Charities are entitled to business rate reductions on
any non-domestic property they use wholly or mainly for charitable
purposes.
If you are one of the following occupiers of a non-domestic
property you are entitled to an 80% reduction known as mandatory
relief:
- A charity or trustee of a charity whose property is used wholly
or mainly for charitable purposes
- An organisation which is not a registered charity but has
charitable objectives - a copy of your articles of association
or constitution must be provided to support such cases
- A charity which property is used wholly or mainly for
the sale of goods donated to the charity with the proceeds, after
deductions for expenses, applied for the purposes of the
charity
In these cases, the organisation will pay 20% of their
total business rates bill. However, we have the power to award
additional relief known as discretionary relief.
This applies not only to charities but also to the following
organisations:
- Non-profit making organisations which main objectives are
charitable, philanthropic, religious or concerned with education,
social welfare, science, literature or the fine arts
- Non-profit making organisations occupying premises wholly or
mainly for the purposes of recreation
- Organisations entitled to mandatory relief
All applications are considered on an individual basis, but each
organisation should:
- Have an open membership policy
- Provide facilities for disadvantaged groups such as disabled
people, the unemployed or elderly
- Provide facilities for non-members such as schools
- Provide these facilities by self help or through grants
- Provide facilities complementary to those provided by ourselves
or relieve our need to provide such facilities
- Provide facilities, in the main, for the benefit of North
Somerset residents
However, rate relief may still be granted if an
organisation is capable of supporting itself financially without
the need of our assistance. Income and expenditure will be taken
into account when awarding relief in these cases.
Additional criteria apply for sporting clubs where more than
50% of its membership should be active playing members.
Generally, no reductions in rates will be given where a high level
of admission fee is charged to the public or where a club is a
professional or semi-professional organisation.
In the cases of clubs with bar facilities, organisations would have
to demonstrate that the bar is incidental to the main purpose of
the organisation.
Consideration will be given to organisations affiliated to local or
national organisations where participation in local and national
events publicises and promotes North Somerset.
To apply for mandatory or discretionary rate relief please
complete our application for mandatory / discretionary relief form.
Any problem please contact our
Customer
Services.
An application for rate relief should be made immediately even
if the Government’s
Valuation Office Agency (VOA) has
not assessed a rateable value for your property.
In support of your mandatory relief application (for charities) you
will need to provide proof of your charitable status.
In support of your discretionary relief application (for
non-profit organisations) you will need to provide:
- Your articles of association
- Your constitution or organisation's rules
- Copies of your last annual report
- Audited accounts - If these are not available then financial
statements prepared by an appropriate officer from your
organisation
Applicants will be advised of the outcome of their applications
at the earliest opportunity.
Applications decided before 30 September can have relief awarded
for both the current and previous financial years where
appropriate.
However, an application will only be determined for the previous
financial year if we receive the application and full supporting
information by 31 August.
In the cases where applications are determined after 30 September
rate relief can only be awarded from 1 April in the current
financial year or a later date where appropriate.
