Here is the relevant extract from today's Pre-Budget Report:
The Government is temporarily increasing the threshold at which an empty
property becomes liable for business rates. For financial year 2009-10, empty properties
with a rateable value of less than £15,000 will be exempt from business rates, exempting
an estimated 70 per cent of empty properties. This one year relief for lower-value properties
is best targeted at helping small businesses manage short-term pressures due to difficult
property market conditions.
If you won't benefit from today's announcement then you should consider other ways of avoiding business rates on empty property
Better than any temporary giveaway by the Government though is the free lease review service offered by Cousins Business Law to both landlords and tenants
Steven Petty, Commercial Property Lawyer
**See updated empty property relief threshold for 2011 here**
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