Empty property relief

What you'll get

You do not have to pay business rates on your empty property for three months (or the first six months for industrial premises). The relief starts from when the property becomes empty. After this period, most businesses will pay full business rates.

The following properties remain exempt from business rates while empty:

• listed buildings
• buildings with a rateable value under £2,900.

How to get empty property relief

For more details on how to get empty property relief, please email business.rates@dacorum.gov.uk or call 01442 228268.

To get empty property relief we will inspect your property or you will need to supply sufficient evidence to confirm your property is empty. This needs to be in the form of:

• Date/time stamped photographs confirming property was empty for the period specified. These photos also need to include evidence that it is the correct unit: outside of property, inside of property with door open, full internal photo of property
• Utility bills showing changes in the period that the property was occupied and then unoccupied
• Evidence of removal receipts, builders' receipts, schedule of works and invoices, property clearance receipts and so on
• De-commissioning certificate in relation to Blue Tooth properties (if applicable)
• Anything else that might assist the application for empty property rate relief.

Partly occupied properties

You are liable for full business rates whether your property is full occupied or only partly occupied. Where a property is partly occupied for a short time, we have discretion to award relief on the part of the property that is empty.

For more information, please email business.rates@dacorum.gov.uk or call 01442 228268.

More information

Find out more about empty property relief and partly occupied properties on the Government website.