Business rates reliefs

Improvement Relief (from 1 April 2024)

Where improvement works have been made to a property and completed after 1 April 2024, the HMRC Valuation Office (VO) can provide a certificate to the Council so that any increase in the Rateable Value is delayed for up to 12 months.

To be eligible for the relief you must:

• have qualifying improvement works, and
• meet the occupation condition

Qualifying improvements include:

• a physical extension
• a new building within a larger hereditament
• the removal of a structural wall in a shop which increases zoning
• the addition of lining to an industrial unit
• the addition of a structural mezzanine floor in an industrial unit
• a reconstitution (split or merger) - where qualifying works undertaken

You can find out more about which improvements are eligible by going to GOV.UK - business rates relief: improvement relief.

The relief lasts for 1 year from the date that the works were complete, however the relief ceases if a new occupier takes over.

New properties are not entitled to this relief.

You do not need to apply for improvement relief or do anything differently. If the Valuation Office issues a certificate and you meet the occupation requirements, Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council will apply the relief to your bills.

If you receive a certificate of qualifying works from the Valuation Office and have questions about the certificate, please contact the Valuation Office at the email address on your certificate.

Small Business Rate Relief (SBRR)

Eligible business properties can receive 100% relief if their rateable value is under £12,000. There is an exact sliding taper for those with a rateable value between £12,000 and £15,000.

The relief is only available to ratepayers who occupy either:

• one property or
• one main property and other additional properties providing those additional properties each have a rateable value of less than £2,900 and the total rateable value of all properties is below £20,000

If a ratepayer occupies a second property which affects their entitlement to Small Business Rates Relief:

• where the rateable value of the additional property is above £2,900, you can keep the existing relief on the main property for 12 months. This has been extended to 3 years if you take on the additional property after 27 November 2025
• where the rateable value of the additional property is less than £2,899 or the total value of all your properties is less than £20,000, you can keep the relief on your main property

The relief is not available for unoccupied properties.

You can apply online for Small Business Rate Relief by signing into your online account.

Log in or register for an online account

Supporting Small Business Relief

Ratepayers may be eligible for Supporting Small Business Relief from 1 April 2026 if their business rates bill increases following the 2026 business rates revaluation and they have lost some or all of their Small Business Rate Relief, Rural Rate Relief, or Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Relief. The relief is designed to limit the increase in their business rates charge.

At the 2025 Autumn Budget the Chancellor announced that the 2026 Supporting Small Business Relief scheme will cap bill increases at £800 per year or the relevant caps within transitional relief (whichever is the greatest) for any business losing eligibility for certain reliefs, including Small Business Rate Relief, Rural Rate Relief, and Retail Hospitality and Leisure Relief at the 2026 revaluation.

The increase in rates bills will be capped at the greater of:

• £800 for 2026 to 2027
• £1600 for 2027 to 2028
• £2400 for 2028 to 2029 

Or the transitional rate relief caps for each year as shown below:

Limits on increases

The scheme also provides support for those previously eligible for the 2023 Supporting Small Business (SSB) scheme and facing large increases in 2026 to 2027. These ratepayers will retain the relief for one further year only. This relief will be applied automatically to qualifying accounts. 

Full guidance can be found on GOV.UK - Supporting Small Business Relief guidance 2026.

Pubs and Live Music Venues Relief

In 2026 to 2027, all pubs and live music venues will benefit from a 15% business rates relief on top of the support announced at Budget 2025. Their bills will then be frozen in real terms for a further two years.

We will apply this automatically. Further information will be included with your bill. 

Information on eligibility can be found on the GOV.UK - Pubs and Live Music Venues Relief. 

What will be awarded

Eligible pubs or live music venues will benefit from a 15% business rates relief in 2026 to 2027. The relief will be awarded in addition to any Transitional Relief or Supporting Small Business Relief and will be applied automatically to qualifying accounts.

Mandatory Relief

Charities and registered Community Amateur Sports Clubs are entitled to mandatory relief from rates.

This applies to any non-domestic property that is wholly or mainly used for charitable or non-profit making purposes.

A charity is an organisation established for charitable purposes. To have charitable status usually means that you are included in the Charity Commissioner's register of charities.

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Discretionary Relief 

Stockton Council has a discretionary power to grant relief from rates in respect of non-domestic properties occupied by one of the following:

• not for profit organisations whose main objectives are charitable, philanthropic, religious, concerned with education, social welfare, science, literature or the fine arts
• not for profit organisations occupying premises wholly or mainly for the purposes of recreation
• organisations entitled to mandatory relief (as above)

Each application for discretionary relief is considered on an individual basis and any award will be reviewed on an annual basis. Read our Discretionary rate relief notes for more information.

You can apply online by signing into your online account.

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Rate Relief for Community Amateur Sports Clubs (CASC)

Registered Community Amateur Sports Clubs can receive 80% mandatory relief. To qualify for relief as a CASC the club must be registered with the His Majesty's Revenues and Customs as a CASC. If you are not registered as a CASC and would like further information, please contact the Sports Club Unit at the HM Revenues and Customs.

Full details can be obtained from our Revenues and Benefits Service.

Rural Rate Relief

Certain types of business in rural villages with a population below 3,000 may be entitled to relief of 100%.

• the business must be the only general store, food shop or post office with a rateable value of less than £8,500 or
• the sole public house or petrol station with a rateable value of less than £12,500

In addition Stockton Council can give up to 100% relief to any other business in a rural village with a rateable value of up to £16,500.

Further information

Designation of rural areas: village shop rate relief scheme

In accordance with the Local Government and Rating Act 1997, Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council has compiled a rural settlement list.

The list will be used to assess entitlement to the Village Shop Rate Relief Scheme.

The list and associated documentation are held at Revenues and Benefits Service, Dunedin House, Columbia Drive, Thornaby TS17 6BJ and are available for inspection by appointment by emailing business.rates@stockton.gov.uk.

If anyone wishes to view or make comment upon the list, they can do so at the above address.

Should you require any further information, contact the Business Rates Team on 01642 397108 or email: business.rates@stockton.gov.uk.

Unoccupied Properties

Business rates will not be payable in the first three months that a property is empty. This is extended to six months in the case of certain industrial properties. After this period, rates are payable in full unless they are exempt from unoccupied rating, including:

• listed buildings
• properties with a rateable value of less than £2,900
• unoccupied properties owned by charities and community amateur sports clubs that are to be next occupied for charitable purposes, are exempt from unoccupied rates
• part occupied properties

A ratepayer is liable for the full non-domestic rate whether a property is wholly occupied or only partly occupied. If the property is only partly occupied on a temporary basis Stockton Borough Council has discretion in certain cases to award relief in respect of the unoccupied part. Full details can be obtained from Stockton Borough Council's Revenues and Benefits Service.

Hardship Relief

Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council has discretionary powers to grant relief in special circumstances.

The cost falls directly on the Council Tax payers. As a result, the ability to award this discretion is restricted and will usually only be awarded where it is evident that to do so is in the interests of the community that the ratepayer remains in business.

Further details can be obtained from Stockton Borough Council's Revenues and Benefits Service.