Pothecary Witham Weld Solicitors

The Valuation Office Agency (VOA) is responsible for assessing all non-domestic and business property and giving each one a rateable value. Rateable values are provided to local authorities, which use them as the basis for the calculation of business rate bills. If you own business property that is currently empty, it will probably already have a rateable value, assessed by the VOA.

Previously, most types of empty property were subject to rates at 50% of the normal charge. The charge is levied by the local authorities.

Recent changes to modernise this form of rate relief, which came into effect on 1 April 2008, aim to provide strong incentives to bring vacant premises back into use by removing these reductions to the business rates bill.

The main change has been to increase the empty property rate from 50% to 100% of the basic occupied business rate, after initial void periods have elapsed. You pay no business rates for the first three months that the property is empty on most commercial properties.  After that, the full liability is payable. On industrial buildings, the full liability is payable after the property has been empty for six months.

Property owned by a charity or a community amateur sports club is not liable to empty property rates if the property’s next use is likely to be wholly or mainly for charitable purposes or for the purposes of a sports club.

If  part of your property is not being used and is completely unoccupied for a short time, your local authority may consider giving you relief, if they decide you are entitled to it, and reduce your payment on the part of your property that is clearly unoccupied and beyond use for a short period of time.  Your local authority can choose to ask the VOA to divide the current rateable value between the parts of the property that are occupied and those which are not occupied.  If your application for this rate relief is successful, you will pay full rates on the occupied part of the property and 50% in respect of the unoccupied part.

Empty property relief is available to the owner – i.e. the person entitled to possession of the property in question.

Your local authority may also decide to further reduce the amount you have to pay - or even remit the full amount. Decisions are made on a case-by-case basis.

This article is intended as a summary only and does not constitute legal advice. In the event of any queries or if you require legal advice and assistance on these issues, please contact either:

John O’Connor (London) : Tel: 020 7821 8211 or e-mail

or  

Ajmal Hussain (Bishop's Stortford): Tel: 01279 506421 or e-mail