Who has responsibility for paying business rates?

Business rates are normally payable by the person, partnership or company occupying the premises.

Paying your business rates to your landlord

As the occupier, if you make a private agreement with your landlord to pay your business rates to them, and the landlord then fails to pay us, you will continue to remain liable for payment of business rates. Bills and recovery letters will be issued in your name and not the landlord's.

Premises with joint responsibility

If you are jointly occupying the premises, each person named on the bill will be liable to pay the total amount due, not just a proportion of the total bill amount. In other words, we can recover the business rates from any one of those persons named on the bill. We cannot become involved in any arrangements you may have made with the other jointly liable persons responsible for paying the bill.