Business Rates: What's Changed from April 2026
The business rates system in England underwent its most significant structural reform in years on 1 April 2026. If you run a retail, hospitality or leisure business, or occupy commercial property of any kind, it's important to understand how the changes affect your rates bill and what you should be doing now.
The new five-multiplier system
The old two-multiplier system (one for properties with a rateable value below £51,000, one for those above) has been replaced by five multipliers. The rate that applies to your property now depends on both your rateable value and whether your premises qualify as retail, hospitality and leisure (RHL).
The multipliers for 2026/27 are:
Small business RHL (rateable value under £51,000): 38.2p
Small business non-RHL (rateable value under £51,000): 43.2p
Standard RHL (rateable value £51,000 to £499,999): 43.0p
Standard non-RHL (rateable value £51,000 to £499,999): 48.0p
Large property (rateable value £500,000 and above): 50.8p
For qualifying RHL businesses, this represents a permanent reduction compared to the standard multiplier, around 5p in the pound, replacing the temporary annual relief schemes that had to be renewed each year. That's a welcome shift towards longer-term certainty.
The 2026 revaluation
The new multipliers have taken effect alongside the 2026 revaluation of all non-domestic properties in England and Wales. The Valuation Office Agency (VOA) has reassessed rateable values based on rental evidence as at 1 April 2024.
An increase in your rateable value doesn't necessarily mean your bill will rise by the same proportion. The government has introduced a redesigned Transitional Relief scheme worth £3.2 billion to cap annual increases for properties facing large jumps, and a Supporting Small Business scheme limits rises for businesses losing entitlement to Small Business Rate Relief or RHL relief.
Pubs and live music venues benefit from an additional 15% relief on top of other support measures.
The new Duty to Notify
One change that has received less attention but is important for all ratepayers: from 1 April 2026, there is a new legal obligation to notify the VOA of certain changes that could affect your rateable value. This includes changes to the property itself, how it's used, or its occupation status. Notifications must generally be made within 60 days.
This is a shift towards self-reporting, and businesses need to have processes in place to identify and report relevant changes promptly.
What should you do now?
Even though the 31 March deadline for challenging valuations under the old system has passed, there are still practical steps worth taking:
Check your new rateable value. You can look this up on the VOA's "Find a business rates valuation" service. If it doesn't look right, you can still challenge it through the Check, Challenge, Appeal process — though the rules and timescales are different from the old system.
Confirm your multiplier is correct. Make sure your local council has applied the right multiplier — particularly if your property qualifies as RHL. Not all RHL businesses will be classified automatically, and it's worth checking.
Review your reliefs. Transitional Relief, Supporting Small Business Relief, and Small Business Rate Relief may apply to your property. Check your bill to make sure nothing has been missed.
Plan for the next revaluation. With revaluations now happening every three years, the next one (based on April 2027 rental evidence) isn't far off. Property decisions you make now — lease renewals, rent reviews, refurbishments — will feed into future valuations.
How we can help
If you're unsure how the new system affects your business, or you'd like us to review your rates bill and check that the correct multiplier and reliefs have been applied, please get in touch. We're happy to help you understand the changes and make sure you're not paying more than you need to.