Relief

You may be able to get a full relief on your business rates for 1 year if your business is moving into a long-term empty property (a property that was empty for at least 6 months before you moved in). This is through ‘Fresh Start Relief’.

You could get relief through Fresh Start Relief if you meet all these criteria:

• you moved into the property on or after 1 April 2018 and the property had been empty for at least 6 months
• the property has a rateable value of £100,000 or less
• the property you’re applying for is actively occupied.

These property categories are ineligible for Fresh Start Relief from 1 April 2026:

• accommodation of 1 or more advertisements
• provision of facilities for betting
• payday lending
• those that require a short-term let licence but have not obtained one
• some deer forests and shootings.

To apply, you’ll need:

• business rates reference number (find it at the top of your most recent bill), unless you’re a new ratepayer
• valuation reference number, if you have one
• your business’s rateable value.

Your business rates reference number is 11 digits long and begins with a 5, 6, or 8. You can find it on your most recent business rates bill.

Find your valuation reference number and your business’s rateable value by searching for your business’s postcode on the Scottish Assessors’ Association website.

If you need help with your application, you can either:

• contact us online
• phone us on 0300 300 0202.

Apply for business rates relief for businesses moving into long-term empty properties

We'll let you know of our decision by email.

You should continue to pay your business rates bill as normal until you’ve received an updated bill.

You can get a full or partial relief on your business rates if your organisation provides certain services for people with disabilities.

You can get up to a 100% relief on your business rates if your organisation provides:

• residential accommodation for the care or aftercare of people who are ill
• training for people with disabilities
• welfare services or workshops for people with disabilities.

This relief is not available for properties used for:

• the administrative purposes of charities that support people with disabilities
• treatment, rather than aftercare, of people who are ill.

To apply, you’ll need your business rates account number.

Your business rates account number is 11 digits long and begins with a 5, 6, or 8. You can find it on your most recent business rates bill.

You’ll need to provide a plan or diagram of the layout of each floor in your property. You’ll need to list the purpose of each room so we can understand how you’re using the property.

If you’re an agent acting on behalf of the owner or tenant, you’ll also need to provide a copy of your agent’s declaration.

If you need help with your application, you can either:

• contact us online
• phone us on 0300 300 0202.

Apply for business rates relief for properties providing services for people with disabilities

We'll let you know of our decision by email.

You should continue to pay your business rates bill as normal until you’ve received an updated bill.

You can get a full relief on your business rates if your organisation is a day nursery.

You can get a 100% relief on your business rates if you use your property mainly or entirely as a nursery that also provides day care of children.

To apply, you’ll need your business rates account number.

Your business rates account number is 11 digits long and begins with a 5, 6, or 8. You can find it on your most recent business rates bill.

If you need help with your application, you can either:

• contact us online
• phone us on 0300 300 0202.

Attach your application to this online form

Send your application to:

Renfrewshire Council
Finance and Resources, Revenues Business Team
Cotton Street
Paisley
PA1 1AN

Fill in this PDF form

Then, send us your completed form using one of the methods below.

We'll let you know of our decision by email.

You should continue to pay your business rates bill as normal until you’ve received an updated bill.

You may be able to get a full or partial relief on your business rates if you’re a non-profit organisation.

This is different to business rates relief for registered charities and amateur sports clubs.

You can apply for up to 100% rates relief as long as your property is mostly used for non-profit purposes.

Your non-profit organisation’s objectives should be related to at least one of the following:

• philanthropy
• religion
• education
• social welfare
• science
• literature
• fine arts.

We may also give relief to sports clubs if their property is used mainly for recreation.

To apply, you’ll need your business rates account number.

Your business rates account number is 11 digits long and begins with a 5, 6, or 8. You can find it on your most recent business rates bill.

You’ll also need to include:

• a certified copy of your latest audited accounts
• a copy of your constitution and any rules of your organisation.

If you need help with your application, you can either:

• contact us online
• phone us on 0300 300 0202.

Attach your application to this online form

Print and send your application to:

Renfrewshire Council
Finance and Resources, Revenues Business Team
Cotton Street
Paisley
PA1 1AN

Fill in this PDF application form

Then, send us your completed form using one of the methods below.

We'll let you know of our decision by email.

You should continue to pay your business rates bill as normal until you’ve received an updated bill.

You may be able to get a full or partial relief on your business rates if you have a charity or amateur sports club.

Registered charities can apply for 80% rates relief if the property is used mostly for charitable purposes.

Registered amateur sports clubs can also apply for 80% relief if the property is used mostly by that club or other registered amateur sports clubs.

If you’re eligible for this relief, we may also decide to remove the remaining 20% of your bill in addition to the first 80%. So, you would not have to pay any business rates. We’ll let you know if this applies to you.

This relief is not available for mainstream independent schools.

To apply, you’ll need your business rates account number.

Your business rates account number is 11 digits long and begins with a 5, 6, or 8. You can find it on your most recent business rates bill.

If you’re a charity, you’ll need to provide either:

• your registered charity number
• an HM Revenue & Customs tax exemption certificate.

If you’re an amateur sports club, you’ll need to provide your community amateur sports club registration number.

If you need help with your application, you can either:

• contact us online
• phone us on 0300 300 0202.

Apply for business rates relief for charities and amateur sports clubs

We'll let you know of our decision by email.

You should continue to pay your business rates bill as normal until you’ve received an updated bill.

You may be able to get a full or partial relief on your business rates if your property is empty.

Standard commercial properties

If your standard commercial property is empty, you can get:

• 50% business rates relief for the first 3 months of being empty
• 10% relief after the first 3 months.

Industrial properties

If your industrial property is empty, you can get:

• 100% business rates relief for the first 6 months of being empty
• 10% relief after the first 6 months.

New-build properties

If your new-build property is empty, you can usually get 100% business rates relief for the first 12 months after the property becomes occupied or for 4 years after the date that the property was added to the valuation roll, whichever is sooner.

Partly occupied properties

If only part of your property is empty and another part is occupied, you may be able to get business rates relief on the empty portion of the property. The rate of relief depends on your specific circumstances, such as the building’s layout or which parts are occupied.

The start date for this relief is the later of these dates:

• when the part occupation began
• the start of the financial year in which you applied for relief.

The end date for this relief is the earliest of these dates:

• when the part occupation ended
• the end of the financial year in which you applied for relief.
• when the property becomes fully empty.

We may extend this relief into the following financial year, depending on your circumstances.

Other types of empty properties

You can get 10% business rates relief if the empty property meets any of these criteria:

• has a rateable value less than £1,700
• cannot be occupied by law
• is under a compulsory purchase order
• has no buildings on it (in other words, the property is just empty land)
• the owner is in administration or is subject to an administration order
• the owner is a company or partnership that is winding up (see ‘winding up’ on mygov.scot website).

To apply, you’ll need your business rates account number.

Your business rates account number is 11 digits long and begins with a 5, 6, or 8. You can find it on your most recent business rates bill.

You’ll also need to include details about when and why the property became empty.

If you need help with your application, you can either:

• contact us online
• phone us on 0300 300 0202.

Apply for relief for a standard commercial or industrial property

Apply for relief for a new-build property

Apply for relief for a partly occupied property

Apply for relief for another type of empty property

We'll let you know of our decision by email.

You should continue to pay your business rates bill as normal until you’ve received an updated bill.

You may be able to get a partial relief on your business rates if you have a hospitality, retail, or leisure business.

From 2026–27 to 2028–29, additional reliefs for eligible properties in the retail, hospitality, and leisure sectors are available:

• 15% relief for eligible properties liable for the basic or intermediate property rate (those with a rateable value up to and including £100,000), capped at £110,000 per business per year
• an additional 25% relief for eligible licensed hospitality and music venues, also liable for the basic or intermediate property rate, available for the same 3-year period.

Together, these reliefs will give eligible licensed hospitality premises and music venues a total of 40% relief for the next three years, capped at £110,000 per business per year.

If you’re already receiving 100% business rates relief for another reason (for example, through the Small Business Bonus Scheme), then there’s no need to apply for hospitality relief.

To apply, you’ll need:

• your business rates account number
• your company registration number.

Your business rates account number is 11 digits long and begins with a 5, 6, or 8. You can find it on your most recent business rates bill.

If you need help with your application, you can either:

• contact us online
• phone us on 0300 300 0202.

Apply for business rates relief for retail, hospitality, and leisure

We'll let you know of our decision by email.

You should continue to pay your business rates bill as normal until you’ve received an updated bill.

You may be able to get a full or partial relief on your business rates if you have a small business. This is through the Small Business Bonus Scheme.

The Small Business Bonus Scheme will continue with its current relief rates and thresholds for the next 3 years (as of April 2026), but several eligibility changes took place with effect from 1 April 2026. These changes apply to premises which require a short-term let licence and to those which relate to deer forests and shooting rights. Because of this, all affected ratepayers must make a new application for 2026–2027. Other existing exclusions – including payday lenders, advertisements, car parks, and betting shops – will also remain in place.

There are three types of relief for small businesses available.

If you have 1 business property

The relief you can get through the Small Business Bonus Scheme depends on your property’s rateable value.

If you have more than 1 business property

The relief you can get through the Small Business Bonus Scheme depends on the total, combined rateable value of all of your properties.

You must declare all business properties you own in Scotland on your application. Failure to do so may be considered fraud.

Small Business Transitional Relief

This relief limits the net rates bill increase in 2026–27 to 25% of what it would otherwise have been after all other applicable reliefs – including General Revaluation Transitional Relief – are applied. You must apply to get this relief.

You can get this relief if your property:

• received Small Business Bonus Scheme relief on 31 March 2026
• received Small Business Transitional Relief on 31 March 2026
• qualified for mandatory or discretionary Rural Relief on 31 March 2026 but lost eligibility from 1 April 2026 because the rateable value rose above the thresholds set out in the Non-Domestic Rating (Rural Areas and Rateable Value Limits) (Scotland) Order 2005 (as amended) (legislation.gov.uk website)
• received hospitality relief on 31 March 2026.

In 2027–28 and 2028–29, the relief will limit net bill increases to 50% and 75%, respectively.

You are not eligible for Small Business Transitional Relief if your property is required to hold a short-term let licence but does not have one.

You could get relief through the Small Business Bonus Scheme if:

• the combined rateable value of all your business properties is £35,000 or less
• the rateable values of individual properties are £20,000 or less
• the property you’re applying for is actively occupied.

The Small Business Bonus Scheme is not available to advertisements, car parks, betting shops, and payday lending businesses.

To apply, you’ll need:

• your business rates account number
• your company registration number.

Your business rates account number is 11 digits long and begins with a 5, 6, or 8. You can find it on your most recent business rates bill.

If you need help with your application, you can either:

• contact us online
• phone us on 0300 300 0202.

Apply for business rates relief for small businesses

We'll let you know of our decision by email.

You should continue to pay your business rates bill as normal until you’ve received an updated bill.

You could be eligible for a Discretionary Housing Payment (DHP) if you cannot cover your rent or housing costs because of the Benefit Cap.

The Benefit Cap is the limit on the total amount in benefits that most working-age people can claim. It applies to all the benefits your household gets.

The current benefit caps are:

• £423.46 per week if you're in a couple
• £423.46 per week if you're a single parent and your children live with you
• £283.71 per week if you're a single adult.

You can get the financial support if you: 

• are affected by the benefit cap
• cannot cover your rent or housing costs.

In your application, you'll need to tell us your:

• full name
• date of birth
• National Insurance (NI) number
• contact phone number
• email address.

We'll also need the bank or building society details to make the payment, including the:

• account holder's title and name
• sort code
• account number.

Apply for a Discretionary Housing Payment (DHP)

We'll send you a confirmation email with a case reference number.

We'll then check of the details you've provided and contact you if we need any more information. We aim to process your application within one month. 

If you're eligible, we'll let you know by email or letter that you'll get the Discretionary Housing Payment. 

We will pay it monthly directly to the bank account you have specified in your application form.

Ask us to review a decision

If we do not grant you a Discretionary Housing Payment, there is no right of appeal, but you can ask for the decision to be looked at again by a different Senior Assessor if you disagree with it. 

If you want to do this, write to the Benefits Service within 2 weeks of the date on the decision letter, stating why you think the decision is wrong. 

The postal address is:

Benefits Service
Renfrewshire Council
Renfrewshire House
Cotton Street
Paisley
PA1 1AD.

A Discretionary Housing Payment (DHP) is money to help if:

• you're temporarily struggling to pay your rent
• you do not have enough money to pay for a rental deposit, rent in advance or removal costs.

You do not have to pay a Discretionary Housing Payment back.

You cannot use a Discretionary Housing Payment:

• towards your Council Tax
• to pay for service charges not included in your rent
• if you do not have enough for rent because you're paying back an overpayment of Housing Benefit or Universal Credit housing costs.

You can only apply for a Discretionary Housing Payment if you:

• rent your home
• get Housing Benefit or the Housing Costs element of Universal Credit. These payments are not a type of housing benefit or Universal Credit housing cost.

They are extra payments made to help with housing costs like some or all of a rent shortfall over a few weeks or a new tenancy rent deposit.

If you get Housing Benefit or Universal Credit but it does not cover all your rent

If your Housing Benefit or Universal Credit housing costs are not enough to pay your rent temporarily, you could apply for a Discretionary Housing Payment. 

You could get a top-up for some or all of your housing benefit for a short-term period. 

If you have a non-dependant adult living with you

You may have a reduction in your Housing Benefit if someone who lives with you:

• is over 18
• is not in full time education
• is working
• claims benefits.

This is called a non-dependant deduction. 

If this means you temporarily cannot pay all of your rent, you could apply for a Discretionary Housing Payment. It could top-up some or all of your housing benefit for a short-term period.

If you need help with a deposit, rent advance or removal

You could get a Discretionary Housing Payment to help you move into a new home, if you can't pay one-off costs like a deposit, rent in advance or removal costs. 

If you're affected by the benefit cap

If the benefit cap means you cannot cover your rent or housing costs, you could be eligible for a Discretionary Housing Payment (DHP) to cover the reduction in your income.

More information about financial support if you're affected by the Benefit Cap.

If you're affected by Social Sector Size Criteria (bedroom tax)

If you already get Housing Benefit and you want a Discretionary Housing Payment due to the Social Sector Size Criteria, known as the 'bedroom tax', you'll get this automatically and you do not need to apply for it.

Another reason not listed above

If the reason you're applying for a Discretionary Housing Payment does not fit into any of the above categories, then you can apply for 'Any other reason'. 

You must tell us about the reason you need financial help to meet the gap between your Housing Benefit or Universal Credit housing costs and your rent.

Information you need to tell us on your application

You'll need to tell us:

• if you're a private, housing association or Renfrewshire Council tenant
• how much rent you pay and how often you pay it
• if you're behind in your rent
• if you get Housing Benefit or Universal Credit housing costs
• if you need an extra room for an overnight carer, a foster child or a severely disabled child who cannot share a room
• the reason you're applying for a Discretionary Housing Payment
• about your circumstances and your household
• your name, date of birth, National Insurance (NI) number, address and contact details
• anything else you have done to help your financial situation
• what you pay out every week (your weekly outgoings).

Weekly outgoings

We need to know the weekly outgoings for yourself, your partner, if you have one, and any children. 

If you're not sure how much you pay for them every week, you can enter daily, fortnightly, or monthly figures on the form to calculate how much something is weekly.

Outgoings can include:

• rent, council tax, gas, electricity, life, or home insurance
• TV licence, entertainment subscriptions, internet, home, or mobile phone
• childcare, school meals, school trips, family outings or kids' clubs
• medical or caring expenses
• food, clothing, cigarettes, or alcohol
• travel costs, petrol, car insurance or road tax
• loans, goods hired or bought on a payment plan, store credit cards, other outstanding debts
• any other weekly outgoings not listed above.

Enter 0 (zero) for anything you do not pay.

Savings and income

You'll need to tell us the amount of money or savings you and your partner, if you have one, have in your bank, building society or other accounts.

We'll also need to know the weekly income of your household, including the total amount of earned income in your household, and any other benefits or payments you get, like:

• Jobseekers Allowance, Income Support, Incapacity Benefit, Employment and Support Allowance
• Working Tax Credits, Child Tax Credit, Child Benefit, child, or spousal maintenance
• pensions or pension credit
• Attendance Allowance, Mobility Allowance, Carer's Allowance, Disability Living Allowance, Personal Independence Payment (PIP), Adult Disability Payment
• Universal Credit
• any other income not listed above.

If you're not sure how much household income you have each week, you can enter daily, fortnightly, or monthly figures on the form to calculate how much something is weekly.

With your consent, we can also check your entitlement to others benefits or grants.

Apply for a Discretionary Housing Payment (DHP)

You can tell us if you want to be contacted about your application by phone, email or letter.

How we make a decision

The budget for Discretionary Housing Payments is limited, so we cannot guarantee you'll get it.

We will consider the following when we make a decision:

• your household income
• if you have any savings
• if you or your family are ill or disabled
• if anyone else is living in the property who could help
• if there's any way of you rearranging your finances to improve your situation
• if you have any debts
• if the household could budget to afford some or all of the shortfall
• any other relevant information.

We'll let you know by phone, email or letter if you'll get a Discretionary Housing Payment or if we need more information before we make a decision.

How we pay Discretionary Housing Payment

If we give you a Discretionary Housing Payment, you can ask for it to be paid to either yourself or your landlord. 

If we're paying it to you, we'll need the details of the bank or building society account including the: 

• account holder's name
• name and address of the bank or building society
• sort code
• account number.

Ask us to review a decision

If we do not grant you a Discretionary Housing Payment, there is no right of appeal, but you can ask for the decision to be looked at again by a different Senior Assessor if you disagree with it. 

If you want to do this, write to the Benefits Service within two weeks of the date on the decision letter, stating why you think the decision is wrong. The postal address is:

Renfrewshire Council
Benefits Service
Renfrewshire House
Cotton Street
Paisley
PA1 1AD.

Discretionary Housing Payments are only a short-term solution to financial difficulties. 

If you think you'll have ongoing difficulties paying your rent, you should 

• speak to your landlord if you're a private tenant
• contact your Housing Association officer if you live in a Housing Association
• contact your local Neighbourhood services if you're a Council tenant.

If you get Housing Benefit or Universal Credit Housing Costs, you can also apply for Council Tax Reduction.

You may also be entitled to other benefits.

Depending on your circumstances and needs, you could apply for a crisis grant or a community care grant from the Scottish Welfare Fund.

If you need longer term financial help, our Advice Works team Advice or Renfrewshire Citizens Advice Bureau can help.