Relief for charities and voluntary organisations
Charities can get mandatory rate relief at 80% of the calculated business rates. Most organisations entitled to this relief are registered charities, or charitable organisations not required to register.
We will award rate relief if the business meets the following conditions:
- the ratepayer is a charity or trustees for a charity
- the premises is used wholly or mainly for charitable purposes
Find out how to register as a charity (link opens in new window) on the GOV.UK website.
How to apply for charitable relief
Download an application form for charitable relief (PDF 91.6KB) 
Telephone: 0300 300 8011 to get a form by post
Email: businessrates@centralbedfordshire.gov.uk to request a form.
Please quote your business rates account reference in all correspondence – your account reference is 7 or 8 digits long and starts with a 3, and you can find it on your business rates bill or any letter we’ve sent about your business rates.
You will need to provide your registered charity number or the reason why you do not have to register.
You could also qualify for some additional discretionary relief, which is available to some voluntary organisations - read about this below.
Registered community amateur sports clubs (CASC)
Community Amateur Sports Clubs (CASC) can get mandatory rate relief at 80% of the calculated Business Rates.
Find out how to register as a CASC (link opens in new window) on the GOV.UK website.
How to apply for CASC relief
Download an application form for CASC relief (PDF 111.4KB)
Telephone: 0300 300 8011 to get a form by post
Email: businessrates@centralbedfordshire.gov.uk to request a form
Please quote your business rates account reference in all correspondence – your account reference is 7 or 8 digits long and starts with a 3, and you can find it on your business rates bill or any letter we’ve sent about your business rates. You will need to provide proof of your CASC registration.
You could also qualify for some additional discretionary relief, which is available to most voluntary organisations - read about this below.
Discretionary relief for voluntary organisations
We can give discretionary charitable relief to any organisations that are not established or conducted for profit. This is in addition to any mandatory relief that you qualify for.
Because this relief is discretionary, we can decide:
- whether or not to award it to you
- how much to award
This relief can extend up to 100% of the Business Rates calculated. We will decide how much to award on a case-by-case basis.
You can apply for discretionary relief at the same time as you apply for mandatory relief, or:
Please quote your business rates account reference in all correspondence – your account reference is 7 or 8 digits long and starts with a 3, and you can find it on your business rates bill or any letter we’ve sent about your business rates.