London · 2025-26
Business Rates in Waltham Forest
Businesses in Waltham Forest paid £67.6m in net business rates during 2025-26, below the average English council's £93.2m.
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Relief granted in Waltham Forest
Share of £30.6m total relief, 2025-26.
Waltham Forest at a glance
Waltham Forest granted £30.6m in relief overall, higher than the national council average of £26.3m. This included £9.8m in Small Business Rate Relief and £6.7m in retail, hospitality and leisure relief.
A further £9.1m went to charity relief and £2.0m to empty property relief, reflecting the mix of ratepayers across the local authority.
Waltham Forest has an estimated 11,975 active businesses, according to the latest ONS Business Counts (2025).
Waltham Forest ranks 100 out of 296 local authorities in England on the 2025 Index of Multiple Deprivation, where 1 is most deprived and 296 is least deprived.
Following the 2026 revaluation, the total rateable value of retail property in Waltham Forest rose by 14.8% — if this pushed your assessment too high, an appeal may be worth considering.
Frequently asked questions
How much are business rates in Waltham Forest?
Waltham Forest's local authority collected £67.6m in net business rates income during 2025-26, based on the national multiplier applied to each property's rateable value, less any relief granted.
What reliefs are available in Waltham Forest?
Waltham Forest granted £30.6m in business rates relief in 2025-26, including £9.8m in Small Business Rate Relief, £6.7m in retail, hospitality and leisure relief, £9.1m in charity relief, and £2.0m in empty property relief.
How do I know if I'm overpaying?
If your rateable value looks high compared to similar properties nearby, or you're not currently receiving relief you may be entitled to, it's worth checking your assessment. Use our free checker to compare your rateable value and see if you may be eligible for a reduction or backdated refund.
Waltham Forest compared with London and England
- Average rateable value
- £27,768£37,153 below the London average (£64,921)£6,222 below the England average (£33,990)
- Largest sector by value
- Retail property, 35.3%15.6 percentage points above its 19.7% share in London
- Total rateable value, 2023 to 2026 list
- +16.1%London: +22.5%England: +19.6%
Counts and rateable values are from the stock of properties at March 2026, on the 2023 rating list. Changes are from the 2026 revaluation, comparing the 2023 rating list with the 2026 rating list.
Property mix
On average rateable value, Waltham Forest sits 153rd among England's 296 councils at £27,768, which is 30th of 33 in London. The same sector leads on numbers too: 42.3% of Waltham Forest's rateable properties fall in the retail category.
Retail makes up 42.3% of Waltham Forest's rateable properties and 35.3% of its rateable value, both above the 28.9% and 19.7% across London. At March 2026, around 40 of Waltham Forest's rateable properties had a rateable value of £500,000 or more, unchanged at around 40 on the 2026 list.
Change at the 2026 revaluation
Waltham Forest's +16.1% change in total rateable value at the 2026 revaluation was weaker than in 24 of the 32 other councils in London. The sharpest increase in Waltham Forest was in industrial property, where total rateable value rose 21.6% at the 2026 revaluation, compared with +24.4% for industrial property across London. No sector fell in Waltham Forest: office property moved least, up 10.6% at the 2026 revaluation, compared with +14.4% for office property across London.
Reliefs
In 2025-26, relief in Waltham Forest came to 29.9% of gross rates payable, above the 21.2% for England as a whole. Small Business Rate Relief was the largest of the four main reliefs in Waltham Forest, at 32.0% of total relief, above 28.0% across England.
Source: HM Revenue & Customs, using Valuation Office Agency data, and MHCLG relief returns. Open Government Licence v3.0. Method and rounding: /methodology.
See how Waltham Forest compares with the rest of the region: Business rates in London, State of Business Rates in England 2026 →
Nearby areas
Compare with other councils in London
Other London councils with their average rateable value, listed from the closest to Waltham Forest's £27,768.
- Business rates in Lewisham£27,414 average rateable value, £354 lower than Waltham Forest
- Business rates in Haringey£29,016 average rateable value, £1,248 higher than Waltham Forest
- Business rates in Harrow£25,848 average rateable value, £1,920 lower than Waltham Forest
- Business rates in Redbridge£25,550 average rateable value, £2,218 lower than Waltham Forest
- Business rates in Bromley£32,748 average rateable value, £4,980 higher than Waltham Forest
- Business rates in Havering£36,157 average rateable value, £8,389 higher than Waltham Forest
Figures from MHCLG National Non-Domestic Rates statistics (2025-26), ONS UK Business Counts (2025), and English Indices of Deprivation (2025).
Updates for Waltham Forest
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