Empty Property Rates

Following recent court decisions, the options available to an owner of empty business premises to avoid a liability for empty property rates have been reduced.

This matters because no rates are payable for the first three months in which rateable premises in England are empty. After a minimum of 6 weeks occupation, a further holiday from empty rates of up to three months applies again. This pattern of occupation and emptiness can be vital to a rates avoidance strategy. But whether or not there is a strategy, the three months exemption is important to owners seeking to control expenses.

Here comes a new threat.

A number of London boroughs will no longer ignore furniture left within premises when testing occupation. They will only consider premises vacant if: