Episode Details

Would business rates put you off buying an empty commercial property?

For many investors — particularly those moving from residential into commercial property — the thought of owning a vacant building with no rent coming in AND business rates to pay can be enough to make them walk away.

But should it?

Suzi Carter certainly isn't frightened of vacant commercial property. In fact, sometimes an empty property can be exactly where the opportunity lies.

The key is understanding why the property is vacant, what it could cost you while you own it and, crucially, whether you have evidence that you can solve the problem.

In this episode of The Commercial Property Podcast, Suzi explains how business rates work on empty commercial properties in England, including Empty Property Relief, the longer relief period available to qualifying industrial properties, and some of the legitimate ways business rates may be mitigated.

She also looks at the recent Court of Appeal decision on so-called "box-shifting" business rates mitigation schemes, what it could mean for owners of vacant commercial property and why changes to rates mitigation could potentially create opportunities for informed investors.

Because if other buyers become nervous about empty properties — while existing owners face increasing holding costs — could that create less competition, more motivated sellers and better buying opportunities for investors who understand the numbers?

• How business rates on empty commercial property actually work

• Why most empty commercial properties receive an initial period of Empty Property Relief

• Why qualifying industrial and warehouse properties can receive a longer rates-free period

• Why buying a vacant property doesn't necessarily restart the Empty Property Relief clock

• The importance of checking the current rateable value and business rates liability before you buy

• How the April 2026 business rates revaluation affects the figures investors should be using

• Legitimate circumstances where business rates may potentially be reduced or mitigated

• How substantial refurbishment can affect the rating position where a property genuinely becomes incapable of occupation

• What investors need to understand about charitable occupation and business rates relief

• How the controversial "box-shifting" rates mitigation strategy worked

• What the recent Court of Appeal decision could mean for business rates mitigation schemes

• Why you shouldn't rely on a clever rates mitigation strategy to make a fundamentally poor property investment stack up

• How to calculate the true cost of a commercial property void, including rates, finance, insurance, security, refurbishment and letting costs

• Why understanding occupational supply and demand before you buy is one of your best protections against a prolonged void

• How speaking to local commercial agents can help you establish whether genuine tenant demand exists

• Why you may even be able to pre-let a vacant commercial property before you complete the purchase

• How refurbishment, reconfiguration, subdivision and other asset-management strategies can turn vacancy into opportunity

• Why having multiple exit strategies matters when buying vacant commercial property

• How changes to business rates mitigation could potentially create motivated sellers and less competition for vacant properties

Vacancy is a risk in commercial property — but that doesn't automatically make a vacant property a bad investment