Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government what guidance they have issued to local billing authorities about the interpretation of "visiting members of the public" under the Non-Domestic Rating (Definition of Qualifying Retail, Hospitality or Leisure Hereditament) Regulations 2025, particularly in regard to artist studios that provide public exhibitions, open-studio access or workshops.

The Government is introducing new permanently lower business rates multipliers for eligible retail, hospitality and leisure (RHL) properties with rateable values below £500,000. These new tax rates are worth nearly £900 million per year, and will benefit over 750,000 properties from April 2026, replacing the temporary RHL relief that has been winding down since COVID.

The scope of the new multipliers broadly reflects the scope of the current RHL relief. The Government has laid legislation defining which RHL properties will be eligible for the new multipliers. To assist Local Authorities (LAs) and businesses in interpreting this legislation, the Government has also published guidance on which properties qualify for the new tax rates. This guidance includes details on how LAs should apply the “wholly or mainly test”, how “visiting members of the public” should be interpreted, and how RHL properties doing a mix of in-person and online sales should be treated.

As administrators of the business rates system, it is the responsibility of LAs to determine whether a hereditament meets the legislative definition of RHL and therefore qualifies for the RHL multipliers. The Government cannot comment on individual ratepayers.