Retail relief

Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Relief Scheme: 2022-2023

On 27 October 2021 the Government announced the Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Business Rates Relief scheme. This will provide eligible, occupied, retail, hospitality and leisure properties with a 50% relief, up to a cash cap limit of £110,000 per business.

Eastleigh Borough Council will require businesses to complete the below application and declaration.

Before completing the application please read the guidance.

The Cash Cap

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

Eligibility for the Relief

Hereditaments that meet the eligibility for Retail, Hospitality and Leisure scheme will be occupied hereditaments which meet all of the following conditions for the chargeable day, i.e. they 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

We consider shops, restaurants, cafes, drinking establishments, cinemas and live music venues to mean:

  1. 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)
  2. 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 e.g. for theatre
    • Dry cleaners
    • Launderettes
    • PC/ TV/ domestic appliance repair
    • Funeral directors
    • Photo processing
    • Tool hire
    • Car hire
  3. 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
  4. Hereditaments which are being used as cinemas
  5. Hereditaments that are being used as live music venues:
    • Live music venues are hereditaments wholly or mainly used for the performance of live music for the purpose of entertaining an audience. Hereditaments cannot be considered a live music venue for the purpose of business rates relief where a venue is wholly or mainly used as a nightclub or a theatre, 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, but only if those other activities (i) are merely ancillary or incidental to the performance of live music (e.g. the sale/supply of alcohol to audience members) or (ii) do not affect the fact that the primary activity for the premises is the performance of live music (e.g. because those other activities are insufficiently regular or frequent, such as a polling station or a fortnightly community event).
    • There may be circumstances in which it is difficult to tell whether an activity is a performance of live music or, instead, the playing of recorded music. Although we would expect this would be clear in most circumstances, guidance on this may be found in Chapter 16 of the statutory guidance (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/explanatory-memorandum-revised-guidance-issued-under-s-182-of-licensing-act-2003) issued in April 2018 under section 182 of the Licensing Act 2003.

We consider assembly and leisure to mean:

  1. 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
  2. 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:

  1. 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

The following hereditaments do not meet eligibility for this scheme:

  1. Hereditaments that are being used for the provision of the following services to visiting members of the public:
    • Financial services (e.g. banks, building societies, cash points, bureaux de change, short-term
    • loan providers, betting shops)
    • Medical services (e.g. vets, dentists, doctors, osteopaths, chiropractors)
    • Professional services (e.g. solicitors, accountants, insurance agents/ financial advisers, employment agencies, estate agents, letting agents)
    • Post office sorting offices

View the full scheme details for information on eligible retail properties before applying. 

If you think you are eligible and a retail discount is not shown on your bill and you have a business rates account number, apply using our online form.

2022/23 application form

Main eligibility criteria: you are the ratepayer, usage of the property is mainly retail, leisure, hospitality to visiting members of the public.

If you have not informed us about your business, we need to register your business account before you apply. Please complete the moving in form.

Retail, hospitality and leisure discount in 2021/22

A separate scheme applies in 2021/22, with up to 100% discount to 30 June 2021 and 66% from 1 July 2021 to 31 March 2022. Discount from 1 July 2021 is capped at up to a total value of £2 million per business. If the business was legally allowed to open during the national lockdown starting 5 January 2021, this cap is £105,000 rather than £2 million.

Exclusions apply including properties used for financial services, medical services, professional services (eg solicitor, accountant), Post Office sorting offices, or are not reasonably accessible to visiting members of the public.

View the full scheme details for information on eligible retail properties before applying. 

If you think you are eligible and a discount is not shown on your bill and you have a business rates account number, Please use our online form to contact us. Main eligibility criteria: you are the ratepayer, usage of the property is mainly retail, leisure, hospitality to visiting members of the public.

No applications for retail discount for 2021/22 can be considered after 30 September 2022.