News / 27th January 2026
LQ BID Lobbies Finance Minister For Interim Rates Relief For Hospitality
Linen Quarter BID has written to Minister O’Dowd to request interim relief for hotel and hospitality businesses. The BID has expressed concern about revalued NAV’s for hotels and hospitality, with average rates bills due to increase by almost 100%, amidst other rising costs in food, energy, wages, and national insurance. The detail of the correspondence can be viewed below. To discuss in further detail, email Chris@linenquarter.org
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Dear Minister O’Dowd,
I am writing on behalf of the Linen Quarter Business Improvement District, a place-making organisation that leads a network of over 300 businesses in Belfast’s South City Centre. The area includes the highest concentration of hotels in Northern Ireland, as well as many of Belfast’s most iconic hospitality and entertainment venues.
We are deeply concerned about the cumulative financial pressures our levy payers continue to face, including significantly higher energy, food & drink costs, wages, and national insurance tax. Against this backdrop, proposed increases in the non-domestic rates risk placing an unsustainable burden on otherwise viable businesses. Average rates on hotels and hospitality, from the increased NAV and poundage, will almost double in a single year, compared to an average 15% rise on other categories of business.
We recognise the role of non-domestic rates in funding public services and the constraints that political decision makers operate under. However, we urge the Department of Finance to consider interim relief for hotels and hospitality to reduce the proposed increases. This would mitigate impact and allow businesses time to plan and adapt, rather than crisis manage sudden cost shocks.
In addition, any delay would provide time to bring forward long mooted proposals to review and potentially expand the tax base, thus providing scope to reduce disproportionate rates levied on high street businesses. These measures will both enhance the fairness of the system and protect the long-term viability of commercial businesses, and the jobs and revenues they provide.
We would welcome the opportunity to engage constructively with the Department on this matter and to provide further insight from our levy payers on the impact of rates policy decisions.
Yours sincerely,
