Business rates relief - pubs and music venues

The key elements are:

1. A 15% business rates relief for eligible pubs and live music venues in England for the 2026/27 financial year (no cap on relief provided)
2. Future years: Eligible properties’ bills will be frozen in real terms in 2027/28 and 2028/29. (Separate guidance will follow for those years)
3. Individual reliefs over £100,000 must be reported on the UK Subsidy Database

Eligibility:

•  Applies to occupied hereditaments used wholly or mainly as either of the following: 
  • A pub (open to the public, allow drinking without food, permit bar purchases, and generally operate as a pub)
  • A live music venue (primarily used for live music performances).

Exclusions:

• 'Pub' excludes restaurants, cafes, nightclubs, hotels, theatres, cinemas, casinos, for example
• Councils can exercise judgement where cases are unclear
• 'Live music venues'. Other uses must be ancillary or infrequent
• Excludes nightclubs and theatres (planning use classes)

How the relief is calculated:

• Calculated daily at 15% of the daily charge, after mandatory reliefs and certain other discretionary reliefs
• No cap on the value of relief

Subsidy control:

• Individual reliefs over £100,000 must be reported on the UK Subsidy Database

For more details on this relief, please visit Pubs and Live Music Venues Relief (GOV.UK)

Should you believe you qualify for this relief, and it has not been applied, please contact our Business rates team

Last updated: 05/03/2026 11:54