Small Business Rates Relief

Small Business Rates Relief (SBRR) must be applied for in writing and is available for persons who occupy either -

(a) one property, or

(b) one main property and other additional properties providing those additional properties each have a rateable value which does not exceed £2,599.

The rateable value of the property mentioned in (a), or the aggregate rateable value of all properties mentioned in (b), must not exceed £17,999 outside London or £25,499 within London, on every day for which relief is being sought. If the rateable value, or aggregate rateable value, increases above those levels, relief will cease from the day of the increase.

Ratepayers who satisfy these conditions will have the bill for their single or main property calculated using the lower small business non-domestic rating multiplier rather than the ordinary non-domestic rating multiplier that is used to calculate the liability of other businesses.

In addition, if the single or main property is shown on the rating list with a rateable value which does not exceed £12,000, the ratepayer will receive a percentage reduction in their rates bill for this property of up to a maximum of 50% for a property with a rateable value of not more than £6,000.

From 1 October 2010 to 31 March 2013 the amount of Small Business Rate Relief available has increased. Eligible ratepayers who occupy a property with a rateable value of £6,000 or less will receive 100% rate relief for this period. Eligible ratepayers occupying a property with a rateable value of between £6,001 and £12,000 will have their relief calculated on a sliding scale decreasing from 100% to 0%.

If an application for relief is granted, provided the ratepayer's circumstances do not change, the application will not need to be renewed until the next revaluation of non-domestic premises, which happens every five years. Certain changes in circumstances will need to be notified to the local authority by the ratepayer (other changes will be picked up by the local authority). The changes which must be notified are:

(a) the ratepayer taking up occupation of a property they did not occupy at the time of making their application for relief; and

(b) an increase in the rateable value of a property occupied by the ratepayer in an area other than the area of the local authority which granted the relief.

Notification of these changes must be given to the local authority within four weeks of the day after the day the change happened. If this happens, there will be no interruption to the ratepayer's entitlement to the relief.

However, failure to notify the authority within this timeframe will mean the ratepayer ceases to be entitled to the relief with effect from the day that the change happened. If they are still eligible, the ratepayer will be entitled to the relief again with effect from the day that they notify the local authority. A notification that the ratepayer has taken up occupation of an additional property must be by way of a fresh application for relief; notice of an increase in rateable value must be given in writing.

If you have any queries regarding your entitlement to Small Business Rates Relief please contact the Business Rates team on 0121 303 5509 / 0121 303 5510 / 0121 303 5511 or email business_rates@birmingham.gov.uk

To apply for Small Business Rates Relief please complete the form below and return it to:

Birmingham City Council
Revenues and Benefits
PO BOX 5
Birmingham
B4 7AP