Retail, Hospitality and Leisure (RHL) Relief is a business rates discount for eligible shops, pubs, restaurants, cafés, gyms, hotels and similar premises in England. In 2025/26 it was a 40% discount on the bill, capped at £110,000 per business. From 1 April 2026, that temporary relief is replaced by permanently lower RHL business rates multipliers for qualifying properties with a rateable value under £500,000 — a structural change rather than an annual discount.
Key takeaways
- RHL Relief reduces the business rates bill for qualifying retail, hospitality and leisure premises in England.
- In 2025/26 it was 40% off, capped at £110,000 per business — that relief ended on 31 March 2026.
- From April 2026, it becomes a set of permanently lower multipliers for RHL properties under £500,000 rateable value.
- The new RHL multipliers are 38.2p (small, RV under £51,000) and 43p (standard, RV under £500,000) — against 43.2p and 48p for non-RHL properties.
- Properties with a rateable value of £500,000 or more pay a new higher multiplier of 50.8p.
- Eligibility depends on how the property is used, and the relief is administered by your local council.
What is Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Relief?
Business rates are charged on most non-domestic properties. To support high streets and the hospitality sector, the government has for several years offered RHL Relief — a discount applied to the rates bill of qualifying premises. Rather than changing the property’s rateable value, it reduces the amount you actually pay.
The relief exists because retail, hospitality and leisure businesses occupy a lot of physical space relative to their margins, making them especially sensitive to property taxes. A restaurant or shop needs a visible, accessible location, which usually means a relatively high rateable value compared with, say, an office-based consultancy of the same turnover. Cutting their rates bill is a targeted way to support town centres, protect jobs and keep high streets occupied rather than boarded up.
How did the relief work up to 2025/26?
Under the system in place up to 2025/26, qualifying businesses received a percentage discount on their bill. In 2025/26 that figure was 40%, applied after other reliefs, and subject to a cash cap of £110,000 per business across all their qualifying properties in England. So a business with several qualifying premises could not simply multiply the relief without limit — the cap controlled the total benefit any one business could receive.
The discount was also subject to subsidy control limits (the rules that replaced EU state aid), meaning very large recipients had to ensure the relief, combined with other public support, stayed within permitted thresholds. For the vast majority of independent shops, cafés and small chains, this was not an issue, but larger operators needed to keep track.
Who qualifies?
Eligibility is based on how the premises are used, not the type of company. Broadly, qualifying uses include:
- Retail — shops, charity shops, post offices, showrooms, petrol stations, hair and beauty salons.
- Hospitality — restaurants, cafés, pubs, bars, takeaways.
- Leisure — gyms, sports clubs, cinemas, music venues, hotels, guest houses.
Premises used wholly for offices (such as accountants or solicitors), financial services (banks, payday lenders), or as primarily online operations generally do not qualify. Because the rules turn on use, two similar-looking units can be treated differently — which is exactly where careful classification matters. A unit that is partly retail and partly something else may need a considered view on whether, and how much, relief applies.
The big change from April 2026
This is the most important point for any RHL business planning ahead. The temporary 40% relief (capped at £110,000) that applied in 2025/26 ended on 31 March 2026 and was replaced from 1 April 2026 with permanently lower business rates multipliers for RHL properties with a rateable value under £500,000.
| Feature | 2025/26 (old) | From April 2026 (new) |
|---|---|---|
| Mechanism | 40% discount on the bill | Permanently lower multiplier |
| Cap | £110,000 per business | No per-business cash cap on the multiplier |
| Eligibility ceiling | All qualifying RHL | RHL with RV under £500,000 |
| Nature | Temporary, renewed yearly | Permanent structural change |
The five new multipliers for 2026/27
England is moving from two multipliers to five — a more granular structure than it has used before. The most valuable properties (rateable value of £500,000 and above, including many large distribution warehouses) pay a higher rate to help fund the RHL reduction.
| Property | RHL multiplier | Non-RHL multiplier |
|---|---|---|
| Small (RV under £51,000) | 38.2p | 43.2p |
| Standard (RV £51,000 to under £500,000) | 43p | 48p |
| High value (RV £500,000 and above) | 50.8p (single higher rate) | |
Why the shift matters
For most high-street RHL businesses, the move from a capped annual discount to a permanent lower multiplier brings certainty — you can plan beyond a single year, rather than waiting each autumn to learn whether the relief will be renewed and at what level. That predictability is genuinely valuable for budgeting, lease decisions and investment.
But the effect on your bill depends on your rateable value, so the change is not uniformly positive for everyone. A business that previously benefited from the 40% discount up to the cap should model the new multiplier against the old relief to understand the net position. For some smaller premises the permanent lower multiplier will be a clear win; for others, particularly those that were comfortably within the 40% cap, the cash saving may be smaller than the headline discount they enjoyed before. The only way to know is to run the numbers for your specific property.
How to make sure you benefit
Because the new multipliers apply automatically to qualifying properties, the most important thing is to ensure your property is correctly classified as RHL and that your rateable value is accurate. A common, avoidable problem is a property that should qualify being coded incorrectly, or a rateable value that is too high pushing a borderline property over the £500,000 threshold into the higher band. Checking your bill carefully each year — and querying anything that looks wrong with your local council or the Valuation Office Agency — is the practical way to make sure you receive the relief you are entitled to.
RHL relief and other reliefs: how they fit together
RHL Relief does not exist in isolation — it sits alongside several other business rates reliefs, and understanding how they interact helps you make sure you are claiming everything available. Small Business Rate Relief (SBRR) can apply to properties with low rateable values, and many small RHL premises benefit from both the lower RHL multiplier and SBRR. Empty property relief applies when a qualifying property is unoccupied for a period. Transitional relief may cushion large changes in your bill when rateable values are revalued — particularly relevant now, as the 2026 revaluation takes effect at the same time as the new multipliers.
The order in which reliefs apply matters, because some are calculated on the bill after others have been applied. For a business with a single straightforward premises, this is usually handled automatically by the local council. For businesses with several properties, mixed uses, or values near key thresholds, it is worth checking that the reliefs have been applied correctly and in the right order — errors in either direction are not uncommon, and an incorrectly calculated bill can cost a business significantly over a year. If your bill looks materially different from what you expected, that is a signal to review it rather than simply paying it.
London businesses: the £500,000 line
London’s RHL premises often carry high rateable values, so the £500,000 threshold is more likely to bite here than in much of the country — a flagship store, large restaurant or city-centre leisure venue could fall into the higher-multiplier band at 50.8p. London RHL operators should review their rateable value and use classification carefully, both to claim the right relief and to check whether the rateable value itself is correct. Given London rents, a property sitting just above or below the £500,000 line is worth particular attention, because the difference in multiplier on either side of that threshold is substantial.
How Hayhills can help
Hayhills helps retail, hospitality and leisure businesses navigate reliefs, multipliers and rateable value as part of our Business Rates: Liability and Mitigation service. We assess your eligibility, model the 2026 changes against your bill, and identify whether a Check and Challenge or relief application would reduce your liability — explaining the position in clear, commercial terms so you can plan with confidence.
What is Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Relief?
It is a business rates reduction for qualifying retail, hospitality and leisure premises in England, reducing the amount of rates you pay.
How much was RHL Relief in 2025/26?
A 40% discount on the business rates bill, capped at £110,000 per business. That relief ended on 31 March 2026.
What changed in April 2026?
The temporary 40% relief was replaced by permanently lower RHL business rates multipliers for qualifying properties with a rateable value under £500,000.
What are the new RHL multipliers for 2026/27?
38.2p for small RHL properties (RV under £51,000) and 43p for standard RHL properties (RV under £500,000) — against 43.2p and 48p for non-RHL. Properties at £500,000+ pay 50.8p.
Who qualifies for RHL Relief?
Premises used for retail, hospitality or leisure — such as shops, pubs, restaurants, gyms and hotels. Offices and financial services generally do not qualify.
Do I have to apply for it?
The new multipliers apply automatically to qualifying properties, but you should check your bill and may need to confirm eligibility with your local council.
Will every RHL business save money under the 2026 changes?
Not automatically — the effect depends on your rateable value, so model the new multiplier against the previous relief for your specific property.
This article is for general information only and does not constitute legal or accountancy advice. Figures reflect rules in England; business rates differ in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Hayhills Limited, trading as Hayhills Legal Advisory, provides non-reserved legal advisory services. Always check current requirements at GOV.UK.