do Academies have to charge VAT for sport hall hire from the 1st of January 2025?

I hire the sports hall at an Academy in London and the school said there is a Government mandate to charge VAT from the 1st of December 2025, however reading on this forum and on https://academyvat.co.uk/vat-rules-academies/vat-lettings/ seems this is not the case. Please would you be able to confirm or otherwise? thank you

It is possible that the Academy has chosen to "opt to tax" their sports fields and sports hall and that then removes any sporting exemption that may have existed previously. Opting to tax means the rent of any property (building, field, pitch) is subject to VAT and any exemption is lost. Opting to tax is often seen where the business is about to undergo significant capital expenditure (such as a new pitch or flood lighting). I'm not aware of any specific rule changes relating to Academies from 01st December 2024 (or 2025), Academies are usually state funded organisations and fall outside of the private school VAT rules that are coming in from January 2025. If you think the Academy is wrong then not much HMRC can do, as this seems like a contractual dispute between customer and supplier. Until you get to the bottom of the reason for this change. I would suggest going back to the Academy and asking them to point you in the direction of this legislative change or at the very least ask them to explain in more detail as to what the changes are.

Hi,
There has been changes to the VAT liability of education provided by private education providers.
Please see the guidance below:
Charging and reclaiming VAT on goods and services related to private school fees
If a school is hiring out sporting facilitoiies please see the guidelines below regarding the VAT position:
Land and property (VAT Notice 742)
Thank you.