Business Rates explanatory notes

Non-Domestic Rates

Non-Domestic Rates, or Business Rates, collected by local Councils are the way that those who occupy non-domestic property contribute towards the cost of local services.

Since April 2017, Oldham Council has been part of the Greater Manchester 100% Business Rates Retention Pilot. This sees the Council retain 99% of the Business Rates income collected locally (1% is given to the Greater Manchester Combined Authority for Fire Services) rather than pay 50% of this income to Central Government as it did between April 2013 and March 2017.

As a result of the Pilot, Central Government support grants in the form of the Revenue Support Grant and Public Health Grant are no longer paid to the Council. Instead, income generated through Business Rates, Council Tax and self-generated income is needed to fund essential Council services in Oldham.

Further information about the Business Rates system can be obtained at:

and at:

Business Rates Instalments

Payment of Business Rates bills is automatically set on a 10-monthly cycle. However, the Government has put in place regulations that allow ratepayers to require the Council to enable payments to be made through 12 monthly instalments. If you wish to take up this offer, you should contact Oldham Council’s Business Rates Department as soon as possible.

National Non-Domestic Rating Multiplier

Oldham Council works out the Business Rates bill for a property by multiplying the rateable value of the property by the appropriate non-domestic multiplier. There are two multipliers: the standard non-domestic rating multiplier and the small business non-domestic rating multiplier. The Government sets the multipliers for each financial year, except in the City of London where special arrangements apply.

Ratepayers who occupy a property with a rateable value which does not exceed £50,999 (and who are neither entitled to certain other mandatory relief[s] nor liable for unoccupied property rates) will have their bills calculated using the lower small business non-domestic rating multiplier, rather than the standard non-domestic rating multiplier.

The current multipliers are shown on the front of your bill.

Rateable Value

Apart from properties that are exempt from Business Rates, each non-domestic property has a rateable value which is set by the Valuation Office Agency (VOA), an agency of His Majesty's Revenue and Customs. The VOA compile and maintain a full list of all rateable values:

The rateable value of your property is shown on the front of your bill. This broadly represents the yearly rent the property could have been let for on the open market on a particular date specified in legislation. For the current rating list, this date was set as 1 April 2021.

The VOA may alter the valuation if circumstances change. The ratepayer (and certain others who have an interest in the property) can also check and challenge the valuation shown in the list if they believe it is wrong.

Further information about the grounds on which challenges may be made and the process for doing so can be obtained by contacting the VOA, or by consulting the VOA website: 

Revaluations

All non-domestic property rateable values are reassessed at revaluations. The most recent revaluation took effect from 1 April 2023. Revaluations ensure that Business Rates bills are up-to-date and more accurately reflect current rental values and relative changes in rents. Frequent revaluations ensure the system continues to be responsive to changing economic conditions.

Business Rate Reliefs

Depending on individual circumstances, a ratepayer may be eligible for a rate relief (i.e. a reduction in their Business Rates bill). There are a range of available reliefs and details can be found at:

Temporary reliefs

Some of the permanent reliefs are set out below but temporary reliefs are often introduced by the Government at Budgets.

You should contact Oldham Council’s Business Rates Department for details on the latest availability of Business Rates relief and advice on whether you may qualify.

Small Business Rates Relief

If a ratepayer’s sole or main property has a rateable value that does not exceed a set threshold, the ratepayer may receive a percentage reduction in their rates bill for the property of up to a maximum of 100%.

The level of reduction will depend on the rateable value of the property. For example, eligible properties with a rateable value below a specified lower threshold will receive 100% relief. Eligible properties between that threshold and a specified upper threshold will receive partial tapered relief.

The relevant thresholds for relief are set by the Government by order and can be found at

Generally, these percentage reductions (relief) are only available to ratepayers who occupy either:

a) one property, or

b) one main property and other additional properties providing those additional properties each have a rateable value which does not exceed the limit set by order.

The aggregate rateable value of all the properties mentioned in (b), must also not exceed an amount set by order. For those businesses that take on an additional property which would normally have meant the loss of Small Business Rate Relief, they will be allowed to keep that relief for a fixed additional period.

Full details on the relevant limits in relation to second properties and the current period for which a ratepayer may continue to receive relief after taking on an additional property can be obtained from

Certain changes in circumstances will need to be notified to Oldham Council’s Business Rates Department by the ratepayer who is in receipt of relief (other changes will be picked up by the Council). The changes which should be notified are:

a) the property falling vacant,

b) the ratepayer taking up occupation of an additional property, or

c) an increase in the rateable value of a property occupied by the ratepayer in an area outside Oldham.

Charity and Community Amateur Sports Club Relief

Charities and registered Community Amateur Sports Clubs are entitled to 80% relief where the property is occupied by the charity or the club and is wholly or mainly used for the charitable purposes of the charity (or of that and other charities), or for the purposes of the club (or of that and other clubs).

Local Councils have the discretion to give further relief on the remaining bill. Full details can be obtained at:

Transitional Rate Relief

At a revaluation, some ratepayers will see reductions or no change in their bill whereas some ratepayers will see increases.

Transitional relief schemes are introduced at each revaluation to help those facing increases. Such relief schemes are funded by limiting the reduction in bills for those who have benefitted from the revaluation. Transitional relief is applied automatically to bills.

Further information about transitional arrangements and other reliefs may be obtained from Oldham Council’s Business Rates Department or the website:

Local Discounts and Hardship Relief

Local Councils have a general power to grant discretionary local discounts and to give hardship relief in specific circumstances.

Full details can be obtained from:

Unoccupied Property Rating

Business Rates are generally payable in respect of unoccupied non-domestic property. However, they are generally not payable for the first three months that a property is empty.

This is extended to six months in the case of certain industrial premises, whilst certain other properties such as vacant listed buildings are not liable for Business Rates until they are reoccupied.

Full details on exemptions can be obtained at:

Rural Rate Relief

Certain types of properties in a rural settlement with a population below 3,000 may be entitled to relief. The property must be the only general store, the only post office or a food shop and have a rateable value of less than £8,500, or the only public house or the only petrol station and have a rateable value of less than £12,500.

The property has to be occupied. An eligible ratepayer is entitled to relief at 100% of the full charge (50% being mandatory and 50% centrally funded discretionary relief).

Subsidy Control

The new UK subsidy control regime commenced on 4 January 2023. The new regime enables public authorities, including devolved administrations and local authorities, to deliver subsidies that are tailored for local needs. Public authorities giving subsidies must comply with the UK’s international subsidy control commitments. The subsidy control legislation provides the framework for a new, UK-wide subsidy control regime.

Further information about subsidy control can be found at:

Self-catering and holiday let accommodation

Whether you pay business rates will depend on how many days your property is available to let each year and how many days it was actually let.

From 1 April 2023 your property will be rated as a self-catering property and valued for business rates if it’s both:

  • available to let for short periods for at least 140 days in total over the current and previous tax years;
  • actually let for at least 70 days in the last 12 months.

If you only let one property and its rateable value is less than £15,000 you may be eligible for small business rate relief.

Business Rates Heat Network Relief

In the Spring Statement 2022 the Chancellor announced that Heat Network Relief would be applied to separately rated hereditaments that are wholly or mainly used for the purposes of a heat network and expect the heat to be generated from a low carbon source. This approach has been extended to the 2023/24 financial year.

Full details for this relief and the eligibility rules can be found at:

Rating Advisers

Ratepayers do not have to be represented in discussions about the rateable value of their property or their rates bill. However, ratepayers who do wish to be represented should be aware that members of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors:

and the Institute of Revenues, Rating and Valuation website:

re qualified and are regulated by rules of professional conduct designed to protect the public from misconduct. Before you employ a rating adviser or company you should check that they have the necessary knowledge and expertise, as well as appropriate indemnity insurance. Take great care and, if necessary, seek further advice before entering into any contract.

Information Supplied with Demand Notices

Information relating to the relevant and previous financial years, concerning the gross expenditure of Oldham Council, is available at:

A hard copy is available on request by writing to the Council or by calling 0161 770 6677.