Retail Hospitality and Leisure Relief 2024

The Retail Hospitality and Leisure Relief Scheme will continue during 2024, with some slight alterations.

Businesses in occupied properties which are wholly or mainly being used:

• as shops, restaurants, cafes, drinking establishments, cinemas or live music venues
• for assembly and leisure; or
• as hotels, guest & boarding premises or self-catering accommodation

Read the retail, hospitality and leisure relief 2024 criteria in more detail

Reductions of 75% are available up to a cap of £110,000 per business in England.  Reductions are also subject to subsidy allowance rules.

Eligibility and relief are calculated on a daily basis. This is after any other reductions have been applied. Relief ends on 31 March 2025 or when the business no longer meets the criteria, whichever is the earliest.

Ratepayers that occupy more than one property will be entitled to relief for each of their eligible properties. This is subject to the cash caps.

We will recalculate the relief if there is a retrospective change to eligibility. For example:

• a backdated increase in rateable value in future years
• a reduction which reduces the gross rates payable.
• a new hereditament created as a result of a split or merger during the financial year
• where there is a change of use, this will be considered afresh for the relief on that day.

Under the cash cap, no ratepayer can in any circumstances exceed the £110,000 cash cap across all their properties in England.

Where a ratepayer has a qualifying connection with another ratepayer then those ratepayers should be considered as one ratepayer for the purposes of the cash caps. A ratepayer shall be treated as having a qualifying connection with another:

1.  where both ratepayers are companies, and

•  one is a subsidiary of the other, or
• both are subsidiaries of the same company; or

2. where only one ratepayer is a company, the other ratepayer (the "second ratepayer") has such an interest in that company as would, if the second ratepayer were a company, result in its being the holding company of the other.

We can provide relief that falls within the Minimal Financial Assistance thresholds.

The Subsidy Control Act allows an economic actor (e.g. a holding company and its subsidiaries) to receive up to £315,000 in a three-year period (consisting of the 2023/24 year and the two previous financial years).  

BEIS business grants (throughout the 3 years) and any other subsidies claimed under the Small Amounts of Financial Assistance limit of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement should be counted.

The £110,000 cash cap might be limited by the Minimal Financial Assistance threshold. This restricts the amount of relief in any three-year period to £315,000. If you have received £110,000 in each of the past 2 years, your remaining allowance (or cash cap) for 2024/25 will reduce to £95,000.

Due to the cash cap and subsidy allowance criteria we have not applied Retail Hospitality and Leisure Relief to all bills.

If you believe you qualify email Brates@guildford.gov.uk. Add 'Retail 2024' to the email the heading.

Provide the following in the email:

• your account reference (beginning with X found on the top right of your bill)
• details of the properties you are applying for
• confirm the use of each property
• confirmation of the capacity in which you are applying for the relief. (For example, sole trader, managing director, chief accountant, partner)
• declarations that:
  • My business will not exceed the £110,000 cap for all properties in England
  • My business will not exceed Subsidy Control Act thresholds by receiving more than £315,000 in total of Minimal Financial Assistance over three years (including 2024-25)

Read the full guidance of our  2024 Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Scheme (PDF) [3MB]  before making an application. 

Ratepayers can opt out (refuse) the relief for a specific property at any time up to 30 April 2025.  The ratepayer cannot withdraw their refusal for either all or part of the financial year.  By virtue of refusing the relief the property is ineligible for the relief.