Historic Houses was established to champion and represent the UK’s independent historic houses, castles and gardens. The importance of keeping these important historic buildings in good repair is widely recognised. The cost of doing so, however, is frequently challenging. The cost of historic buildings repairs is often higher than for modern equivalents, due to the need for specialist materials and skills, which are often more costly and sometimes more difficult to obtain. The heritage sector has long campaigned for reducing the VAT on the repair and maintenance of historic buildings.  

Harlow Consulting was commissioned to undertake research to understand the potential impact of introducing a VAT rebate aimed at supporting repair and maintenance works to publicly accessible listed buildings. A mixed-methodology combined desk research, depth interviews, an online stakeholder survey and modelling of the likely financial and behavioural impacts of introducing Historic Houses’ preferred VAT-rebate scheme. 

The research findings show changes to the VAT rebate scheme for the heritage sector would better safeguard the country’s fragile historic attractions, widen public access, and provide an economic boost. Our report also concluded that important listed buildings face a £2bn maintenance shortfall, and that a rebate could unlock £7m of economic benefit.