New campaign launched to tackle business rates avoidance and save councils millions

ERA has drafted a six-point manifesto of measures that it is urging ministers to support to address these issues and leave British companies with the fair business rates system they deserve. England lags behind Scotland and Wales with both nations having passed legislation to address this issue

A new campaign, End Rates Avoidance (ERA), is launched today to tackle business rates avoidance in England and save councils an estimated £250-300 million annually. It's led by Shaylesh Patel, founder and CEO of ethical rates mitigation consultancy ASTOP, and follows the Ban Box Shifting Campaign he launched last year with partners and charities, which highlighted this particularly widespread rates avoidance method and was backed by around 100 councillors and MPs.

The campaign is calling on Government to close a series of loopholes that allow some property owners and occupiers to avoid paying business rates, diverting much-needed funding away from public services. Currently the Government has issued a consultation on business rates, with the deadline to submit views next Tuesday 18^th February.

ERA argues that rates avoidance tactics curb and delay investment; create an uneven playing field, placing a greater burden on businesses that comply fully with their obligations while others exploit technicalities to reduce or eliminate their liabilities. It also warns that persistent avoidance weakens the financial stability of local authorities, limiting their ability to plan long-term investment in essential services.

Tackling these practices would help fund support for genuinely struggling sectors, reduce pressure on courts and local authorities, and encourage the productive use of empty property through legitimate reliefs. As secondary legislation, this could be enacted swiftly to fund the pubs bailout.

Among the most commonly cited forms of business rates avoidance is box shifting. This involves placing a small quantity of goods, storage crates or other token items inside a vacant commercial property for a short period in order to create the appearance of occupation. Once this brief occupation is established, the property can qualify for a further period of empty rates relief after it is vacated again. By repeating this cycle, some landlords and operators are able to significantly reduce their rates obligation while the premises remain effectively unused.

Other schemes rely on technical interpretations of qualifying use. So called snail farms, for example, involve installing minimal equipment and a small number of snails to claim that a property is being used for agricultural purposes, and claim 100% exemption from business rates. Similarly, some premises have been temporarily designated as places of worship, allowing owners to claim charitable or religious exemptions even where the use is not safe, short lived or nominal.

The campaign is spearheaded by Shaylesh Patel, founder and CEO of ASTOP, which works with leading charities, councils and landlords to bring vacant spaces back into productive use.  They include British Land, Landsec, LGIM as well as such councils as Watford, Woking, Southend and Basildon, as well as Dorset County Council.

ERA is urging ministers to adopt a revised six-point manifesto setting out practical measures to curb avoidance and promote fairer use of the system. The manifesto calls for:

1.      Extending the period of genuine, continuous occupation required to trigger rates exemption to six months, preventing short-term or token use designed solely to obtain relief.

2.      Strengthening powers to ensure empty rates relief is granted only in legitimate and deserving cases, including enhanced oversight or independent guidance to support councils in applying anti-avoidance measures.

3.      Introducing a one-year upper limit on properties left in limbo due to insolvent tenants, so that liabilities are restored or spaces are reactivated more quickly.

4.      Closing the "snail farm" loophole and similar arrangements that claim agricultural exemptions in clearly non-agricultural premises.

5.      Closing the "fake place of worship" loophole by ensuring that only genuine, independently verified places of worship qualify for exemption.

6.      Promoting ethical mitigation by supporting genuine charities to occupy vacant premises, ensuring any relief granted benefits community use while protecting public funds.

The campaign has also been backed by ethical landlords (including councils) and Power to Change, the independent trust that strengthens communities through community business. Its Take Back the High Street programme has explored ways to move beyond a retail-dominated model and support a more diverse, community-powered future for town centres.

Shaylesh Patel, founder and CEO of ASTOP, commented:

 "We launched the End Rates Avoidance campaign to call for a fairer system that supports the regeneration of our high streets and ensures councils and local communities receive the funding they depend on. Business rates avoidance now takes several forms, from short-term occupation designed to trigger relief to the misuse of specialist exemptions, and these practices are draining significant resources from essential public services. It is vital that the Government acts decisively to remove the post code lottery of exploitation differences across Wales, Scotland and England by closing all these loopholes, strengthen oversight, and promote ethical alternatives that bring empty spaces back into genuine community use. We hope this campaign will encourage policymakers to deliver a system that is transparent, responsible and equitable for everyone."

London Assembly Member, Bassam Mahfouz, commented:

"Stamping down on unethical business rates avoidance is a necessary step for councils across the country that are under intense pressure to fund critical services. Supporting this campaign means supporting practical reforms, from tighter rules on empty rates relief to closing loopholes that allow exemptions to be misused. These changes will help create a more sustainable and ethical system that benefits local communities, charities and responsible businesses. I see the importance of this both in my role as an elected representative and in my previous work in the charity sector, where genuine, community-focused use of space can deliver real social value when the framework is applied fairly."