Shops, pubs and leisure venues from Carlisle to Castleford are set for a lower business rates calculation from 1 April 2026, after the Treasury laid new regulations before MPs on 7 January 2026. According to the statutory instrument on legislation.gov.uk (SI 2026/4), a dedicated Retail, Hospitality and Leisure (RHL) multiplier will apply in England.

From the 2026/27 financial year, the small business RHL multiplier is set at “D minus 0.05” and the standard RHL multiplier at “B minus 0.05”. Put simply, the multiplier-the pence-in-the-pound rate applied to a property’s rateable value-is trimmed by 0.05 for qualifying RHL premises.

That 0.05 shift is worth 5p per £1 of rateable value. For a qualifying, occupied unit with a £40,000 rateable value, the RHL setting would lower the annual bill by £2,000 compared with using the core multiplier, before any local supplements or other reliefs are applied.

Where the billing authority is a “special authority” (defined in section 144(6) of the Local Government Finance Act 1988), the regulation points to B and D as set out in paragraphs 10(3)(a) and 10(5)(a) of Schedule 4ZA. In all other areas, B and D follow paragraphs 10(3)(b) and 10(5)(b).

The rules extend to England and Wales but apply only in relation to England. They were made on 6 January 2026, laid before the House of Commons on 7 January 2026 and signed by Treasury Lords Commissioners Gen Kitchen and Christian Wakeford.

Whitehall is acting under powers inserted by the Non-Domestic Rating (Multipliers and Private Schools) Act 2025, which added paragraphs A6A and 9B to Schedule 7 of the 1988 Act. Those provisions allow the Treasury to set additional multipliers for targeted sectors.

For northern high streets-think Bolton, Barnsley, Durham and Hull-the change will feed straight into 2026/27 bills issued by local authorities. It does not alter the rateable value and sits alongside existing reliefs; it simply adjusts the rate used for occupied premises that meet the RHL definition.

The Treasury’s note says “an impact assessment has not been produced” as this instrument amends an existing local tax regime. Businesses should check that their premises fall within the qualifying RHL categories set out in 2025 regulations.

In practical terms, billing teams will apply the RHL multiplier automatically where the property qualifies. For chains with sites inside a special authority as well as across the North, the statute uses different B and D references in those areas, but in each case the RHL multipliers are 0.05 below the main multipliers from 2026/27.