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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: 101
  • minicom: 1800 1101
  • if you cannot access the 101 number or are calling from outside Northern Ireland you can call on 028 9151 3101

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:

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:

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.