rate relief on second property?

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Robin S
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rate relief on second property?

Post by Robin S »

We have small business rate relief on our first property. We've just bought a second and will be refurbishing it for a few more weeks before first guests arrive.

Initial inquiries to the Council around business rates have led to us being told we'll not only have to pay business rates on the new property when we start letting but that we'll also lose it on the first property which came as a bit of a shock. Does that sound about right?
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Nemo
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Post by Nemo »

It's all here. It depends on the values involved. https://www.gov.uk/apply-for-business-r ... ate-relief
Giraffe
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Post by Giraffe »

Councils are not the experts on business rates. Contact The Valuation Office Agency which deals with this. They have local offices for different parts of the country. I found staff very helpful on the phone.
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Joanna
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Post by Joanna »

On the VOA site you can search by postcode and find out the rateable value for other self catering properties in your area. It's partly calculated by 'single bed spaces' I.e how many guests you can sleep. If I'm reading it right, the bed space number comes up in the 'area' column so you can identify properties the same size as yours and see what their value is.
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Joint owner of Baker's Cottage in Chester & Chandler's Cottage in Sidmouth
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apexblue
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Post by apexblue »

Any update on this. Owner we manage for has been told the same, no relief on 2nd property. Unsure if they spoke to council or voa. Will phone voa Monday. One owner has 3 rentals all with 100% relief.
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ianh100
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Post by ianh100 »

We have 2 properties and currently get SBRR on the largest, we have to pay for the second one. You can still get it on the first property if the valuation of the second is less than £2600. You are not entitled to SBRR on multiple properties so I suggest that apexblue's owner is breaking the rules with a false declaration.

We are about to get really burnt by the new valuations as they have increased our second property from £2,200 to £2,700 that means we loose all of our relief including discounts on refuse collection. The revaluation means our rates bill will increase from around £1,200 to over £3,000 this year.

Its pretty unfair as our combined rateable value is still only a 1/3rd of the value of a single property that still qualifies. I researched a lot of the revaluations in my region, many seem to have been valued at £2,700 which make me think it is a deliberate valuation to increase revenue. The revaluations have increased significantly but there has been no increase in the valuations of second properties to still qualify for SBRR.

I am happy to pay my fair tax but this increase for us this year is very painful.
newtimber
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Post by newtimber »

ianh100 wrote:You can still get it on the first property if the valuation of the second is less than £2600. You are not entitled to SBRR on multiple properties so I suggest that apexblue's owner is breaking the rules with a false declaration.
There are more generous SBRR rules for Scotland and Wales. Also some businesses have all their properties rated as one business if their properties are in a complex.
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apexblue
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Post by apexblue »

You can get small business rate relief if the rateable value of each of your other properties is less than £2,600.
Which they are for the owner who has 3 properties.
It is better to remain quiet and have one think you are stupid, than to open your mouth and remove all doubt....

The biggest mistake we make in life is thinking we have time.
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