Retail, hospitality and leisure discount

Check if you can claim

You can claim this discount for the period prior to 1 April 2026 if:

your business is in the retail, hospitality or leisure sector
your property is occupied and mainly used for an eligible purpose
you have not exceeded:
- the £110,000 cash cap per year, or
- the £315,000 total subsidy limit over 3 years (2023 to 2026)

If your circumstances have changed

if you no longer qualify, contact the Rates Office as soon as possible
if you think you should be getting the discount but are not, check the eligibility criteria and apply using the online form below

Details of the discounts available to eligible businesses, from 2021-22 to 2025-26, are shown below.

2021 to 2022

100% (April to June 2021)
66% (July 2021 to March 2022), capped at £2 million per businesses that were required to be closed on 5 January 2021 or £105,000 for other eligible businesses

2022 to 2023

50%, capped at £110,000

2023 to 2024

75%, capped at £110,000

2024 to 2025

75%, capped at £110,000

2025 to 2026

40%, capped at £110,000

From 1 April 2026, this scheme will be replaced by the new retail, hospitality and leisure multiplers.

Properties which will qualify for the Expanded Retail Discount

1. Hereditaments that meet the eligibility for Expanded Retail Discount will be occupied hereditaments which meet all of the following conditions:
a. they are wholly or mainly being used:

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

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

i. 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
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

ii. 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
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
employment agencies – only available for 2021-22
estate agents and letting agents - only available for 2021-22
betting shops - only available for 2021-22

iii. 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

iv. Hereditaments which are being used as cinemas

v. 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 issued in April 2018 under section 182 of the Licensing Act 2003.

3. We consider assembly and leisure to mean:

i. 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

ii. Hereditaments that are being used for the assembly of visiting members of the public.

public halls
clubhouses, clubs and institutions

4. We consider hotels, guest & boarding premises and self-catering accommodation to mean:

i. 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

5. To qualify for the discount the hereditament should be wholly or mainly being used for the above qualifying purposes. In a similar way to other reliefs (such as charity relief), this is a test on use rather than occupation. Therefore, hereditaments which are occupied but not wholly or mainly used for the qualifying purpose will not qualify for the relief. For the avoidance of doubt, hereditaments which have closed due to the government’s advice on COVID19 should be treated as occupied for the purposes of this relief.

Properties that do not qualify for the Expanded Retail Discount

6. The list below sets out the types of uses that the government does not consider to be an eligible use for the purpose of this discount.

i. 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
medical services, e.g. vets, dentists, doctors, osteopaths, chiropractors
professional services, e.g. solicitors, accountants, insurance agents/ financial advisers
post office sorting offices

Please note the government guidance has been updated from 2022/23 and from the 1st April 2022, the following will no longer be eligible for the Expanded Retail Discount

employment agencies
estate agents and letting agents
betting Shops

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

Important information

Please note the maximum relief available for 2025 to 2026 is 40% capped at £110,000 per business which is subject to the Minimal Financial Assistance limits under the Subsidy Control Act which means that no recipient can receive over £315,000 over a 3-year period (consisting of the current financial year 2025 to 2026 and 2023 to 2024 and 2024 to 2025). Visit the government's website for more information on subsidy control.

If you give false information or claim more than you are entitled to, this may be treated as fraud under the Fraud Act 2006.

To apply for the retail discount, for the periods prior to 1 April 2026, complete the online form below.

Apply for Retail Discount

Last updated: 9 April 2026

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