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Do I Have to Pay Business Rates on a Mobile Catering Unit?

Mobile catering trailer parked at a UK outdoor event pitch

Mobile catering trailer parked at a UK outdoor event pitch

Do I have to pay business rates on a mobile catering unit

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Jun 02, 2026
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by: MobCater

This is one of those questions where the honest answer is that it depends on how and where you trade, but the good news is that for most genuinely mobile caterers, business rates are not something you will end up paying.

Business rates are charged on property, not on the van or trailer itself. If you are out on the road, moving between pitches, markets and events, your unit is not a fixed rateable premises, so it normally falls outside the system altogether. I traded for years pitching here and there and never once had a rates bill for the van.

Where it changes is when your trading becomes fixed or semi-permanent. If you take a static pitch on the same patch of land week in, week out, or you park a caravan or prefab unit on one site long term, the Valuation Office can treat that spot as a rateable property in its own right, and then rates can apply. The bill follows the land and the way you occupy it, not the wheels underneath you. Depending on the location these can run to more than £100 a month, so it is well worth knowing before you commit to a permanent pitch.

The same goes for any fixed premises you rent on the side, a lock-up, a storage unit or a commissary kitchen you prep from. That property is rateable in its own right, although small business rate relief often wipes the bill out completely. In England, if the rateable value is below £12,000 you usually pay nothing, with tapered relief up to £15,000. Your local council administers the bill and the Valuation Office Agency (gov.uk/voa) sets the rateable value, so a quick call to both will tell you exactly where you stand. Scotland handles it slightly differently through the local Assessor.

So my honest take is this. If you are mobile and moving, trade on, because you have almost certainly got nothing to worry about. If you are eyeing up a fixed pitch or a unit, ask the council about rates and small business relief as part of your sums, the same way you would factor in pitch fees, insurance and stock. I built a startup cost calculator into the free app for exactly this reason, so the running costs do not catch you out later.

Best of luck

David

Disclaimer: This is based on my experience in UK mobile catering. Rates rules and reliefs can change and vary by area, so always check with your local council and the Valuation Office Agency before you commit to a fixed pitch or premises.

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