Current status: Answered by Hannah Mary Goodlad on 16 June 2026
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the total costs incurred by local authorities as a result of the legislative error in the Non-Domestic Rates (Scotland) Act 2020 that provided no legal basis on which to levy rates on unoccupied properties from 1 April 2023.
The Non-Domestic Rates (Liability for Unoccupied Properties) (Scotland) Act 2026 clarified the legal basis to levy non-domestic rates on the owners of unoccupied properties, subject to any reliefs that local authorities may choose to put in place, with retrospective effect from 1 April 2023. The Act brought the statute book into line with the original policy intention and the position as understood by local authorities and ratepayers, and applied by local authorities.
The Financial Memorandum accessible for the Non-Domestic Rates (Liability for Unoccupied Properties) (Scotland) Bill set out the estimated costs associated with the measures introduced by the Bill including costs for local authorities.
Local authorities have not specifically reported any exceptional costs in relation to this Act to the Scottish Government.