There are currently no known outstanding effects for The Non-Domestic Rates (Levying and Miscellaneous Amendment) (Scotland) Regulations 2026, Section 7.

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PART 2Levying Regulations

Amount payable as rates – newly re-occupied lands and heritages with rateable value of £100,000 or less7.

(1)

Subject to paragraph (3) and to regulation 9, no rates are payable in respect of lands and heritages on any day in the relevant year where the conditions set out in paragraph (2) are met.

(2)

The conditions referred to in paragraph (1) are—

(a)

the lands and heritages have a rateable value of £100,000 or less,

(b)

the lands and heritages were unoccupied but became re-occupied on a date on or after 1 April 2025,

(c)

the lands and heritages were continuously unoccupied for a period of six months or more immediately prior to becoming re-occupied,

(d)

no more than 12 months have elapsed since the date on which the lands and heritages became re-occupied, and

(e)

an application for relief has been made in accordance with paragraph (4), unless relief was granted under regulation 7 of the 2025 Regulations.

(3)

No rate relief is granted in consequence of paragraph (1) in respect of—

(a)

lands and heritages which are—

(i)

unoccupied, or

(ii)

used wholly or mainly for—

(aa)

the accommodation of one or more advertisements,

(bb)

the provision of facilities for betting (whether by making or accepting bets or by acting as a betting intermediary),

(cc)

the provision of one or more parking spaces, or

(dd)

payday lending,

(b)

lands and heritages which are used wholly or mainly for a purpose for which a short-term let licence is required, in accordance with article 4 of the 2022 Order, but for which no such licence has been obtained,

(c)

deer forests, except—

(i)

deer forests on which—

(aa)

shooting rights are exercised solely for the purposes of environmental management or for preventing damage to woodland or to agricultural production, or a combination of those purposes, and

(bb)

any deer shot are available for human consumption as venison,

(ii)

deer forests on which shooting rights are not exercised in practice, or

(d)

shootings, except—

(i)

shootings which are crofts, agricultural holdings or small landholdings,

(ii)

shootings which are leased on a commercial basis to a person who, in accordance with the Rural Development (Scotland) Regulations 2015, is in receipt of support under the Scottish Rural Development Programme, on account of being a new entrant to farming,

(iii)

shootings which are leased in accordance with the model lese for environmental purposes made available by the Scottish Ministers in terms of section 11 of the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2025,

(iv)

shootings on which—

(aa)

shooting rights are exercised solely for the purposes of environmental management or for preventing damage to woodland or to agricultural production, or a combination of those purposes, and

(bb)

any deer shot are made available for human consumption as venison,

(v)

shootings on which shooting rights are not exercised in practice.

(4)

An application for relief under this regulation or regulation 8 must—

(a)

be signed by the ratepayer or a person authorised to sign on behalf of the ratepayer,

(b)

where it is made under this regulation, specify the date on or after 1 April 2026 on which the lands and heritages became reoccupied,

(c)

be made to the rating authority in whose valuation roll the entry for the lands and heritages appears by—

(i)

addressing it to that authority, and

(ii)

delivering it to that authority’s office or sending it to that authority by electronic communication.

(5)

For the purposes of paragraph (4)—

“electronic communication” has the meaning given to it by section 15(1) of the Electronic Communications Act 200029 (“the 2000 Act”),

“person authorised to sign on behalf of the ratepayer” means—

(a)

where the ratepayer is a partnership, a partner of that partnership or any other person authorised by it,

(b)

where the ratepayer is a trust, a trustee of that trust or any other person authorised by it,

(c)

where the ratepayer is a body corporate, a director of that body or any other person authorised by it,

“sign or signed”, in relation to an application made by electronic communication, means an electronic signature as defined in section 7(2) of the 2000 Act30.