose owner is:

entitled to possession in his capacity as:
- the personal representative of a deceased person
- a trustee under a deed of arrangement
- a liquidator under Section 112 or Section 145 of the Insolvency Act 1986
a company subject to a winding-up order under the Insolvency Act 1986 or which is being wound up voluntarily
a company in administration or subject to an administration order

Please email business.rates@huntingdonshire.gov.uk if you think an exemption applies to your property.

Extended retail rate relief for 2025/26

The government announced in the October 2024 autumn statement that eligible ratepayers will continue to receive a discount of 40% on their business rates bills for the year 2025/26, up to a maximum of £110,000.

This relief will only apply to occupied retail, leisure and hospitality properties (subject to eligibility criteria) in 2025/26.

Relief will be provided until 31 March 2026 to ratepayers occupying eligible occupied retail, hospitality and leisure properties. Full details of the scheme can be found at 2025/26 Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Relief Scheme.

The relief will be assessed and calculated on a daily basis. Any adjustment to your rate liability, such as vacating the property or changes to the rateable value, will mean the amount of relief awarded will also be adjusted.

If relief has already been awarded, it will show on your bill. You do not need to take any further action unless you believe you are not eligible to receive the relief, or you want to decline it.

Contact us if your property is not currently used for a purpose listed within the expanded scheme, or if its use changes
Contact us if relief is not shown on your bill and you believe you are eligible
Do not apply if the award will exceed the cash cap of £110,000 for all properties.

An outline of the scheme can be found on the Retail Discount Relief Guidance page.

Apply for Retail Discount Relief

Small business rate relief

Small business rate relief is a discount for small businesses and other organisations.

You can't get small business relief if any of the following apply:

the property is empty
you can get mandatory charity rate relief
you can get mandatory rural rate relief.

Small business rate relief discounts are based on the rateable value of the property in relation to lower and upper threshold figures set by central government.

The lower threshold is £12,000 and the upper threshold is £15,000.

To get small business relief, either of the following must apply:

you occupy a single property with a rateable value of up to the upper threshold
you occupy one property with a rateable value up to the upper threshold and other properties that each have a rateable value below £2,900 and the total rateable value of all properties is below £20,000.

You can only get the discount for the main property.

If you take on another property that means your business no longer meets these conditions, you can still keep getting small business rate relief for another year. If you occupied a second property on or after 27 November 2025, you can still receive small business rate relief for 3 years. The relief remains on your original property.

The application form includes a Guide to the Small Business Rate Relief Scheme (2017). All applicants must meet the eligibility criteria set out in the application form.

Apply for Small Business Rate Relief

Supporting small business relief 2023

You can get supporting Small Business Relief from 1 April 2023 if both of the following apply:

your business property's bill is going up after the next revaluation on 1 April 2023
you'll lose some or all of your Small Business Rate Relief or Rural Rate Relief.

If you're eligible, your bills will go up by no more than £600 for the 2023 to 2024 tax year. Your council will adjust your bill if you're eligible.

You do not need to apply, this relief will be automatically applied to relevant bills.

Supporting small business relief 2026

The 2026 Supporting Small Business (SSB) Relief Scheme will cap bill increases for any business losing eligibility for some or all of the following reliefs:

Small Business Rate Relief (SBRR),
40% Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Relief
Rural Rate Relief
2023 Supporting Small Business Relief.

Eligible ratepayers will have the increase in their bill capped at £800, or by the transitional relief caps, whichever is greater.

Ratepayers who are receiving SSB Relief on 31 March 2026 as a result of the 2023 revaluation will continue to receive relief, if eligible for 2026/27. SSB Relief will end for these ratepayers on 31 March 2027 without further notice.

Ratepayers who during 2025/26 lost entitlement to Small Business Rate Relief (because they failed the second property test) but have, under the rules for Small Business Rate Relief, been given a 12 month period of grace before their relief ended (or 3 years from 27 November 2025) - can continue on the 2026 SSB Relief Scheme for the remainder of their period of grace.

The relief will end:

when your bill reaches the amount you would have paid without the scheme
if the property falls vacant
if the property is occupied by a charity or Community Amateur Sports Club (CASC).

How to get the relief

You do not need to apply for this relief. If you qualify, we will apply it to your account automatically. If you think you are entitled to the relief but haven’t received it, contact the business rates team.

Any relief awarded under this scheme will be adjusted if there is a change in your circumstances, for example if you vacate the premises or there is an amendment to the rateable value of your premises.

Subsidy control

Supporting Small Business Relief Scheme is subject to the Minimal Financial Assistance thresholds under the Subsidy Control Act. This means no recipient can receive over £315,000 over a 3-year period (consisting of the current financial year and the 2 previous financial years). Any other subsidies claimed under the Small Amounts of Financial Assistance limit of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement should be counted under the £315,000 allowance.

Refusal of relief

If we have applied the relief and you do not wish to receive it, you can choose to cancel the relief by contacting the business rates team.

Pubs and live music venue relief

The government have announced that from April 2026 to March 2027, eligible pubs and live music venues will benefit from a 15% business rates relief on top of the support announced at Budget 2025. Their bills will then be frozen in real terms for a further 2 years.

You can find details about eligibility on GOV.UK.

You do not need to apply for this relief. If you qualify, we will apply it to your account automatically. If you think you are entitled to the relief but haven’t received it please contact the business rates team.

Charity and discretionary relief

Charities are entitled to 80% relief from the rates on property which is wholly or mainly used for charitable purposes. We can grant the additional 20% at our discretion.

We can also grant discretionary relief for a property if it is occupied by an organisation that is not set up or operated for profit - the amount granted will depend on individual circumstances.

Please email business.rates@huntingdonshire.gov.uk to apply for charity and discretionary relief.

Community Amateur Sports Clubs (CASC)

If you are registered with HM Revenue and Customs as a CASC, then you are entitled to 80% mandatory relief. See the CASC website for further information and to check if you can qualify as one.

Rural rate relief

You may be able to get rural rate relief if your business is in a designated rural area with a population below 3,000. To qualify you must be:

the only post office, general store or food shop in the town or village and have a rateable value of less than £8,500
the only public house or petrol station in the town or village and have a rateable value of less than £12,500.

Since 1 April 2017, 50% of this relief is provided as mandatory and a further 50% is granted through our discretionary powers, which is funded by the government.

From 1 April 2024 qualifying properties will receive 100% mandatory rural rate relief.

We may also give discretionary relief up to 100% to businesses where the property has a rateable value of less than £16,500. We will consider each application individually, taking into account the benefits to the local community and the interests of council taxpayers.

Please refer to this list and map [PDF, 2.5MB] to check if your business is in a designated rural settlement.

Please email business.rates@huntingdonshire.gov.uk to apply for rural rate relief.

Partly occupied property relief

If a property is partly occupied for a short time, we can sometimes award relief in respect of the unoccupied part.

Please email business.rates@huntingdonshire.gov.uk to discuss claiming relief for partly occupied property.

Subsidy control

Providing discretionary relief to ratepayers is likely to amount to a subsidy. Any relief provided by local authorities will need to comply with the UK's domestic and international subsidy control obligations.

View further details on GOV.uk.

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