Business rates relief for pubs and live music venues

On 27 January 2026, the government announced that eligible pubs and live music venues in England will receive a 15% reduction on their business rates bills for the 2026/27 financial year.

Eligibility 

Hereditaments that meet the eligibility criteria for pubs and live music venues relief will be occupied hereditaments which meet all of the following conditions for the chargeable day:

They are wholly or mainly being used:

• as a pub
• as a live music venue

Pubs

For the purposes of this relief, the government considers a pub to mean a hereditament where all of the following criteria apply. A hereditament that:

• is open to the general public
• allows free entry other than when occasional entertainment is provided
• allows drinking without requiring food to be consumed
• permits drinks to be purchased at a bar

For these purposes, the meaning of a pub does not include:

• restaurants, cafes, nightclubs, snack bars
• hotels, guesthouses, boarding houses
• sporting venues
• festival sites, theatres, cinemas
• museums, exhibition halls
• casinos

Live music venues

For the purposes of this relief, the government considers a live music venue to mean a hereditament that:

• is wholly or mainly used for the performance of live music for the purpose of entertaining an audience
• can be used for other activities but only if those other activities:
• are ancillary or incidental to the performance of live music (e.g. the sale of food or drink to audience members)
• do not affect the primary use of the premises for the performance of live music (e.g. because the activities are infrequent such as use of the venue as a polling station or fortnightly community event)

Properties are not a live music venue for the purpose of this relief if the property is wholly or mainly used as a nightclub or a theatre, for the purposes of the Town and Country Planning (use classes) Order 1987 (as amended).

How to apply

You don’t need to apply for this discretionary relief. We've identified which businesses qualify from our business rates records, and the relief has automatically been awarded to eligible businesses. If we haven't applied the relief and you believe that you qualify, you can contact us online.