Business Rates Appeals: How to Reduce Your Rateable Value

Business rates are one of the largest overheads for UK commercial occupiers, yet many businesses pay more than they need to. Whether it is an inflated rateable value, unclaimed reliefs, or a change in your trading conditions, there are legitimate routes to reduce your bill — and this guide explains all of them.

1. How Business Rates Are Calculated

Business rates (formally known as non-domestic rates) are a property tax levied on the occupiers of commercial premises in England. Your annual rates bill is calculated as:

Rateable Value (RV) × Uniform Business Rate (UBR) multiplier − any reliefs

The Rateable Value is an estimate of the annual market rental value of your property at a fixed valuation date. For the current 2023 rating list, the valuation date is 1 April 2021. Rateable values are set by the Valuation Office Agency (VOA), an executive agency of HMRC, and are based on the physical characteristics and rental evidence for comparable properties.

The UBR multiplier is set by central government each April (usually in line with CPI inflation) and applied nationally:

• Standard multiplier (2024/25): 54.6p per £1 of RV
• Small business multiplier (for properties with RV <£51,000): 49.9p per £1 of RV

The most recent revaluation took effect 1 April 2023, replacing the 2017 rating list. Revaluations now occur every three years (previously every five).

2. Small Business Rate Relief

Small Business Rate Relief (SBRR) is one of the most valuable — and underused — reliefs available:

• 100% relief (no rates payable) for properties with RV of £12,000 or below
• Tapering relief for RV between £12,001 and £15,000 — the relief reduces from 100% to 0% on a sliding scale
• Qualifier: you must occupy only one property in England (or additional properties each with RV below £2,899)
• The small business multiplier (49.9p) applies automatically to all properties with RV below £51,000, even if you do not qualify for the percentage relief

In some local authority areas, SBRR is applied automatically; in others, you must apply. If you qualify but have not been receiving SBRR, contact your local council to claim — backdating is possible and you may be entitled to a refund of overpaid rates.

3. The Check, Challenge, Appeal (CCA) Process

In England, disputes about rateable values follow a structured three-stage process introduced in 2017:

1. Check — verify and correct the factual information about your property held by the VOA
2. Challenge — formally dispute the rateable value if you believe it is wrong
3. Appeal — appeal to the independent Valuation Tribunal for England (VT) if you are unhappy with the Challenge outcome

You must complete each stage in sequence — you cannot skip to Appeal without first completing Check and Challenge. The process is managed through the VOA's online portal at gov.uk/find-business-rates.

4. Stage 1: Check Your Rateable Value

The Check stage involves verifying the information the VOA holds about your property. Common details to check include:

• Floor area — is the square footage recorded correctly?
• Property description — is the use class and description accurate?
• Physical features — car parking, yard space, ancillary areas
• Mezzanine floors, extensions — are they correctly reflected?

The Check window is 30 days from submission for the VOA to acknowledge. If you make factual corrections and the VOA agrees, the rateable value may be adjusted automatically without needing to proceed to Challenge. The VOA must respond to a Check within 12 months.

5. Stage 2: Challenge

If you believe the rateable value is too high — even after the factual information is correct — you proceed to a formal Challenge. At this stage, you must provide evidence to support your proposed lower rateable value. Evidence typically includes:

• Rental evidence — lease terms for your property and comparable properties nearby
• Capital value evidence — sale prices for comparable properties, where rental evidence is thin
• Economic arguments — if the 2021 valuation date was unrepresentative for your sector

The VOA has up to 18 monthsfrom the Challenge being accepted to issue a Decision. It may uphold the existing value, agree to a reduction, or — rarely — propose an increase. During this period your case is 'in the system' and the existing RV applies; any reduction will be backdated to your Check date or the start of the rating list, whichever is later.

6. Stage 3: Appeal to the Valuation Tribunal

If you are unhappy with the VOA's Decision, or if 18 months have passed without a Decision, you can appeal to the Valuation Tribunal for England (VT). The VT is an independent body with no connection to the VOA or central government.

Key points about VT appeals:

• Free — no fee to submit an appeal
• Must be lodged within 4 months of the Challenge Decision
• The VT can confirm, reduce, or increase the rateable value (increases are rare in practice)
• Hearings are relatively informal and many appellants represent themselves
• Evidence must be submitted in advance; the VT will set a timetable
• Decisions of the VT can be appealed to the Upper Tribunal (Lands Chamber) on a point of law

7. Material Change of Circumstances (MCC)

An MCC application allows you to seek a temporary or permanent reduction in your rateable value due to a change in the physical state of the property or its locality that has materially affected its value. Examples include:

• Severe flooding or fire damage
• A major road closure cutting off customer access
• Significant new development nearby causing disruption (such as a long-running construction project)
• Demolition of adjacent buildings affecting access or amenity

MCCs operate outside the standard CCA process and can be submitted at any time. The reduction applies from the date the change occurred. MCCs do not require completion of a Check first. They are sometimes used by high street retailers where footfall has been permanently reduced by nearby development or infrastructure changes.

8. Mandatory and Discretionary Reliefs

Beyond SBRR, a range of other reliefs may reduce your rates bill:

• Retail, Hospitality and Leisure (RHL) relief (2024/25: 75% discount up to £110,000 per business across all properties): applies to shops, restaurants, pubs, hotels, gyms, and similar uses
• Charitable relief: mandatory 80% relief for charities; local councils may grant a further 20% discretionary relief
• Community Amateur Sports Clubs (CASCs): mandatory 80% relief
• Nursery relief: 100% for properties used as Ofsted-registered nurseries
• Hardship relief: discretionary; councils may grant relief where a business would otherwise close and the closure would be detrimental to the local community
• Empty property relief: 100% for first 3 months; industrial premises 6 months; after that, full rates apply

9. Transitional Relief

Following each revaluation, transitional relief limits how much a business rates bill can increase in any one year, to smooth the impact of large changes in rateable value. At the 2023 revaluation, transitional arrangements cap increases at:

• Small properties (RV <£20,000): increases capped at 5% in 2023/24, 10% in 2024/25, 25% in 2025/26
• Medium properties (RV £20,001–£100,000): caps at 15%, 25%, and 40% respectively
• Large properties (RV >£100,000): caps at 30%, 40%, and 55% respectively

Transitional relief is applied automatically — you do not need to claim it. It is shown as a separate line on your rates bill. Note that where your rateable value has decreased after revaluation, transitional arrangements also limit how quickly the reduction feeds through — you may receive less benefit immediately than the new RV implies.

10. Practical Tips

Before instructing a specialist, consider these self-help steps:

• Check neighbouring properties' RV on the VOA website — if similar premises have lower values, this is your strongest argument. Comparable evidence is the key to a successful Challenge.
• Verify your floor area— measure your property yourself and compare to the VOA's records. Even small discrepancies in floor area can lead to material rate reductions.
• Claim all reliefs you are entitled to— SBRR, RHL, charity relief. Unclaimed relief is money in HMRC's pocket.
• Act on the 2023 revaluation — if your RV increased significantly, the 3-year rating list means you have time to challenge it, but the earlier you act, the longer you benefit from any reduction.
• No-win-no-fee surveyors — for larger bills (typically £10,000+ per annum), a specialist rating surveyor charging a percentage of savings is often cost-effective. Ensure they are RICS-regulated.
• Do not stop paying — appealing your rateable value does not suspend your obligation to pay rates. Continue paying your bill while the appeal is ongoing; if you succeed, any overpayment will be refunded.

Key figures at a glance (2024/25)