Council Roles In Ethical Property Management
In recent years, UK local councils have played a new, pivotal role in managing commercial properties within their jurisdiction, promoting sustainable urban development, and supporting community revitalisation.
Their responsibilities have extended beyond the basic administrative tasks we might expect. Today, the need for ethical governance has gained prominence, which means councils have been called upon to align property management best practices with ethical standards, too.
This ethical approach becomes especially significant in managing business rates relief for unoccupied properties.
This blog will explore UK local councils’ role in ethical property management, particularly emphasising how they administer business rates relief to promote charitable property use, support ethical land use, and reduce urban decay in these changing times.
How Local Councils Support Ethical Property Solutions
Ethical property management involves ensuring that property owners, alongside their core function, promote social good, economic fairness, and environmental sustainability. For local councils, this means increasingly making decisions that both benefit the local economy and support non-profit organisations and charities that provide essential services, often to vulnerable and marginalised groups.
Local councils collect business rates and apply rate relief where applicable. This includes temporary relief for unoccupied commercial properties. They, however, also have the authority to offer relief to certain types of organisations, most notably charities and non-profits. The social impact of property management, therefore, presents an opportunity to commercial property owners who understand these council powers. If you’re an owner or landlord, it can lead to collaborative property management successes and an aligned reduction in rate liability.
Business Rates Relief for Non-Profits and Charities
Local councils provide business rate relief to charities and non-profit organisations, allowing them to allocate more resources to their primary activities rather than operational costs and overheads. Mandatory rates relief recognises charities and aligned community organisations’ vital role in society. In addition to this mandatory relief, local councils can provide additional, discretionary relief.
Councils can offer this to community organisations that may not typically qualify for mandatory relief but still provide valuable services, such as sports clubs, cultural institutions, and social enterprises.
The good news for property owners is that rather than paying business rates on an unoccupied property, installing a charity or non-profit organisation as a tenant, even temporarily, means this relief can be applied.
Ethical property management in this context implies the fair, transparent allocation of business rate relief aligned with the council’s broader social and economic goals, benefitting all parties.
Fairness, Consistency & Council-led Ethical initiatives
Consistency and transparency are vital to the success of ethical property management. Local council property strategies should be widely and effectively communicated, and decisions ought to stand up to scrutiny. If you’re unsure as to why particular relief applications are accepted or denied, it pays to ask. If you have a query, your local council should make all the information available.
We’ve established that ethical property management involves aligning business rate relief with broader social goals. For example, councils may prioritise relief for organisations that address key social issues such as poverty, homelessness, or mental health. By transparently aligning relief with these goals, councils can ensure that their property management practices contribute to the local community’s well-being. Such alignment can also help councils to justify their decisions about discretionary relief. For instance, if a council has identified youth services as a priority, it might offer complete discretionary relief to organisations providing activities and support for young people.
For commercial landlords looking to benefit from rate relief arrangements, it pays to understand which local issues may be on their local council’s agenda. Supporting communities with particular challenges is an ethical win-win with numerous CSR benefits alongside mere tax relief.
While the principles of ethical property management are clear, implementing them in practice can be challenging. The complexities of the charity sector mean that to succeed in an ethical partnership, councils and organisations wishing to benefit from rates relief need a deep understanding of the organisations they want to support.
Of course, not everyone has the time or resources to gain a broad knowledge of their community’s requirements. This is where expert services, such as those offered by ASTOP, prove of particular value. We can help commercial organisations discuss business rate relief by finding an appropriate way to work with local councils and the charity sector.
Through our organisation, you don’t need any specialist knowledge of your local council’s priorities or, in fact, the social impact of property management generally. We can do that for you and, most importantly, act as a match-maker between those who want business rates relief, their local council and, perhaps most importantly, those in the charity and not-for-profit sector who will benefit.
Local Councils & Property Management Ethics
Local councils are critical in supporting the non-profit and charity sectors through business rates relief. By administering rates relief fairly, transparently, and in alignment with broader social goals, they can ensure that property management practices support the well-being of the communities they serve.
The exciting thing about this for commercial property owners is that they can align their property management goals with council priorities, too. Everyone wins. You can fulfil your responsibilities as property managers, reducing tax liabilities and costs, but also contribute to creating a more just and equitable society. Why wouldn’t you want to get involved?
If you’re interested, you can contact ASTOP’s Shaylesh Patel directly to learn how he can help you align your rate liability goals with your local council’s community ambitions today.
