Information about the Pubs and Live Music Venue Relief which will run 2026/27 - 2028/29

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. They will furthermore be frozen in real terms in 2027/28 and 2028/29. This relief is likely to amount to a Subsidy, but there is no cap on the maximum relief available.

Pubs and Live Music Venue Relief Eligibility

To qualify for this relief your business must be wholly or mainly being used:

  • as a pub
  • as a live music venue

Definitions

To determine eligibility the government has provided guidance on how to classify pubs and live music venues

Pubs

A pub is 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

The proposed exclusions in the list above is not exhaustive and the council will determine those cases where eligibility is unclear.

Live music venues

A live music venue is 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.

Applying for the relief 

The council has granted this relief to all those we believe are eligible, but if you feel your business meets the criteria we can consider it

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