Not entitled to SBRR grant because my rates are in with my rent

MattASR

Hello,

I own a small car body repair business, I've been open for 7 years and business was going very well until I was forced to close due to Coronavirus.

I'm unable to obtain paint and materials to carry out my work due to both my suppliers being closed making it impossible for me to complete the work I had booked for the next 3 weeks, I've spoken to the customers and they've all agreed to postpone their work until I'm able to go back to work.

I've also been advised by my GP to stay at home for a minimum of 12 weeks because they've identified me as someone at high risk of severe illness if I catch Coronavirus.

The building I rent to run my business from has 6 other businesses trading from it and my landlord has grouped all our rates together and we pay him for these rates rather than having our own accounts with the local council. 

I get a monthly invoice for my rent which is £1300 inc VAT and then gas and electric invoices every quarter. 

Unfortunately I'm unable to pay my rental costs due to being closed because of Coronavirus, I submitted a letter to my council on the 4th of April but have heard nothing from them and what I've read I wont be entitled to SBRR.

At the end of this month I wont have enough money to pay my direct debits and the rent I'm not able to pay will most probably be back dated and impossible to pay so 7 years worth of creating a successful business and building customer relations all down the drain because my rates are paid to my landlord directly and he pays them on my behalf.. seems a little unfair to me??? There must be plenty of businesses in this same position who have worked hard and paid into the system but are receiving no help.

Theres a petition going to extend grants to small businesses that dont qualify for SBRR but I cant post the link because I'm a new member.

calcotti

You’ve posted a lot of specific information on here. You might want to remove the details of your company name and address.

Jeremy535897

Normally it is the occupier who is responsible for the rates, even where the rent is inclusive, but that doesn't necessarily cover cases where there are multiple occupants of a single hereditament. I am not an expert on rates. The guidance to local authorities for the grants is here:
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/878807/business_support_grants-local_authorities_guidance.pdf

MattASR

Jeremy535897 said:

Normally it is the occupier who is responsible for the rates, even where the rent is inclusive, but that doesn't necessarily cover cases where there are multiple occupants of a single hereditament. I am not an expert on rates. The guidance to local authorities for the grants is here:
(link removed because I cant post links)

Under the Small Business Grant Fund (SBGF) all businesses in England in receipt of either Small Business Rates Relief (SBRR) or Rural Rates Relief (RRR) in the business rates system will be eligible for a payment of £10,000 in line with the eligibility criteria as set out in paragraphs 16-23

When you go onto the council website it asks for your rates acc number which I dont have because my landlord has the account with them. Technically I dont pay rates but in reality I do because my rates are in with my rent. 

Hermann

Would the landlord be open to using the grant they receive to provide short term rent relief to the tenants?

MattASR

Hermann said:

Would the landlord be open to using the grant they receive to provide short term rent relief to the tenants?

Thats a very good question, I'm not sure if he's entitled to a grant either because the rate-able value of the building is 62k.
Even if he was entitled to a grant I still think he would demand rent from all of his tenants..

The only problem with this is if my landlord was entitled to a grant to pay for all his tenants rent that still leaves other direct debits to be paid for which other companies will be benefiting from who get a cash grant because of SBRR.

Jeremy535897

The landlord is ineligible as the rateable value is too high. You said you were all in one building, and the rateable value is £62,000. That suggests that the Valuation Office Agency treats the building as one hereditament, although I am not sure what you mean by the expression "landlord grouped all our rates together". If there are separate hereditaments and £62,000 is an aggregate figure, the picture would be different, and possibly (but by no means certainly) more helpful to you.
VOA guidance on hereditaments is at:
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/rating-manual-section-3-valuation-principles/part-1-hereditament

lincroft1710

Depending on the size of your unit with a total RV of £62,000, there is a possibility of your unit having a RV of more than £10,000. When a large property is split into smaller units the total RV of those units is likely to be more than that as a single unit. The probability is that all 7 businesses should have their own rating assessments

MattASR

This is on the tax.service.gov.uk/business-rates-find/valuations so maybe the council will be able to find out the rateable value of my unit?

Like i say I haven't heard from my local council yet so I suppose no news is good news as it stands.. 

Jeremy535897

This is the opposite of what you wanted to see, because it is one entry on the rating list. All this shows is how they arrived at the value.

MattASR

Jeremy535897 said:

This is the opposite of what you wanted to see, because it is one entry on the rating list. All this shows is how they arrived at the value.

Does this not determine the rateable value of each part of the building?
I'm sorry I really dont understand this.