When transforming an unused building, developers often face significant CIL liabilities.
ASTOP’s collaboration with charitable causes offers a solution: by occupying your space for over 6 months, without needing any long tie-ins, you will mitigate or even fully avoid hefty CIL obligations and slash your empty rates bills by over 50%.
“ Working with the charity sector is a flexible way to not just save on empty rates, but also dramatically boost your chances of reducing substantial CIL payments on development involving buildings left unused for longer than two years.”
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Here are the three tax breaks you might be eligible for, with our help:
Charities receive government support with reduced rates bills. Our management of rent-free space for charities can save landlords over 50% on empty rates and insurance costs for void properties.
UK tax-paying landlords can enjoy a substantial tax reduction, typically doubling the savings from Tax Break 1, if the charity remains the occupying tenant for over a year.
Developers partnering with us can mitigate CIL liabilities, often 5-10 times greater than Tax Breaks 1 and 2, especially for end-of-life building projects where more traditional tenants would only occupy if the space was in better condition; need a longer duration or a longer notice to vacate.
ASTOP’s team have managed the ethical temporary occupation of over 1,000 sites since 2009 for landlords, agents, consultants and developers including:
CASE STUDY
A 20,000 sq. ft building, once office space used by Bromley Council, sat empty for a decade following council downsizing.
With utilities and water disconnected, the developer purchased it intending to repurpose the building into several stories of flats and found themselves exposed to a huge CIL liability which would have thrown the viability of the whole project into question.
Faced with this complication, the developer and their CIL/rates consultants appointed ASTOP to help mitigate the CIL exposure as well as the ongoing business rates. Several charities affiliated with ASTOP occupied the entire building, assuming all utility bills, and kept evidence of their use for the CIL and Rates departments at the council. Rates relief was granted quickly and the charities were able to flex their plans, when requested, to stay longer due to developer-side delays & the risk of squatters, CIL exemption was sought after fifteen months.
The council granted full CIL exemption, making the project viable and allowing the developer to proceed with demolition and ultimately reduce the lack of housing in the area.
By leveraging ASTOP’s charity-led solution, a substantial £311,000 CIL saving was achieved on top of the £100,000 saving on insurance and empty rates, and a real social impact was delivered and relayed with and to local stakeholders.
ASTOP has a proven track record of providing ethical business rate relief for empty commercial properties. We do this by partnering up commercial landlords with worthy not-for-profit, charity and community organisations who need support.
If that sounds like something you would benefit from, why not contact our team today?