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Date: 13 February 2026
Members of Belfast City Council have agreed an increase in the district rate for 2026/27 of 4.48 per cent.
In real terms, this means an average weekly increase of:
- £0.33 for a terraced property
- £0.46 for a three-bed semi detached property
- £1.11 for a four-bed detached property
- £0.32 for an apartment
- £8.22 for an office property
- £6.74 for a retail property
The total amount of rates residents pay is made up of the district rate (agreed by councils) and the regional rate, set by the NI Executive. Rates bills and their collection are managed by Land and Property Services.
As part of this year’s rate-setting process, members agreed a range of measures to support local communities, develop skills, drive growth and keep the city clean and tidy. These include:
- the rollout of a city-wide graffiti removal programme and power washing team;
- more apprenticeship opportunities throughout council to support people into employment;
- the rollout of purple boxes to all remaining households currently without a kerbside glass recycling scheme;
- £600,000 towards local community organisations, bringing to £2.1 million the additional funding allocated towards the Community Support Plan to create active, engaged and resilient communities;
- a further £500,000 for a city-wide capacity building programme, so groups can gain the skills needed to apply for other grant opportunities;
- an additional £100,000 towards projects to divert young people away from anti-social behaviour during July and August; and
- a further £100,000 to help sports clubs with participation in elite level competitions.
- £1 million to support work towards housing-led regeneration across the city.
Other work planned by council in 2026/27 includes:
- progress on the development of an indoor sports facility at Girdwood, completing the £105 million leisure transformation programme which has resulted in an 106% increase in centre usage since 2017;
- continued development of the Belfast Stories visitor attraction – the city’s flagship project within the £1 billion Belfast Region City Deal;
- continued rollout of its £15 million pitches programme, including:
- £1 million towards floodlights at some sports facilities, run by council partners, so they can be used in evenings and at weekends;
- work at 18 more pitches, building on £800,000 of improvements already delivered at Henry Jones, City of Belfast (Mallusk), Strangford Avenue and Falls Park Playing Fields; and
- delivery of £500,000+ of biodiversity funding, including a Local Biodiversity Action Plan for the city, the Nature Town Cities initiative to support nature recovery in the Belfast Hills and Lagan Valley Regional Park, alongside Ulster Wildlife and National Lottery Heritage Fund, the Making Space for Nature scheme, funded by the Department for Agriculture, Rural Affairs and the Environment, and plans for urban meadows;
- events and bespoke projects to engage residents and communities in more sport and physical activity as part of the European City of Sport programme;
- delivery of Fleadh Cheoil na Éireann this summer, expected to bring in at least 800,000 visitors to Belfast, with an economic impact of upwards of £70 million;
- £11.1 million of grants provided to community groups and grassroots organisations city-wide to support events, run culture and arts activities and develop projects to tackle anti-social behaviour and promote safety;
- three additional bin collection crews and an additional small vehicle to improve how the council manages the city’s waste and support the cleansing of 17,000 streets every week;
- further improvements to parks and community facilities, including upgrades to playgrounds and games areas, development of more greenways at Blackstaff, Sydenham and Black Mountain to further support active travel, and operating 22 community centres and six play centres city-wide;
- a further £700,000 of grants through the successful Vacant to Vibrant scheme with DfC, supporting property owners and potential occupiers to bring vacant properties back into use in local neighbourhoods;
- £15.8 million towards 20 capital projects, including improvements to Cathedral Gardens, repair works at Floral Hall, Wilmont House, Assembly Rooms and Fernhill House, the redevelopment of Ballysillan Playing Fields and new facilities at Waterworks and Alexandra Park, through the PEACE PLUS Reconnected Belfast project.
For more information about rates in Belfast and what they pay for, visit www.belfastcity.gov.uk/rates
For advice on rates housing benefit and rates relief, visit www.nidirect.gov.uk/rates-help