Small business rate relief

In September 2009 the government announced it would be removing the requirement for ratepayers to re-apply for small business rate relief.

If you are already in receipt of small business rate relief, you will continue to receive relief until April 2015, unless there is a change in your circumstances which means that you no longer qualify.

If your rateable value alters as a result of the 2010 revaluation your relief will be adjusted accordingly.

2010 rateable value thresholds

The rateable value (RV) thresholds at which small business rate relief applies have increased as part of the 2010 re-valuation.

The threshold at which ratepayers are entitled to the maximum of 50 per cent relief has increased from £5,000 to £6,000.

Eligible properties with rateable values between £6,001 and £12,000 will receive relief on a sliding scale from 50 per cent to 0 per cent. This means that for every £120 of rateable value above £6,000, the relief will decrease by one per cent.

Eligible properties with rateable values between £12,001 and £25,499 (£17,999 outside London) will have their rates calculated using the small business rate multiplier.

From April 1 2012 eligible ratepayers, regardless of the number of properties that they occupy, will have their bills calculated using the small business rate relief multiplier (currently 0.8 pence less than the national non-domestic rating multiplier).

The rateable value threshold for additional properties which are disregarded has increased to £2,599.

Please notify us of changes

As a ratepayer, you will need to notify the Royal Borough of Greenwich of certain changes in your circumstances. Other changes will be picked up by us.

The changes that you must notify us of are:

• the ratepayer taking up occupation of a property they did not occupy at the time of making their application for relief
• 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 us within four weeks of any change. If this happens, there will be no interruption to your entitlement to the relief.

A notification that you have 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.

Temporary increase in level of small business rate relief extended

In November 2011, the government announced that there will be a further six-month extension to the temporary increase in the level of small business rate relief. The reduced rates were due to end on 30 September 2012, but they will now be extended until 1 April 2013.

Eligible ratepayers will pay no rates on properties with rateable values of up to £6,000 with a tapered relief of between 100 per cent and 0 per cent for properties with rateable values between £6,001 and £12,000.

For more information please contact the Business Rates team.