Retail relief

Retail relief has now ended for 2026 onwards

This is for properties which are occupied, wholly and mainly used for the points below, or reasonable accessible to visiting members of the public. Therefore, hereditaments, which are occupied but not wholly or mainly used for the qualifying purpose, will not qualify for the relief.

Qualifying businesses

• Art galleries (where art is for sale/hire)
  
  
• Bars
  
  
• Betting shops
  
  
• Car hire
  
  
• Car/caravan show rooms
  
  
• Caravan parks and sites
  
  
• Casinos, gambling clubs and bingo halls
  
  
• Charity shops
  
  
• Cinemas
  
  
• Clubhouses, clubs and institutions
  
  
• Coffee shops
  
  
• Dry cleaners
  
  
• Employment agencies
  
  
• Estate agents and letting agents
  
  
• Funeral directors
  
  
• Furnishing shops/ display rooms (such as: carpet shops, double glazing, garage doors)
  
  
• Garden centres
  
  
• Gyms
  
  
• Hair and beauty services (such as: hair dressers, nail bars, beauty salons, tanning shops, etc)
  
  
• Holiday homes
  
  
• Hotels, Guest and Boarding Houses
  
  
• Launderettes
  
  
• Live music venues
  
  
• Markets
  
  
• Museums and art galleries
  
  
• Nightclubs
  
  
• Opticians
  
  
• PC/TV/domestic appliance repair
  
  
• Petrol stations
  
  
• Photo processing
  
  
• Post offices
  
  
• Public halls
  
  
• Pubs
  
  
• Restaurants
  
  
• Sandwich shops
  
  
• Second-hand car lots
  
  
• Shoe repairs/key cutting
  
  
• Shops (such as: florists, bakers, butchers, grocers, greengrocers, jewellers, stationers, off licences, chemists, newsagents, hardware stores, supermarkets, etc)
  
  
• Sport and leisure facilities
  
  
• Sports grounds and clubs
  
  
• Stately homes and historic houses
  
  
• Takeaways
  
  
• Theatres
  
  
• Ticket offices eg for theatre
  
  
• Tool hire
  
  
• Tourist attractions
  
  
• Travel agents
  
  
• Wellness centres, spas, massage parlours
  

Businesses which do NOT qualify

• Financial services (eg banks, building societies, cash points, bureaux de change, short-term loan providers)
• Medical services (eg vets, dentists, doctors, osteopaths, chiropractors)
• Professional services (eg solicitors, accountants, insurance agents/ financial advisers, tutors)
• Post office sorting offices

Hereditaments that are NOT reasonably accessible to visiting members of the public.

If the information which has been provided is not correct and does not fit into the criteria for retail relief guidelines this will be removed after relevant visits have taken place and backdated charge will be applied.

Businesses may choose to opt out of support by providing billing authorities notification of their request to refuse support, per eligible hereditament. Please note once opted out the business cannot opt back in.

Financial year 2025/26

The government extended the retail relief for the financial year 2025/26, for eligible properties, a 40% relief, with a £110,000 cap per business, for the period 1 April 2025 to 31 March 2026.

Any backdate request will only be actioned up to 1 October 2026. After this the relief cannot be awarded

Apply for retail relief