Business rates

You might get improvement relief if you make certain improvements to your property. If you’re eligible, you’ll get the relief for one year. It starts from the date you complete your improvements.

Any improvements you make must:

• increase the ‘rateable value’ of your property
• be completed on or after 1 April 2024

They must also either:

• increase the size of your property
• add new features or equipment to your property, such as heating, air conditioning or CCTV

Any improvements to existing features or equipment do not qualify.

You must have occupied the property during and after the improvement works to get improvement relief. You cannot pass on your improvement relief to anybody else.

How to get improvement relief

You can report changes to your property to the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) using your business rates valuation account. The VOA will decide if the changes could be considered for improvement relief. They will send a certificate to you, and to the council, showing:

• how the improvement affects the property’s rateable value
• when the relief ends

Once we have received a certificate from the VOA, we will:

• confirm you were occupying the property for the duration of the improvements
• decide how much improvement relief you are entitled to
• send you a reduced rates bill

I think my certificate for improvement relief is wrong. Who should I contact?

• The VOA values qualifying works and issues certificates to ratepayers
• There is no right of appeal against the certified values, however, you should let the VOA know if you think there is something wrong with your certificate.
• You can contact the VOA using the email address on your certificate.

If you think you should be getting improvement relief but are not

Contact us if you’re not getting improvement relief and you think you’re eligible for it.