What are the detailed criteria?
- Hereditaments that meet the eligibility for Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Relief Scheme will be occupied hereditaments which meet all of the following conditions for the chargeable day:
a) they are wholly or mainly being used:
- as shops, restaurants, cafes, drinking establishments, cinemas and live music venues,
- for assembly and leisure; or
- as hotels, guest & boarding premises and self-catering accommodation
- We consider shops, restaurants, cafes, drinking establishments, cinemas and live music venues to mean:
a) Hereditaments that are being used for the sale of goods to visiting members of the public:
- shops (such as: florists, bakers, butchers, grocers, greengrocers, jewellers, stationers, off licences, chemists, newsagents, hardware stores, supermarkets, etc)
- charity shops
- opticians
- post offices
- furnishing shops/ display rooms (such as: carpet shops, double glazing, garage doors)
- car/caravan show rooms
- second-hand car lots
- markets
- petrol stations
- garden centres
- art galleries (where art is for sale/hire)
b) Hereditaments that are being used for the provision of the following services to visiting members of the public:
- hair and beauty services (such as: hairdressers, nail bars, beauty salons, tanning shops, etc)
- shoe repairs/key cutting
- travel agents
- ticket offices (for example, for a theatre)
- dry cleaners
- launderettes
- pc/tv/domestic appliance repair
- funeral directors
- photo processing
- tool hire
- car hire
c) Hereditaments that are being used for the sale of food and/or drink to visiting members of the public:
- restaurants
- takeaways
- sandwich shops
- coffee shops
- pubs
- bars
d) Hereditaments which are being used as cinemas
e) Hereditaments that are being used as live music venues:
Live music venues are hereditaments wholly or mainly used for the performance of live music to entertain an audience. Hereditaments cannot be considered a live music venue for business rates relief where a venue is wholly or mainly used as a nightclub or a theatre. This is for the purposes of the Town and Country Planning (Use Classes) Order 1987 (as amended).
Hereditaments can be a live music venue even if used for other activities. Only if those other activities:
- are merely ancillary or incidental to the performance of live music. (For example, the sale/supply of alcohol to audience members), or
- do not affect the fact that the primary activity for the premises is the performance of live music. (For example, the other activities are insufficiently regular or frequent. Such as a polling station or a fortnightly community event).
There may be circumstances where it is difficult to tell if an activity is a performance, live music or the playing of recorded music. We would expect this would be clear in most circumstances. Guidance on this may be found in Chapter 16 of the statutory guidance issued in April 2018 under section 182 of the Licensing Act 2003. (opens new window)
- We consider assembly and leisure to mean:
a) Hereditaments that are being used for the provision of sport, leisure and facilities to visiting members of the public (including for the viewing of such activities).
- sports grounds and clubs
- museums and art galleries
- nightclubs
- sport and leisure facilities
- stately homes and historic houses
- theatres
- tourist attractions
- gyms
- wellness centres, spas, massage parlours
- casinos, gambling clubs and bingo halls
b) Hereditaments that are being used for the assembly of visiting members of the public.
- public halls
- clubhouses, clubs and institutions
- We consider hotels, guest & boarding premises and self-catering accommodation to mean:
a) Hereditaments where the non-domestic part is being used for the provision of living accommodation as a business:
- hotels, Guest and Boarding Houses
- holiday homes
- caravan parks and sites
To qualify for the relief the hereditament should be wholly or mainly used for the above qualifying purposes. In a similar way to other reliefs (such as charity relief), this is a test on use rather than occupation. Hereditaments which are occupied but not wholly or mainly used for the qualifying purpose will not qualify for the relief.
- The list above is not intended to be exhaustive. It is impossible to list the many and varied uses that exist within the qualifying purposes. There will also be mixed uses. We will determine whether particular properties not listed are broadly similar in nature to those above. If so, we will consider them eligible for the relief. Properties not broadly similar in nature to those listed above will not be eligible for the relief.
- The list below sets out the types of uses the government does not consider to be an eligible for this relief. We will determine whether particular properties are broadly similar in nature to those below. If so, we will consider them not eligible for the relief.
a) Hereditaments that are being used for the provision of the following services to visiting members of the public:
- financial services (banks, building societies, cash points, bureaux de change, short-term loan providers, betting shops)
- medical services (vets, dentists, doctors, osteopaths, chiropractors)
- professional services (solicitors, accountants, insurance agents/ financial advisers, employment agencies, estate agent, letting agents)
- post office sorting offices
b) Hereditaments that are not reasonably accessible to visiting members of the public.