Business rates property exemptions and reliefs

You don't have to pay business rates on empty buildings for 3 months. After this time, most businesses must pay full business rates.

We apply the free period to the property, not to the ratepayer. This means that if you become liable to pay business rates on a property which has already been unoccupied for some time, you cannot have a new free period.

To claim this business rates relief based on a property being empty, you're required to provide evidence. For example, date-stamp photographs showing that the premises remain empty.

Some properties can get extended empty property relief:

• industrial premises (for example warehouses) are exempt for a further 3 months
• listed buildings are exempt until they're reoccupied
• buildings with a rateable value under £2,900 are exempt until they're reoccupied
• empty properties owned by charities will remain exempt, as long as the property's next use will be mostly for charitable purposes
• community amateur sports club (CASC) buildings will remain exempt, as long as the next use will be mostly as a CASC

The following property types will have ongoing exemption, until the status of the property changes:

• properties where the liable person is a personal representative of a deceased person
• properties subject to a bankruptcy order, winding-up order, or liquidation
• properties which the owner is prohibited by law from occupying

Also see

• Business rates reliefs
• Paying business rates
• Business rates completion notice