Understanding Your Business Rates Bill: What Landlords and Tenants Need to Know Before March 2026

Business rates bills are set to change in March 2026, bringing significant changes that will impact both landlords and tenants across England. With a critical deadline of 31st March 2026 fast approaching, understanding these changes and taking action now could save you thousands of pounds.

How the Rating System Works

Your business rates liability is calculated by multiplying your property's rateable value (RV) by the government's multiplier. Both of these elements changed following the recent budget announcement, with the new rating list based on 2023 rental values rather than the COVID-affected 2021 values used previously.

Sector-by-Sector Impact

Industrial Properties have seen the most dramatic increases, with rateable values rising by approximately 21% nationally. In London, this figure reaches 24%. When combined with the adjusted multipliers, industrial occupiers could face liability increases of around 15%. This comes on top of substantial rental growth over recent years, making affordability a genuine concern for many businesses.

Retail Properties show more variation, with an average increase of around 10% nationally. London retail has been hit harder at 13%, while the northeast has seen modest 3% increases. Interestingly, prime retail locations like Reading have actually decreased by approximately 7%, offering welcome relief to some occupiers.

Office Properties have increased by 14% on average, with prime city centre locations bearing the brunt. Westminster has risen by 17%, while Camden has jumped by 22%. The disparity between prime, modern office space and secondary, lower-quality buildings should create opportunities for challenge where properties have been incorrectly assessed.

Hotels, Hospitality (and famously Pubs) face perhaps the most significant impact, with hotel rateable values increasing by up to 75% in some cases. This dramatic rise reflects the recovery from COVID-era valuations, but when coupled with the removal of retail rates relief, many hospitality businesses will see substantial liability increases.

The New Multiplier System

The government has introduced five multipliers instead of the previous two, including specific rates for retail properties and a higher multiplier for properties with rateable values exceeding £500,000. Retail multipliers have decreased by approximately 20%, providing some relief to the high street. However, the overall tax burden remains constant at £33 billion—it's simply being redistributed across different sectors.

Critical Deadline: 31st March 2026

This date represents a crucial opportunity for both landlords and tenants:

For Landlords: If you own unoccupied properties or buildings that have undergone redevelopment in the last 3 years, you have until 31st March 2026 to delete these properties from the previous rating list retrospectively. This could result in significant refunds for rates paid on empty or redeveloped properties.

For Tenants: You must challenge your current rate bills before this deadline to qualify for backdated refunds. Any successful challenge will be backdated to 1st April 2023 (or your occupation date if later), potentially recovering three years' worth of overpayments.

What You Should Do Now

Check Your Rateable Value: Compare your RV against your actual rent. If your RV is higher than your rent and even your neighbour’s rent, this indicates a potential overvaluation and grounds for appeal.

Review Property Changes: Have you refurbished your property, vacated part of it temporarily, or mothballed sections? These circumstances can all reduce your rates liability.

Consider External Factors: Building works next door causing disruption? This could also be grounds for a reduction.

Act Before April: Most ratepayers wait until the final quarter to challenge their assessments, but with only months remaining until the deadline, now is the time to review your position.

Understanding Your Bill

The key message for all ratepayers is simple: understand what you're paying and why. Your rent provides an imperfect but useful guideline for whether your rateable value is correct. Striking inconsistencies exist across the new list, with some properties increasing far more than expected while others have remained relatively stable.

With business rates representing a substantial occupational cost, taking time now to review your assessment could deliver significant savings. Whether you're a landlord with empty properties or a tenant questioning your valuation, the 31st March 2026 deadline is fast approaching—don't miss this opportunity to ensure you're paying the correct amount.