# Your Business Rates Bill Changed in April 2026: What Happened, and What You Can Still Do

> Two separate changes hit English hospitality business rates bills on the same day, 1 April 2026, and most coverage runs them together. Here is what actually moved your number, why pubs got help that restaurants and cafes did not, and the worked numbers for a small venue in each position.

- Author: Alex Riesenkampff (Super44)
- Published: 2026-08-14
- Canonical: https://super44.ai/blog/business-rates-hospitality-2026

## Key takeaways

- Two separate changes hit English business rates on 1 April 2026: the 40% Retail, Hospitality and Leisure (RHL) relief ended, replaced by a permanently lower multiplier (38.2p for small RHL properties under £51,000 rateable value), and the 2026 revaluation repriced every property off April 2024 rents.
- Pubs and live music venues get a further 15% relief on top of the new multiplier for 2026-27, rising to a combined discount from April 2027 (GOV.UK). Restaurants, cafes, hotels and shops get the lower multiplier but none of that extra relief.
- A transitional-relief cap limits how much any bill can rise in year one regardless of the new rateable value: 5% for a rateable value up to £20,000, 15% for £20,001 to £100,000, 30% above that, before other reliefs are applied.
- As of 30 June 2026 (published 6 August 2026), the Valuation Office had 35,210 outstanding Challenges and 12,040 outstanding Checks still unresolved from the old rating list, with 13,710 more Checks already filed against the new one in its first quarter alone.
- A further 20% rates cut for pubs, clubs and live music venues lands from April 2027, but as of 13 August 2026 hoteliers and restaurateurs were still publicly asking why the relief stops at those three categories.

If your business rates bill jumped in April 2026, two different things happened to you at once, not one, and almost every guide written for an operator runs them together. **The 40% relief that had discounted hospitality rates bills since the pandemic ended on 31 March 2026, replaced by a permanently lower tax rate rather than a renewable discount, and the 2026 revaluation took effect the same day, repricing every property's rateable value off 2024 rents.** This piece is England only: business rates are devolved, and Scotland and Wales run separate systems on separate timetables. Untangling the two English changes, and what each one is actually worth to a small venue, is the whole job here.

## Two changes, one bill

**The Retail, Hospitality and Leisure relief that discounted eligible bills by 40% in 2025-26, capped at £110,000 per business, ended on 31 March 2026 and has no 2026-27 successor scheme.** In its place, England now has a permanently lower multiplier for RHL-eligible properties: 38.2p for those with a rateable value under £51,000, and 43.0p for £51,000 to £499,999, against 43.2p and 48.0p for non-RHL properties in the same bands, and 50.8p for anything valued at £500,000 or more. GOV.UK's own guidance calls this "permanently lower tax rates," legislated through the Non-Domestic Rating (Multipliers and Private Schools) Act 2025, not a discretionary relief an operator has to keep reapplying for.

**England's business rates multipliers, 2026-27**

| Band | Rateable value | Multiplier |
| --- | --- | --- |
| RHL small business | Under £51,000 | 38.2p |
| RHL standard | £51,000-£499,999 | 43.0p |
| Non-RHL small business | Under £51,000 | 43.2p |
| Non-RHL standard | £51,000-£499,999 | 48.0p |
| High-value | £500,000 and above | 50.8p |

*Source: GOV.UK, '2/2026: Notification of Non-Domestic Rating Multipliers for 2026/27', published 10 February 2026. Most independent cafes, restaurants and bars fall in the small business band.*

Separately, and on the same date, the 2026 revaluation repriced every property's rateable value using April 2024 rents as the reference point, the "antecedent valuation date". For a hospitality property that traded through a post-pandemic recovery, that usually means a higher rateable value than the one set at the last revaluation. A lower multiplier applied to a higher rateable value is exactly why so many operators cannot tell, from the bill alone, which change actually moved their number.

## The worked example: a pub and a restaurant, side by side

Run the same style of calculation through a pub and a restaurant and the two changes stop looking like one story, because pubs get a third layer of help that restaurants do not. GOV.UK's own published example shows a pub with a rateable value rising from £30,000 to £39,000 at revaluation: in 2025-26 it paid £30,000 × 49.9p, minus 40% RHL relief, for a final bill of £8,982. In 2026-27, the notional bill at the new 38.2p multiplier would be £14,898, but the transitional-relief cap limits the rise to 15% of the prior bill, for a capped bill of £10,329, and the pub's own 15% sector relief (below) then reduces that to a final bill of about £8,780, a small fall despite a 30% jump in rateable value.

A restaurant with a comparable rateable value rise gets no equivalent third layer. Ryan, the property tax firm, modelled a restaurant moving from a rateable value of £39,945 to £45,372: its 2025-26 bill, after the 40% RHL relief, was £11,959.53; the notional 2026-27 figure at the new multiplier, with no relief applied on top, comes to £17,332.10, a stated rise of 44.9%. **That notional figure does not appear to include the transitional-relief cap that automatically limits any bill's rise in year one, so treat it as the uncapped ceiling, not the payable amount.** Applying the same capping mechanism that reduced the pub's bill above, a restaurant in this rateable-value band sits in the 15% medium-band cap, which would limit the actual payable 2026-27 bill to roughly £13,753, still a real 15% rise, but nothing like 44.9%. We could not confirm directly with Ryan whether its published modelling already reflects the cap, so both figures are given here, clearly labelled: 44.9% is the uncapped notional liability; 15% is our own calculation applying the standard transitional-relief mechanism to Ryan's own inputs.

**What your capped bill actually looks like** *(interactive scenario explorer in the web version)*

Example (What you paid in 2025-26: 9,000 £):

- **Small RV band (up to £20,000): 5% cap:** 9,450 £
- **Medium RV band (£20,001-£100,000): 15% cap:** 10,350 £

*Caps from Peterborough City Council's published 2026-27 transitional relief guidance (£28,000 in London, per Harrow Council), consistent with the standard England-wide scheme. Applies before any sector-specific relief (such as the pub relief below) or Small Business Rate Relief is layered on top.*

A small shop shows the same pattern: Ryan modelled a rateable value moving from £17,168 to £19,145, with its 2025-26 bill of £5,139.79 rising to a notional £7,313.39, or 42.3%. Applying the same 5% small-band cap used above, on Ryan's own 2025-26 figure, would hold the payable 2026-27 bill nearer £5,397, a 5% rise rather than 42.3%. The size of the actual rise is a function of your rateable-value band and, if you are a pub, your eligibility for sector relief, not a single national percentage anyone can quote you.

## Why pubs got help that restaurants and cafes did not

**GOV.UK's Pubs and Live Music Venues Relief gives eligible pubs and live music venues a further 15% off their 2026-27 bill, on top of the new multiplier, and it excludes restaurants, cafes, hotels, nightclubs, sporting venues, theatres and casinos by name.** To qualify as a pub under the scheme, a venue must be open to the general public, offer free entry except for occasional entertainment, let a guest buy a drink without requiring food, and serve drinks from a bar. A restaurant with a full bar and an a la carte menu does not qualify; neither does a hotel with a public bar attached. The distinction is mechanical, not about how "pub-like" a venue feels.

Alex Probyn, practice leader for Europe and Asia Pacific property tax at Ryan, told The Morning Advertiser on 1 April 2026 that the uptick had been driven by inflation, policy changes and the withdrawal of relief rather than the revaluation itself, which was designed to be revenue neutral. He added a direct caution that matters for the transitional-relief maths above: "Even with transitional caps in place, those increases will still compound and bills can more than double by the end of the cycle".

The relief for pubs is also growing. On top of the real-terms bill freeze for 2027/28 and 2028/29 announced alongside the 15% relief, a further 20% discount lands from April 2027, announced by Prime Minister Andy Burnham on 23 July 2026. GOV.UK estimates around 32,000 venues will benefit, saving a typical pub roughly £1,100 a year, funded partly by reviewing reliefs for "businesses that do not make a positive contribution to local communities," with vape shops named as an example. The scope stays exactly as narrow as before: pubs, clubs and live music venues, nothing else. As recently as 13 August 2026, trade press reported hoteliers and restaurateurs publicly questioning why the relief stops at those three categories rather than reaching the wider hospitality sector, ahead of the 28 October 2026 Autumn Budget. If you run a restaurant, cafe or hotel, that question is still open, and worth watching rather than assuming it will resolve in your favour.

Super44 connects to your POS and shows you where your money leaks — then tells you what to do about it: https://super44.ai

## Small Business Rate Relief still applies, on top

**Small Business Rate Relief is a separate, ongoing scheme that the RHL changes did not touch, and it stacks with whichever multiplier calculates your bill.** A single property with a rateable value of £12,000 or less gets 100% relief; that tapers down to nothing by £15,000. If you hold more than one property, the relief on your main site only survives if every other property has a rateable value not above £2,899 and the combined total across all of them stays under £20,000 (£28,000 in London). A small RHL-eligible cafe under that £15,000 threshold benefits from both the lower 38.2p multiplier and this relief on top, which is worth checking explicitly rather than assuming one covers the other.

**What to check this week**

- [ ] **Look up your new rateable value**: Use GOV.UK's "Find a business rates valuation" tool. Compare it against your 2025-26 figure to see how far it moved.
- [ ] **Work out which transitional-relief band you sit in**: Up to £20,000: 5% cap. £20,001 to £100,000: 15% cap. Above that: 30% cap. This limits your year-one rise before any other relief.
- [ ] **Check Small Business Rate Relief eligibility separately**: It is not automatic and is not the same scheme as RHL relief. Under £15,000 rateable value, it is worth confirming with your local authority.
- [ ] **Check pub or live music venue eligibility only if it genuinely applies**: Restaurants, cafes and hotels do not qualify, whatever the venue's atmosphere. Do not assume; check the exact GOV.UK criteria.
- [ ] **Only pursue a Check or Challenge if the gap looks material**: The decision guide below covers when the wait and the risk are worth it.

*None of this requires a paid rates specialist to get through in an afternoon.*

## Should you Check, Challenge, Appeal?

**A challenge can lower your rateable value, but the Valuation Office's own statistics show a real backlog, and a challenge is not risk-free.** One industry report of Valuation Office figures put the success rate for Challenges at around 57%, but the process is not fast. As of 30 June 2026, the most recent data published (on 6 August 2026), the Valuation Office had 35,210 outstanding Challenges and 12,040 outstanding Checks still unresolved from the previous rating list, and a further 13,710 new Checks had already been filed against the 2026 list in its first quarter alone. The statutory deadline to clear a Challenge is 18 months, and that is the ceiling, not the typical wait.

**Is Check, Challenge, Appeal worth pursuing right now?**

*Source: GOV.UK non-domestic rating statistics (6 August 2026) and ABC Money reporting Valuation Office figures (7 June 2026)*

- **Supported:** A meaningful majority of Challenges succeed in lowering the rateable value, and the process is free to run yourself directly through GOV.UK, without paying an agent.
- **Worth weighing first:** The Valuation Office had over 47,000 outstanding Checks and Challenges as of June 2026, with volumes rising sharply after the new rating list opened, so a realistic wait is measured in months, sometimes into the 18-month statutory ceiling. A challenge can also confirm or raise a rateable value, not only lower it.

Joe Cussens, former managing director of The Bath Pub Company, has written to the Treasury Select Committee to challenge how the Valuation Office calculates a pub's rateable value in the first place. He told trade title The Morning Advertiser in January 2026: "The omission of how fair maintainable trade is actually derived is fundamental. In practice, pubs' real trading figures end up driving their rateable value, despite claims this is only a starting point". He points to a pattern worth knowing before you challenge: "There is a consistent correlation between jumps in trade and jumps in rateable value. If trade recovers, the tax bill follows, regardless of whether profitability has". A Valuation Office spokesperson responded to the same methodology question, in the same article: "FMT is informed by the actual turnover. However, we will always take individual facts into account and make adjustments where there is evidence to do so".

**Is a Check or Challenge worth your time right now?** *(interactive decision helper in the web version)*

**Possible routes:**
- **How does your new rateable value compare with a similar nearby venue, or with what you would genuinely expect? — It looks clearly out of line, and I have specific evidence why:** A Challenge is worth filing. Specific, comparable evidence is what actually moves a rateable value; a vague sense that it is too high rarely does. Next move: File directly through GOV.UK rather than paying an upfront fee to an agent, and be ready for a wait measured in months.
- **How does your new rateable value compare with a similar nearby venue, or with what you would genuinely expect? — It feels high, but I am not sure, and I have not compared it to anything:** Start with a free Check, not a paid agent. A Check confirms the facts the Valuation Office holds about your property before you commit to a full Challenge. Next move: Run the free Check yourself first; only escalate to a Challenge if the Check turns up a genuine factual error.
- **How does your new rateable value compare with a similar nearby venue, or with what you would genuinely expect? — It roughly matches what I expected given trade and the local market:** Leave it, and revisit at the next revaluation. A challenge without a specific case can waste months chasing a rateable value that gets confirmed, or occasionally raised. Next move: Focus your time on confirming Small Business Rate Relief eligibility with your local authority and checking the automatically applied transitional-relief cap instead.

If you do decide to get help, be wary of who you pay. The Valuation Office itself warns operators to watch for agents who pressure a quick decision or signature, who claim you are owed "unclaimed credits," who imply they represent the Valuation Office, or who demand a large payment upfront. None of those are how a legitimate Check or Challenge works.

## Where Super44 fits

**Super44 does not file rates challenges or replace a rating surveyor, but it can read a venue's connected accounts and flag when a cost like a rates bill has moved sharply enough to be worth a closer look, in plain language, without the operator having to spot the pattern in a spreadsheet first.** For the wider set of cost pressures landing on UK hospitality in the same window, our [guide to the Growth Guarantee Scheme](/blog/uk-growth-guarantee-scheme) covers government-backed financing for a venue weighing a refit or a working-capital gap against rising fixed costs. Our [guide to setting up a tronc scheme](/blog/uk-tronc-scheme-guide) covers the other major 2026 change to how tips and payroll costs interact. Our [guide to Martyn's Law](/blog/martyns-law-hospitality) covers a different kind of 2026-27 obligation, the counter-terrorism preparedness duty, and whether your venue's capacity actually brings it into scope. Our [guide to music licensing](/blog/ppl-prs-music-licence) covers a smaller but recurring fixed cost most venues also owe, what PPL PRS actually charges once background music, live acts or a jukebox are counted properly.

## FAQ

### Do the April 2026 business rates changes apply across the whole UK?

No. Business rates are devolved, and this article covers England only. The multiplier structure, the Retail, Hospitality and Leisure relief, the 2026 revaluation timetable and the pub relief scheme described here are all England-specific. Scotland runs its own poundage and Small Business Bonus Scheme, and Wales runs its own multiplier and relief rules, on different timetables. Do not apply any figure in this piece to a Scottish or Welsh venue.

### Why did my business rates bill go up in April 2026?

Almost certainly two things at once. The 40% Retail, Hospitality and Leisure relief that had been discounting bills since the pandemic ended on 31 March 2026, replaced by a permanently lower tax rate rather than a renewable discount. On the same day, the 2026 revaluation took effect, repricing every property's rateable value off April 2024 rents, which for most hospitality properties meant an increase reflecting post-pandemic rental recovery. Losing the old relief and gaining a higher rateable value can land in the same bill and look like one change when it is two.

### Does the new lower multiplier make up for losing the 40% relief?

It depends heavily on venue type and how much your rateable value moved, not on a single UK-wide answer. Our worked examples below show a pub roughly flat to slightly better off once its sector-specific relief is included, and a restaurant facing a real rise even after the transitional-relief cap, because restaurants get the lower multiplier but none of the extra relief pubs get.

### Do pubs get help with business rates that restaurants and cafes do not?

Yes. GOV.UK's Pubs and Live Music Venues Relief gives eligible pubs and live music venues a further 15% off their 2026-27 bill, on top of the new multiplier, with a further 20% cut announced for April 2027. Eligibility is narrow and excludes restaurants, cafes, hotels, nightclubs, sporting venues, theatres and casinos by name. A venue where guests can only buy drinks alongside a meal, not standing at a bar, will not qualify.

### Is it worth challenging my rateable value?

Only if the potential saving clearly outweighs the wait and the risk. A recent industry-reported estimate put the success rate for Valuation Office challenges at around 57%, but the Valuation Office's own statistics show a genuine backlog, and a challenge can result in your rateable value being confirmed or raised as well as lowered. Our decision guide below walks through when it is worth pursuing.

### What is Small Business Rate Relief, and does it still apply?

Small Business Rate Relief is a separate, ongoing scheme, unaffected by the RHL relief ending. A single property with a rateable value of £12,000 or less gets 100% relief, tapering to nothing at £15,000. It applies on top of whichever multiplier your bill is calculated under, so an eligible small RHL property benefits from both the lower multiplier and this relief.

## Sources

1. [GOV.UK: 2/2026: Notification of Non-Domestic Rating Multipliers for 2026/27](https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/22026-notification-of-non-domestic-rating-multipliers-for-202627/22026-notification-of-non-domestic-rating-multipliers-for-202627) — Published 10 February 2026. Confirms the five 2026-27 multipliers: RHL small business 38.2p, RHL standard 43.0p, non-RHL small business 43.2p, non-RHL standard 48.0p, high-value 50.8p.
2. [GOV.UK: Business rates multipliers: qualifying Retail, Hospitality or Leisure](https://www.gov.uk/guidance/business-rates-multipliers-qualifying-retail-hospitality-or-leisure) — Last updated 30 March 2026. Explains which properties qualify for the RHL multiplier band.
3. [GOV.UK: 01/2025: Publication of Business Rates Relief Information](https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/012025-publication-of-business-rates-relief-information/012025-publication-of-business-rates-relief-information) — Published 19 February 2025. Confirms the 2025-26 multipliers used in the worked examples: small business 49.9p, standard 55.5p.
4. [GOV.UK: Business Rates Relief: 2025/26 Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Scheme](https://www.gov.uk/guidance/business-rates-relief-202526-retail-hospitality-and-leisure-scheme) — 40% relief, capped at £110,000 per business, for 2025-26, the final year before the scheme was replaced by the permanent multiplier structure. States it was "interim support until the introduction of the permanently lower tax rates for RHL properties."
5. [VOA: Revaluation 2026 – everything you need to know](https://valuationoffice.blog.gov.uk/2025/09/29/revaluation-2026-everything-you-need-to-know/) — Published 29 September 2025. Confirms the antecedent valuation date of 1 April 2024 for the 2026 revaluation.
6. [GOV.UK: Business Rates Relief: 2026 Supporting Small Business Relief, local authority guidance](https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/business-rates-relief-2026-supporting-small-business-relief-local-authority-guidance/business-rates-relief-2026-supporting-small-business-relief-local-authority-guidance) — Published 26 May 2026. Caps bill increases at £800/year or the transitional relief cap, whichever is greater, for properties losing SBRR, Rural Rate Relief or the 40% RHL relief at revaluation, running 2026/27 to 2028/29.
7. [Peterborough City Council: Changes to Business Rates from April 2026](https://www.peterborough.gov.uk/business-rates/changes-to-business-rates-multipliers) — Local-authority guidance (non-London) stating the 2026-27 year-one upward transitional-relief caps: 5% for rateable value up to £20,000, 15% for £20,001-£100,000, 30% above that. Harrow Council (https://www.harrow.gov.uk/business-rates/transitional-relief) states the equivalent London small-business threshold of £28,000.
8. [GOV.UK: Business rates relief: Small business rate relief](https://www.gov.uk/apply-for-business-rate-relief/small-business-rate-relief) — Current guidance. 100% relief at rateable value £12,000 or less, tapering to 0% at £15,000; multiple-property rules require every other property not above £2,899 rateable value and a combined total under £20,000 (£28,000 in London).
9. [GOV.UK: 1/2026: Pubs and live music venues relief 2026 to 2027](https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/12026-pubs-and-live-music-venues-relief-2026-to-2027/12026-pubs-and-live-music-venues-relief-2026-to-2027) — Published 27 January 2026. 15% relief for 2026-27, s.47 discretionary, occupied properties only. Eligibility excludes restaurants, cafes, nightclubs, hotels, sporting venues, theatres, cinemas and casinos by name.
10. [GOV.UK: Pubs and live music venues relief (news story with worked example)](https://www.gov.uk/government/news/pubs-and-live-music-venues-relief) — Published 27 January 2026. Source of the worked pub example in the body: rateable value £30,000 to £39,000, 2025-26 bill £8,982, capped and relieved 2026-27 bill around £8,780.
11. [GOV.UK: Burnham means business: PM slashes business rates bills for pubs, clubs and live music venues](https://www.gov.uk/government/news/burnham-means-business-pm-slashes-business-rates-bills-for-pubs-clubs-and-live-music-venues) — Published 23 July 2026. Announces a further 20% discount from April 2027 for pubs, clubs and live music venues, England only, alongside quotes from PM Andy Burnham and Chancellor John Healey.
12. [CLH News: Burnham Signals Fresh Business Rates Relief for Hospitality Ahead of Budget](https://catererlicensee.com/burnham-signals-fresh-business-rates-relief-for-hospitality-ahead-of-budget/) — Published 13 August 2026. Reports hoteliers and restaurateurs questioning why relief is limited to pubs, clubs and live music venues rather than the broader hospitality sector, ahead of the 28 October 2026 Autumn Budget.
13. [GOV.UK: Non-domestic rating: challenges and changes statistical commentary](https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/non-domestic-rating-challenges-and-changes-2023-and-2026-rating-lists-june-2026/non-domestic-rating-challenges-and-changes-statistical-commentary) — Published 6 August 2026, data as of 30 June 2026. 35,210 outstanding Challenges and 12,040 outstanding Checks on the 2023 list; 13,710 new Checks and 1,340 new Challenges registered against the 2026 list in Q2 2026 alone. States an 18-month statutory deadline to clear a Challenge.
14. [ABC Money: Business rates appeal - 57% of challengers secure a reduction](https://www.abcmoney.co.uk/2026/06/business-rates-appeal-57-of-challengers-secure-a-reduction) — Published 7 June 2026. Reports Valuation Office statistics that 57% of Challenges result in a reduction, and that appeals can occasionally result in a higher bill.
15. [Morning Advertiser: Former operator challenges VOA over pub rates methodology](https://www.morningadvertiser.co.uk/Article/2026/01/23/former-operator-challenges-voa-over-pub-rates-methodology/) — Published 23 January 2026. Source of the Joe Cussens quotes and the VOA spokesperson response on fair maintainable trade methodology.
16. [Morning Advertiser: Business rates set to rise by £3.4bn as revaluation takes effect](https://www.morningadvertiser.co.uk/Article/2026/04/01/business-rates-set-to-rise-by-34bn-as-revaluation-takes-effect/) — Published 1 April 2026. Source of the Alex Probyn (Ryan) quotes.
17. [CLH News: £420m Cut in Support as Pubs and Restaurants Face 40%-65% Business Rates Rise](https://catererlicensee.com/420m-cut-in-support-as-pubs-and-restaurants-face-40-65-business-rates-rise/) — Published 27 November 2025. Ryan modelling behind the restaurant and small-shop worked examples: restaurant rateable value £39,945 to £45,372, notional bill £11,959.53 to £17,332.10; shop rateable value £17,168 to £19,145, notional bill £5,139.79 to £7,313.39. These are pre-transitional-relief notional figures; see the worked example note in the body.
18. [The Caterer: Hospitality businesses face "eye-watering" hike to business rates bills](https://www.thecaterer.com/news/hospitality-businesses-face-eye-watering-hike-to-business-rates-bills) — Published 1 December 2025. Named operator example (Brian Whiting, who owns five gastropubs in Kent; three of them see a combined £70,000 annual rise) and Whitbread rates-bill context.
19. [UKHospitality: Business rates - hospitality and the 2026 revaluation](https://www.ukhospitality.org.uk/business-rates-hospitality-and-the-2026-revaluation/) — States plainly that "any benefits of a lower multiplier could be negated by large increases in rateable value." Publication date not shown on the page.
20. [GOV.UK: Warning of false claims](https://www.gov.uk/government/news/warning-of-false-claims) — VOA guidance on rogue agent red flags: pressuring a quick decision or signature, claiming "unclaimed credits," claiming to represent the VOA, or demanding large sums of money up front.