Non-domestic rates/Council Tax second and empty homes consultation: business and regulatory impact assessment

Footnotes

1. Scottish Government housing statistics

2. Scottish Government housing statistics

3. The share of second and long-term empty homes is calculated relative to the total number of dwellings as at September 2022. The total number of dwellings includes chargeable dwellings and dwellings that hold exemptions but excludes free-standing lock-ups and garages.

4. An unoccupied exemption is a property that is exempt from council tax for a certain reason. A full list of the exemptions can be found within schedule 1 of The Council Tax (Exempt Dwellings) (Scotland) Order 1997 (legislation.gov.uk).

5. This figure is calculated by dividing the number of second homes by the total number of dwellings as at September 2022. The total number of dwellings includes chargeable dwellings and dwellings that hold exemptions but excludes free-standing lock-ups and garages.

6. This analysis is drawn from the NRS publication Household and Dwelling Estimates by Urban Rural Classification (2011 Data Zone based). The most recent data in this publication is for September 2021, with data for September 2022 scheduled to be published in June 2023. The data presented here is therefore for an earlier year than most of the other data presented in the BRIA, but the urban-rural split is unlikely to change significantly from year to year.

7. It should be noted that there may be some data quality issues in returns for councils. For example, a council which does not use the additional discretionary power for properties which have been empty for at least 12 months may not be able to readily report on how many properties fall into this category.

8. Council tax datasets - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

9. Figures do not sum to 100% because for some properties the length for which it has been vacant is unknown.

10. Revenue raised from varying the discount between 10-50% of council tax charge for second and empty homes must be ringfenced for affordable housing purposes as set out in section 4 of the Scottish Government's guidance

11. Based on Scottish Government internal analysis

12. Based on Scottish Government internal analysis