Rates rises revealed for all 11 Northern Irish councils for 2026/27 - with four inflation-busting hikes
Four councils across Northern Ireland have hiked their rates up beyond the level of inflation.
All 11 councils in the Province have spent the last fortnight devoted to their annual reviews of the rates residents and businesses must pay – and today that process is all-but complete.
All 11 councils have now finalised their rate rises.
The Bank of England lists the CPI inflation rate right now as being 3.4%.
That means Ards and North Down, Derry City and Strabane, Lisburn and Castlereagh, and Belfast – have all agreed inflation-busting rates this year (see full list below).
All councils except Ards and North Down and Lisburn and Castlereagh are seeing lower rises than this time last year.
Here is the 2026/27 list of rate rises (with the 2025/26 hikes in brackets):
Antrim and Newtownabbey: 2.99% (4.96%)
Ards and North Down: 4.5% (3.65%)
Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon: 2.79% (3.91%)
Belfast: 4.48% (5.99%)
Causeway Coast and Glens: 3.35% (3.65%)
Derry City and Strabane: 4.48% (4.92%)
Fermanagh and Omagh: 1.96% (3.76%)
Lisburn and Castlereagh: 4.25% (3.99%)
Mid and East Antrim: 2.95% (3.99%)
Mid Ulster: 3.4% (5.1%)
Newry, Mourne and Down 2.8% (3.98%)
A new Belfast rate of 3.8% was initially recommended by councillors on the Strategic Policy and Resources Committee, but the committee was asked to reconsider this.
The SDLP had been hopeful the rate could be set close to 3% – but in the end, councillors voted to raise the rate by 1.08% beyond the original plan of 3.8%, rather than lower it.
Domestic rates are calculated based on the sum of the council rate (officially called the 'district rate') plus the regional rate (set by Stormont), multipled by the rateable value of your property.
Business rates are usually based on the sum of the council rate (which is normally identical for homes and businesses) plus the regional business rate (set by Stormont) multiplied by the rental value of the premises.
On Thursday, it was announced that Stormont will raise regional rates for businesses by 3% and domestic properties by 5%.
The council with the biggest hike, North Down and Ards, said that its hike will translate into about an extra £2.40 per month for the average household, and around £13 per month for the average business.
Among the things ratepayers’ cash will go towards are “Marine Gardens enhancements, pre‑planning work for Ballyholme Yacht Club and Pickie Fun Park as part of the Bangor Waterfront Redevelopment, the new Citizens Hub in Newtownards, the Innovation Hub in Holywood, a new council civic office space, and the re-purposing of Bangor Castle”.
It said it is also committed to “expanding environmental education and green tourism initiatives” and to “deployment of mobile CCTV cameras to target fly-tipping,” among other things.
The council had originally voted for a 4.74% rise, but later revised this down to 4.5% after the finance minister paused an ongoing revamp of how business rates are calculated.
The UUP finance spokesman Steve Aiken describe minister John O’Dowd’s halting of that revamp late last month as a “Starmer-esque u-turn” which “raises serious concerns about how future revaluations will be conducted”.
It came after an outcry from pubs and hotels, who complained that under the revamp they would be left paying vastly more.