Changes to your property

Change of Use

Self Catering Holiday Lets - From 1 April 2023 the qualifying criteria regarding holiday lets has changed. To be eligible for business rates your property must be:

• available and advertised for letting commercially for short periods that total 140 nights or more in the previous and current year;
• actually let commercially for 70 nights or more in the previous year.

Until your property meets all the above criteria, it will continue to be banded for Council Tax.

For more information, please read the Government guidance.

On the first day that your property meets all the criteria noted above, it will be eligible for transfer to Business Rates. To request this change please complete a Form of Return and email it to the Valuation Office Agency at specialist.rating@voa.gov.uk.

If your property became a holiday let before the 1^st April 2023, please also use the process above.

If your property has changed from a domestic-banded property to any other type of business-rated property, please use the form below to tell us.

Tell us about a change of use

If you are changing the use of your property you should continue to pay as per your latest demand notice (bill). Once the change has been completed, any payments made will be transferred to the correct account.

Examples include:

• A property which was previously a second home and is now a holiday let.
• A domestic property which has been fully converted to a shop or other business, and no one now lives there.

Split or Merge a Property

If your property has been split into two or more elements (domestic or business), they may need to be re-assessed for Council Tax or Business Rates to reflect this. 

This is also the case if you have merged two or more properties together to create or occupy them as one.

If you are changing the layout of your property you should continue to pay as per your latest demand notice (bill). If a change to the assessment is required, any payments made will be allocated to the correct account.

Examples include:

• A property where part of the home has been converted into a personal care business, such as a salon or nail business.
• An annexe which has had physical alterations to merge it with the main dwelling.

If you do need to split or merge your property, please use the form below to tell us about the changes:

Split or merge your property

How do I know if I need to pay Business Rates on my home?

You do not usually have to pay Business Rates for home-based businesses if you:

• use a small part of your home for your business, for example if you use a bedroom as an office
• sell goods by post

You may need to pay Business Rates as well as Council Tax if:

• your property is part business and part domestic, for example if you live above your shop
• you sell goods or services to people who visit your property
• you employ other people to work at your property
• you've made changes to your home for your business, for example converted a garage to a salon

Contact the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) to find out if you should be paying Business Rates.