England has confirmed how business rates increases will be phased after the 2026 revaluation. The Non-Domestic Rating (Chargeable Amounts) (England) Regulations 2026 were made on 29 January 2026 and apply from 1 April 2026 through 31 March 2029, smoothing steeper bill rises over three financial years. (statutoryinstruments.parliament.uk)

What’s driving this is a full reset of values. The Valuation Office Agency (VOA) based the 2026 list on rental evidence at the Antecedent Valuation Date of 1 April 2024; the compiled list takes effect on 1 April 2026. If your market moved materially since the last cycle, your rateable value (RV) likely has too. (gov.uk)

Caps are banded by size. Outside London, ‘small’ means RV up to £20,000; in London, the small threshold is £28,000. ‘Medium’ runs from £20,001/£28,001 to £100,000; ‘large’ is over £100,000. Annual caps on increases are: 2026/27 at 5%/15%/30%; 2027/28 at 10%/25%/25%; and 2028/29 at 25%/40%/25%. Later-year caps reflect changes in the small business multiplier rather than compounding on the prior year. (questions-statements.parliament.uk)

In practice, transitional relief applies where your 2026 ‘notional’ bill would exceed both last year’s liability and the cap for your band. When it applies, councils charge the capped amount first and then apply mandatory reliefs (for example, small business or charitable relief). You move up to the next year’s cap until you reach full liability. (gov.uk)

Eligibility and continuity rules matter. Broadly, the property needs to be on the rating list on 31 March 2026 and continue on the list on the relevant day for the cap to apply. The regulations also include detailed rules for when properties split or merge so that relief isn’t inadvertently lost midstream. (statutoryinstruments.parliament.uk)

Alongside transition, sector multipliers change. From April 2026, retail, hospitality and leisure (RHL) properties with RVs below £500,000 use multipliers set 5p below the national rates, funded by a higher multiplier for high-value properties. For a shop with £40,000 RV, that differential alone trims roughly £2,000 from the gross bill before other reliefs. (gov.uk)

A one-off 1p supplement also features in year one. For 2026/27, defined hereditaments that are not in transitional relief pay a chargeable amount calculated with an additional 0.01 (“RS”) on the multiplier before reliefs are applied. New properties created after 1 April 2026 are generally outside this supplement unless formed from a split or merge. (gov.uk)

Some charges sit outside transition entirely. The City of London premium and the London Business Rate Supplement are levied in full and are not smoothed by the caps. Budget accordingly if you’re within scope. (gov.uk)

Improvements are treated separately. England’s improvement relief, in force since April 2024, takes qualifying increases in RV from building works out of your bill for 12 months. Where it applies, the VOA certifies the uplift and that certificate feeds into the transitional calculation. (gov.uk)

Case study: small café outside London. Last year’s bill was £10,000. The 2026 notional bill would be £14,000 based on the new list. Under the small-property cap, the 2026/27 bill is limited to £10,500; in 2027/28 up to £11,000; and in 2028/29 up to £12,500, before moving to full liability from April 2029. Figures exclude other reliefs and assume continuous occupation.

Case study: medium workspace in London. A co-working studio with RV £60,000 sees its notional bill jump from £200,000 to £280,000 as area rents recover. Transition caps the payable amount at about £230,000 in 2026/27, £250,000 in 2027/28 and, subject to multiplier changes and any reliefs, up to £280,000 in 2028/29.

Devolved note. These rules apply to England only. Wales has set a different, simpler scheme: where bills rise, the increase is phased over two years-33% in 2026/27 and 66% in 2027/28-before full liability in 2028/29, alongside its own multiplier changes. (gov.wales)

Appeals and admin. If you receive a VOA transitional certificate and disagree with the values, you can appeal; the Valuation Tribunal for England handles such cases after referral from the VOA, and indicates business rates appeals typically take around nine months end-to-end. Keep records and timelines tight. (valuationtribunal.gov.uk)