Pubs and live music venues relief

On 27 January 2026, the government announced that eligible pubs and live music venues in England will receive a 15% reduction on their business rates bills for the 2026/27 financial year. The government also announced that eligible pubs and live music venues’ business rates bills would be frozen in real terms in 2027/28 and 2028/29.

The relief will end on the 31 March 2027.

Properties (hereditaments) that meet the eligibility criteria for pubs and live music venues relief will be occupied hereditaments which meet all of the following conditions for the chargeable day:

They are wholly or mainly being used:

• as a pub
• as a live music venue

Pubs

We consider a pub to mean a hereditament where all the following criteria apply:

• is open to the general public
• allows free entry other than when occasional entertainment is provided
• allows drinking without requiring food to be consumed
• permits drinks to be purchased at a bar

For these purposes, the meaning of a pub does not include:

• restaurants, cafes, nightclubs, snack bars
• hotels, guesthouses, boarding houses
• sporting venues
• festival sites, theatres, cinemas
• museums, exhibition halls
• casinos

The proposed exclusions in the list above is not intended to be exhaustive.

Live music venues

We consider a live music venue to mean a hereditament that:

• Is wholly or mainly used for the performance of live music for the purpose of entertaining an audience
• Can be used for other activities but only if those other activities:
• are ancillary or incidental to the performance of live music such as the sale of food or drink to audience members
• do not affect the primary use of the premises for the performance of live music because the activities are infrequent such as use of the venue as a polling station or fortnightly community event
• Properties are not a live music venue for the purpose of this relief if the property is wholly or mainly used as a nightclub or a theatre

Subsidy control

The pubs and live music venues relief awards are likely to amount to subsidies. Find information about Subsidy control

Apply for pub and live music relief