Business rates explanatory notes

Payment of business rates bills is automatically set on a 10-monthly cycle. However, the government has put in place regulations that allow ratepayers to require their local authority to enable payments to be made through 12 monthly instalments. If you wish to take up this offer, you should contact us as soon as possible.

The local authority works out the business rates bill for a property by multiplying the rateable value (RV) of the property by the appropriate non-domestic multiplier. 

There are five multipliers including the: 

• standard non-domestic rating multiplier
• small business non-domestic rating multiplier 
• small retail, hospitality and leisure multiplier
• standard retail, hospitality and leisure multiplier
• high-value multiplier 

The government sets the multipliers for each financial year.

Ratepayers who occupy a property with an RV which does not exceed £50,999 will have their bills calculated using the lower small business non-domestic rating multiplier. 

Those ratepayers who occupy qualifying retail, hospitality and leisure properties will have their bills calculated using the relevant retail, hospitality and leisure multiplier dependent on the RV, and a high-value multiplier for properties with RVs of £500,000 and above. 

The current multipliers are shown on your bill.

Apart from properties that are exempt from business rates, each non-domestic property has an RV which is set by the Valuation Office Agency (VOA). They maintain a full list of all RVs, available at GOV.UK.

The RV of your property is shown on the front of your bill. This broadly represents the yearly rent the property could have been let for on the open market on a particular date specified in legislation. For the current rating list, this date was set as 1 April 2024.

The VOA may alter the valuation if circumstances change. The ratepayer (and certain others who have an interest in the property) can also check and challenge the valuation shown in the list if they believe it is wrong. 

Further information about the grounds on which challenges may be made and the process for doing so can be obtained by:

• contacting the VOA
• visiting the VOA website

All non-domestic property rateable values (RV) are reassessed at revaluations. The most recent revaluation will come into effect from 1 April 2026. 

Revaluations ensure that business rates bills are up-to-date and more accurately reflect current rental values and relative changes in rents. 

Frequent revaluations ensure the system continues to be responsive to changing economic conditions.

You can find a business rates valuation on GOV.UK.

Depending on individual circumstances, a ratepayer may be eligible for a rate relief (a reduction in their business rates bill). 

There are a range of available reliefs. You can find more information on:

• GOV.UK
• our business rates reductions page

You can also contact us for more information.

Some of the permanent reliefs are set out below but other temporary reliefs may be introduced by the government at a fiscal event. 

Further detail on current temporary reliefs is available at GOV.UK. 

You should contact us for details of the latest availability of business rates reliefs and advice on whether you may qualify.

If a ratepayer’s sole or main property has a rateable value (RV) which does not exceed a set threshold, the ratepayer may receive a percentage reduction in their rates bill for the property of up to a maximum of 100%. 

The level of reduction will depend on the RV of the property. For example:

• eligible properties with an RV below a specified lower threshold will receive 100% relief 
• eligible properties above the lower threshold and below a specified upper threshold may receive partial relief

The relevant thresholds for relief are set by the government by order and can be obtained from us or at GOV.UK. 

These percentage reductions (reliefs) are usually only available to ratepayers who occupy either:

• one property
• one main property and additional properties that each have an RV which does not exceed the limit set by order*

*The aggregate RV of all the properties must also not exceed an amount set by order.

Businesses that take on an additional property, which would normally have meant the loss of small business rate relief, will be allowed to keep that relief for a fixed additional period. 

Full details on the relevant limits in relation to second properties and the current period for which a ratepayer may continue to receive relief after taking on an additional property can be obtained from us or at GOV.UK.

Change in circumstances

Ratepayers who are in receipt of relief will need to notify us of certain changes in circumstances including:

• the property becoming vacant
• the ratepayer taking up occupation of an additional property, or
• an increase in the RV of a property occupied by the ratepayer in an area other than the area of the local authority which granted the relief

Other changes will be picked up by the local authority. 

Eligible charities and registered Community Amateur Sports Clubs (CASCs) are entitled to 80% relief where the property is:

• occupied by the charity or the club, and 
• is wholly or mainly used for the charitable purposes of the charity (or of that and other charities), or for the purposes of the club (or of that and other clubs)

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

Full details can be found on our business rates reductions page.

After a revaluation, your bill could:

• increase
• decrease
• stay the same

Transitional relief schemes are introduced at each revaluation to help those facing increases. Transitional relief is applied automatically to bills. 

Further information about transitional arrangements may be obtained from us or at GOV.UK.

We can grant discretionary local discounts and give hardship relief in specific circumstances. 

Full details can be obtained from us.

Business rates are generally payable in respect of unoccupied non-domestic property. However, they are generally not payable for the first three months that a property is empty. 

This is extended to six months in the case of certain industrial premises. Other properties, such as vacant listed buildings, are not liable for business rates until they are reoccupied. 

Full details of exemptions can be obtained from us or GOV.UK. 

The UK subsidy control regime began on 4 January 2023. It enables public authorities, including devolved administrations and local authorities, to deliver subsidies that are tailored for local needs. 

Public authorities giving subsidies must comply with the UK’s international subsidy control commitments. 

Further information about subsidy control can be found at GOV.UK.

Ratepayers do not have to be represented in discussions about the rateable value (RV) of their property or their rates bill. However, ratepayers who do wish to be represented can seek guidance from:

• Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS)
• Institute of Revenues, Rating and Valuation (IRRV)

Both companies are qualified and are regulated by rules of professional conduct designed to protect the public from misconduct.

Before you employ a rating adviser or company you should check that they have the necessary knowledge and expertise, as well as appropriate indemnity insurance. Take great care and, if necessary, seek further advice before entering any contract.

Certain types of properties in a rural settlement with a population below 3,000 may be entitled to full relief. 

The property must be:

• occupied
• a food shop or the only general store or post office, and have a rateable value (RV) of less than £8,500, or 
• the only public house or petrol station, and have an RV of less than £12,500

You can contact us for full details.

Information about the gross expenditure of Solihull Council during the previous financial years can be found on our website.

If you would like a hard copy, you can contact us using the details on the back of your bill.