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Protect, Business Rates Savings
Stop paying full rates on an empty unit.
When a commercial property sits empty, the short rates-free period soon ends and the landlord becomes liable for the full business rates with no income coming in. Fuse cuts the bulk of that cost, by over 50%, through a fully managed, legally established occupation that keeps the property requalifying for empty-rates relief until a tenant is found.
The idea
Turn an unavoidable void into a far cheaper one.
A vacant unit usually receives a short period of empty-rates relief, after which the landlord pays 100% of the business rates for an empty space earning nothing. Fuse removes most of that ongoing liability through a recognised route known as intermittent occupation.
Fuse takes a short-term licence to occupy the empty property and puts it into genuine beneficial use, by installing and operating a Wi-Fi broadcasting device that provides advertising-supported public Wi-Fi. That period of real occupation is recognised by the local authority, and when Fuse later vacates, the property requalifies for a fresh empty-rates relief period. The cycle repeats until a long-term tenant is secured.
The occupation cycle
How the saving is made.
Assessment
Fuse reviews the vacant property and its billing authority to confirm suitability and the expected saving.
Licence & occupation
A short-term licence is put in place and Fuse occupies for a fixed period, typically 13 weeks, operating live Wi-Fi equipment as genuine beneficial use.
Vacation
At the end of the period Fuse vacates and the property requalifies for a fresh empty-rates relief period.
Repeat
The cycle repeats as needed until a long-term tenant is secured, sustaining the saving across the whole void.
Throughout, the property remains available to market and to show, no damaging works are carried out, and Fuse manages the local-authority interaction, so the landlord and agent carry no operational burden.
Why landlords use it
A managed saving, not a project.
Holding costs cut by over 50%
The single biggest cost of an empty property removed for most of the void.
Cash retained
Money that would have gone to rates stays in the business, ready to reinvest.
Fully managed
Fuse does the work, the landlord and agent do almost nothing.
No damaging works
The property is handed back exactly as it was, ready to let.
Stays lettable
The unit remains available to market and to view throughout.
Repeatable
The saving continues across successive cycles, so a long void is no longer a runaway cost.
Established and managed
A proven route, handled entirely by us.
This is a well-established, widely used approach to reducing the rates burden on empty commercial property, and Fuse manages every part of it on your behalf, including the relationship with the local authority.
Every property and billing authority is a little different, so we assess your specific unit and confirm the expected saving before anything is committed. There is nothing for you to administer and nothing intrusive done to the property, just a lower bill while you find a tenant.
Where it leads
Often where the Fuse relationship begins.
A conversation about cutting the cost of an empty unit is frequently where Fuse first meets a landlord. From there it pairs naturally with the rest of what Fuse does: advertising the space while it is empty, connecting it quickly once a tenant is found, and running the building well over the long term.
So the rates saving is not just a cost cut, it is the entry point to a single managed relationship across the whole building, and the whole portfolio.
Who it's for
Built around who you are.
Cut the cost of vacancy
Holding costs cut by over 50%, cash retained while you find a tenant, fully managed with no damaging works and the unit always lettable.
A stronger client proposition
Materially cut a landlord client's holding costs without taking on operational work, strengthening the relationship.
Protect returns through a void
Hold stock through a void, refurbishment or repositioning without rates liability eroding the return.
Let's talk
See what an empty unit is costing you.
Tell us about the vacant property and its billing authority, and we will assess the saving and manage the whole thing, from licence to local authority.