Business Rates Revaluation 2026

The 2026 business rates revaluation came into effect on 1 April 2026, updating rateable values for all commercial properties in England and Wales for the first time since 2023. At the same time, the government introduced a new five-multiplier system, replacing the previous two-multiplier structure. This is a significant change that affects how your business rates bill is calculated and presents an important opportunity to challenge your rateable value if it has been set incorrectly.

The reality of revaluation is that winners and losers emerge. Some businesses will see their bills rise because the rental market evidence at the Antecedent Valuation Date (1 April 2024) shows higher rents in their area. Others will see bills fall. However, even those with reduced rateable values should check whether their new RV is still accurate — the VOA does not always get it right first time, and challenging an undervalued-but-still-too-high rateable value is worthwhile. The new multiplier system also means the relationship between your rateable value and your bill has changed, which can make reductions even more valuable than in previous cycles.

What is a business rates revaluation?

A business rates revaluation is a comprehensive reset of rateable values across all commercial property in England and Wales. Rather than adjusting individual properties year by year, the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) periodically reassesses all properties based on rental market evidence at a set date — called the Antecedent Valuation Date (AVD). This ensures that rateable values stay in line with the market and that the tax burden is distributed fairly across all businesses.

Revaluations happen on a five-year cycle. The 2026 revaluation is based on rental market evidence as it stood on 1 April 2024. The previous revaluation, in 2023, used an AVD of 1 April 2021. Between those two dates, commercial rents moved in different directions across the country. In some areas — particularly central London, tech corridors, and logistics/industrial properties — rents rose sharply. In others, particularly struggling retail high streets, rents fell.

The VOA's job is to value each property as if it were let on the open market at the AVD. To do this, they use comparable evidence: if a similar property nearby was let at a certain rent, they use that to inform the rateable value of your property. In theory, this keeps the system fair. In practice, the VOA does not always have perfect evidence, or may overvalue or undervalue a property through error or interpretation. This is why challenging your rateable value is important — even after a revaluation has been set.

The new five-multiplier system

One of the most significant changes alongside the 2026 revaluation is the introduction of a new five-multiplier system. The previous system, in place since 2020, had just two multipliers: a small business multiplier (roughly 49.9p in the pound) and a standard multiplier (roughly 55.5p). This system was widely criticised for failing to reflect the very different circumstances of different sectors and property sizes.

The new system introduces five distinct multipliers, designed to provide targeted relief to smaller businesses and to recognise the particular pressures on retail, hospitality, and leisure properties. Here is how the new multipliers work:

RHL stands for Retail, Hospitality, and Leisure — a category that includes shops, pubs, restaurants, hotels, and other properties in these sectors. These businesses have faced particularly difficult trading conditions in recent years, and the new system provides them with significantly lower multipliers. A pub with a rateable value of £75,000, for example, will now pay 43.0p in the pound rather than roughly 55.5p under the old system — a substantial saving before even considering any change in the rateable value itself.

Who is most affected by the 2026 revaluation?

The impact of the 2026 revaluation is uneven across the country and across different property types. Several groups face particular pressure or opportunity:

Properties in high-growth areas: London, particularly in tech corridors like King's Cross and Old Street, saw significant rent increases between 2021 and 2024. Similarly, logistics and industrial properties, especially near major distribution hubs and motorway junctions, benefited from e-commerce demand. Suburban office properties, particularly in commutable distance of London, also saw rents rise. Properties in these categories are likely to have experienced rateable value increases.

Retail properties on struggling high streets: High street retail continued to face headwinds during the AVD period. Many shops have seen rents fall, and their rateable values should reflect this. However, the extent of falls varies by location — a shop on a thriving town centre high street may have maintained its rent, while an equivalent shop on a declining high street may have seen rent fall significantly.

Hospitality: The pub and restaurant sector has shown mixed results. Pubs in rural areas and affluent suburbs have often thrived, while city centre establishments have struggled as office working became more flexible and tourism remained volatile. Hotels have seen varied trading conditions depending on location. The new RHL multipliers will help all hospitality businesses, but those with rising rateable values may still face higher bills overall.

Properties with incorrect VOA valuation: In any revaluation cycle, some properties are valued incorrectly. The VOA may use the wrong floor area, overlook physical defects, or apply incorrect comparable evidence. If your property has been in the same use for many years and your lease rent is substantially below the implied rental value in your rateable value, it is a sign that the VOA may have overvalued you.

How to check your new rateable value

The first step in understanding how the 2026 revaluation affects you is to find your new rateable value. The Valuation Office Agency publishes all rateable values online, and they are publicly available.

Go to gov.uk/find-business-rates and enter your postcode. You will be presented with a list of properties in that postcode. Select your property from the list. The page will show your current rateable value (from 1 April 2026 onwards) and will typically also show your previous rateable value for reference. You can see when the last revaluation took effect and any rating list history for your property.

Once you have your rateable value, do a sanity check. Look up the rateable values of comparable properties nearby on the same website. If your RV is significantly higher per square foot than similar properties, or if you know your actual rent is lower than the implied rental value in your RV, make a note of it. These are the first signs that you may have grounds to challenge.

You can also work backwards from your bill. Your business rates bill will show your rateable value and which multiplier has been applied. Divide your annual bill by your rateable value to check the multiplier — it should match one of the five new rates published by the government. If it does not, contact your local authority as there may be an error.

Transitional relief — capping the increase

To prevent bills from rising too sharply in a single year, the government has introduced transitional relief for the 2026 revaluation. This is a temporary measure that caps both increases and decreases in business rates bills over a number of years.

For properties that should pay more as a result of the revaluation, transitional relief caps how much the increase can be in any single year. The government sets these caps annually, but they typically allow an increase of between 10% and 20% per year, depending on the size of the revaluation increase. For a property that should increase from £50,000 to £80,000 per year, for example, the increase might be spread over three years rather than applied immediately. This gives businesses time to adjust to higher bills.

Conversely, for properties that should pay less, transitional relief also caps how quickly the reduction is applied. This prevents businesses that were previously overpaying from suddenly receiving large refunds, and ensures a degree of stability in local authority revenue.

Transitional relief is not optional — it is applied automatically by local authorities. However, it is temporary. Over a period of several years (typically 5–10 years), bills gradually converge to their true level as transitional relief is phased out. This means that any property on transitional relief will eventually pay (or receive a refund matching) the full impact of the revaluation.

Should you challenge your 2026 rateable value?

Whether you should challenge your 2026 rateable value depends on the evidence. You do not have to challenge simply because your bill has increased — revaluations can justifiably result in higher bills if the rental market in your area has moved up. However, there are clear signs that your RV may be too high and worth challenging:

Your RV is high compared to similar properties: If nearby properties with similar size, condition, and location have lower rateable values per square foot, or if the implied rent in your RV is significantly higher than comparable properties' implied rents, you may have a case.

Your actual lease rent is lower than the implied rental value: If you let the property on a lease, the rent you actually pay is strong evidence. If your rateable value implies a rent of £100,000 per year, but you are actually paying £70,000, the VOA has overvalued you.

The VOA has used the wrong floor area: Valuation errors sometimes include incorrect floor areas. If you know your floor area differs from what the VOA has recorded, this is grounds for a challenge.

Physical defects or features reduce value: Poor access, shared facilities, structural condition, lack of parking, or other physical characteristics may not be fully reflected in your rateable value. If your property has notable defects compared to comparable properties that are reflected in lower rents, challenge.

Recent changes to your property: If your property has undergone significant refurbishment or has deteriorated significantly since the AVD (1 April 2024), these changes are not reflected in the revaluation and you may have grounds for a reduction.

The process for challenging is called Check, Challenge, Appeal. You start by submitting a Check through the VOA portal, setting out the reasons you believe your rateable value is incorrect. This is free. If the VOA does not agree, you can proceed to a Challenge, which involves submitting more detailed evidence. If you remain in disagreement, you can ultimately appeal to the independent Valuation Tribunal. Many businesses work with specialist rating consultants on a no win no fee basis, which removes the financial risk of challenging.

Timing matters: The sooner you submit your Check, the further back any successful reduction is backdated. If you challenge in April 2026 and are successful in reducing your RV, the reduction typically applies from 1 April 2026. If you wait until 2027 to challenge, your reduction will be backdated to 1 April 2027, losing you a year of potential savings. Acting quickly is valuable.