Rates on rental properties

Rates on rental properties

Experience shows that many landlords, owners and tenants are not fully aware of their liability for rate payments on rental properties.

Who is responsible for rates on a rental property?

Rates for rental properties are governed by different rules from owner-occupied properties.

In many cases the landlord is responsible for paying the rate bill and therefore needs to collect an amount from the tenant as part of the rent to cover the cost of rates.

If you are in any doubt, you should contact Land & Property Services (LPS) as follows and speak to someone in the landlords team:

• e-mail: landlords@lpsni.gov.uk
• phone 0300 200 7801 (charged at local rate)
• minicom 1800 1101
• if you are calling from outside the UK you can call on 0044 28 9054 1613

Domestic properties

The following table gives an indication as to who is responsible, based on capital valuation and frequency of rent payment:

Capital value - shown on front of each rate bill	Frequency of rent payment (included in most tenancy agreements)	Who is liable to pay rates?
£0 - £55,000	Any frequency	Owner / landlord
£55,001 - £150,000	Monthly or weekly - less than quarterly	Owner / landlord
£55,001 - £150,000	Quarterly or longer	Occupier / tenant
£150,001 and above	Monthly or weekly - less than quarterly	Occupier / tenant

You can use the following link to find a capital valuation by inputting the property address and / or postcode:

• Find your individual capital valuation

Non-domestic properties

Net Annual Value (NAV)	Frequency of rent payment (included in most tenancy agreements	Who is liable to pay rates
£0 - £750	Any frequency	Owner (landlord)
£751 - £1,590	Monthly or weekly (less than quarterly)	Owner (landlord)
£751 - £1,590	Quarterly or longer	Occupier (tenant)
£1,591 and above	Monthly or weekly (less than quarterly)	Occupier (tenant)

You can use the following link to find your NAV by inputting the property address and / or postcode:

• Find your individual NAV

Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs)

A House in Multiple Occupation is defined as a property which is let to three or more tenants who form two or more households. An example of this would be a house let out to a number of students.

The owner / landlord is responsible for the collection and payment of rates for HMOs regardless of capital value or frequency of rent payment.

Landlords whose tenants receive help with rates

If you have tenants who receive help with their rates from the Northern Ireland Housing Executive (NIHE), it may be in your best interests to request that any payments be made directly to you as the owner or landlord.