Business Rates Multipliers: Qualifying Retail, Hospitality or Leisure (RHL)
At the 2024 Autumn Budget, the UK Government announced that from 2026/27, existing Business Rate Relief for retail, hospitality or leisure (RHL) properties would be replaced by a lower rates multiplier to calculate the business rates payable on those properties. The amounts of the new multipliers were confirmed in the 2025 Autumn Budget.
From April 2026, the system will expand to 5 multipliers, reflecting both business type and property value:
|
Category |
Rateable Value (RV) |
Multiplier |
|---|---|---|
|
Small Business RHL |
Below £51,000 |
38.2p |
|
Standard RHL |
£51,000 to £499,999 |
43.0p |
|
Large (all properties) |
£500,000 and above |
50.8p |
|
Small Business (non-RHL) |
Below £51,000 |
43.2p |
|
Standard (non-RHL) |
£51,000 to £499,999 |
48.0p |
Unlike the RHL business rates relief in place in 2025/26, there will be no cash cap. Therefore, all hereditaments that meet the legislative definition of qualifying RHL and that have RVs below £500,000 will be within scope of the RHL multipliers. This means that all qualifying properties in a chain will benefit from the lower multipliers.
The proposed RHL multipliers will only apply to occupied hereditaments where the chargeable amount for the hereditament is calculated in accordance with Schedule 4ZA to the Local Government Finance Act 1988. As such, hereditaments that are unoccupied will revert to the national multipliers after Empty Property Relief ends, even if they are intended to next be used for RHL purposes.
The RHL multipliers are intended to only benefit hereditaments that are used to provide in-person RHL. The definition can therefore only be met if a hereditament is wholly or mainly used for providing RHL activity to ‘visiting members of the public’.
Only hereditaments that are ‘wholly or mainly’ used for a qualifying purpose will be eligible for the RHL multipliers (see link below for examples of qualifying hereditaments);
Business Rates Multipliers: Qualifying Retail, Hospitality or Leisure - GOV.UK
If you believe your business meets the legislative definition of RHL and therefore qualifies for the RHL multiplier and is not currently, please complete this form specifying the use.