Transitional arrangements
Historically, all non-domestic premises in England have their rateable value reassessed every five years. From the 1st April 2023 this changed to every three years. The 2026 revaluation comes into effect with a new list on the 1st April 2026 with the next revaluation taking place in April 2029.
Property values normally change a good deal between each revaluation. Transitional arrangements help to phase in the effects of these changes by limiting the amount by which a bill may rise following a revaluation. The government introduced a new transitional scheme from 1 April 2026.
The transition scheme will operate over a period of 3 years from 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2029. The scheme has split properties into 3 groups, and the rates where increases apply will differ between each group:
- small; rateable value up to £20,000
- medium; rateable value from £20,001 to £100,000
- large; rateable value from £100,001 upwards
Transitional Bill Increase Limits
The table below shows the limits by which a business rates bill can increase in a single year until your actual charge is reached, subject to inflation.
|
Rateable Value |
2026 to 2027 |
2027 to 2028 |
2028 to 2029 |
|
Up to £20,000 (28,000 in London) |
5% |
10% |
25% |
|
£20,001 (£28,001 in London) to £100,000 |
15% |
25% |
40% |
|
Over £100,000 |
30% |
25% |
25% |
How Transitional Relief is calculated
Transitional Relief is based on comparing your rateable value on 31 March 2026 against the rateable value on 1 April 2026. The scheme applies only to the bill based on a property at the time of the revaluation. If there are any changes to the property after the revaluation date, transitional arrangements will not normally apply to the part of a bill that applies to any increase in rateable value due to those changes.
Any transitional adjustments will be shown on the front of your bill and in the calculation on the rear of the bill.
For further information about transitional arrangements please contact us. lccnndr@preston.gov.uk
Transitional Relief Supplement
Business ratepayers will pay a 1p supplement on top of their multiplier to partially fund Transitional Relief. This will apply for one year from 1 April 2026. Any businesses in receipt of Supporting Small Business or Transitional Relief will have their charge calculated in line with the relevant cap after the supplement has been applied.
2023 transitional scheme
|
Rateable value |
2023 to 2024 |
2024 to 2025 |
2025 to 2026 |
|
Up to £20,000 (£28,000 in London) |
5% |
10% plus inflation |
25% plus inflation |
|
£20,001 (£28,001 in London) to £100,000 |
15% |
25% plus inflation |
40% plus inflation |
|
Over £100,000 |
30% |
40% plus inflation |
55% plus inflation |
Last updated: 20 March 2026