You may be eligible for improvement relief if you make certain improvements to your property. If you are eligible for the relief, you will get the relief for one year, this begins from the date your improvement works are completed. 

Eligibility criteria

Any improvements you make must:

• increase the ‘rateable value’ of your property
• be completed on or after 1 April 2024

They must also either:

• increase the size of your property
• add new features or equipment to your property, such as heating, air conditioning or CCTV

Any improvements to existing features or equipment do not qualify.

You must have occupied the property during and after the improvement works to get improvement relief. You cannot pass on your improvement relief to anybody else.

How to get improvement relief

We recommend that you report the qualifying changes to your property to the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) using your business rates valuation account.

The VOA will decide if the changes could be considered for improvement relief. They will send a certificate to you and your council showing:

• how the improvement affects the property’s rateable value
• when the relief ends

Once your local council has confirmed you were occupying the property for the duration of the improvements, they will:

• decide how much improvement relief you are entitled to
• send you a reduced rates bill

If you think you should be getting improvement relief but are not, or think that the relief amount is wrong, contact our team by email businessrates@lbbd.gov.uk or telephone 020 8227 2934.