The Non-Domestic Rates (Liability for Unoccupied Properties) (Scotland) Act 2026 received Royal Assent on 7 January 2026. It confirms that owner liability for empty non-domestic properties applies from 1 April 2023 and that the Act takes effect the day after Royal Assent. ([parliament.scot](https://www.parliament.scot/bills-and-laws/bills/s6/non-domestic-rates-liability-for-unoccupied-properties-scotland-bill))
The Act inserts a new section 24ZA into the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1966. Where lands and heritages on the valuation roll have no occupier, the owner becomes liable for the non-domestic rate that would otherwise have been payable if there were an occupier, and the rating code applies as if the property were occupied by the owner. ([parliament.scot](https://www.parliament.scot/-/media/files/legislation/bills/s6-bills/non-domestic-rates-liability-for-unoccupied-properties-scotland-bill/stage-2/spbill78as062025.pdf))
The meanings of “owner” and “occupier” are those in section 379 of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1947. In practice, an owner includes the person entitled to receive rent or to occupy unlet property, and an occupier is the tenant, sub‑tenant or person in actual occupation. ([legislation.gov.uk](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/Geo6/10-11/43/section/379?utm_source=openai))
Owner liability under section 24ZA is expressly subject to rates relief schemes established by councils under section 3A of the Local Government (Financial Provisions etc.) (Scotland) Act 1962, to regulations made under section 153 of the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994, and to any other statutory provision that reduces or remits liability. Current relief frameworks for 2025–26 sit alongside this in separate Scottish Statutory Instruments. ([parliament.scot](https://www.parliament.scot/-/media/files/legislation/bills/s6-bills/non-domestic-rates-liability-for-unoccupied-properties-scotland-bill/stage-2/spbill78as062025.pdf))
The legislation rectifies a legal gap created by the Non‑Domestic Rates (Scotland) Act 2020. Repeal of section 24 of the 1966 Act took effect on 1 April 2023 but did not disapply section 16(1) of the Valuation and Rating (Scotland) Act 1956, which states that rates are payable by occupiers only; the new Act restores a clear route for owner liability and adds a cross‑reference in section 16 to the new section 24ZA. ([parliament.scot](https://www.parliament.scot/-/media/files/legislation/bills/s6-bills/non-domestic-rates-liability-for-unoccupied-properties-scotland-bill/introduced/spbill78ens062025accessible.pdf))
Scottish Government communications state that the measure protects revenue already collected since April 2023 and maintains the policy agreed in 2020 to give councils control over empty property relief. Ministers have said the change does not impose additional costs beyond that intended policy. ([gov.scot](https://www.gov.scot/news/non-domestic-rates-on-empty-properties/?utm_source=openai))
The Act also provides a regulation‑making power for incidental, supplementary, consequential and transitional matters, including the payment or repayment of sums incurred in enforcing liability since 1 April 2023. Regulations may modify enactments (including this Act), must follow the affirmative procedure, and require consultation with persons representative of those liable before being made. ([parliament.scot](https://www.parliament.scot/-/media/files/legislation/bills/s6-bills/non-domestic-rates-liability-for-unoccupied-properties-scotland-bill/stage-2/spbill78as062025.pdf))
For property owners, the effect is clarity that councils can continue to bill for periods when properties were unoccupied on or after 1 April 2023, subject to any local or national reliefs. Owners who incurred enforcement surcharges or fees during the interim period should monitor forthcoming regulations for any repayment provisions. ([parliament.scot](https://www.parliament.scot/-/media/files/legislation/bills/s6-bills/non-domestic-rates-liability-for-unoccupied-properties-scotland-bill/stage-2/spbill78as062025.pdf))
For councils, the Act validates the approach taken since April 2023 and confirms recovery routes for arrears while preserving discretion over local empty property relief. The Explanatory Notes indicate that regulations could address reimbursement of the automatic 10% surcharge applied when a summary warrant is issued under section 247 of the 1947 Act. ([gov.scot](https://www.gov.scot/news/non-domestic-rates-on-empty-properties/?utm_source=openai))
Key dates are now fixed in statute: owner‑liability is treated as in effect from 1 April 2023, and the Act commenced on 8 January 2026. Finance teams should reconcile bills, appeals and enforcement actions on that basis, with further detail to follow if ministers bring forward regulations. ([parliament.scot](https://www.parliament.scot/-/media/files/legislation/bills/s6-bills/non-domestic-rates-liability-for-unoccupied-properties-scotland-bill/stage-2/spbill78as062025.pdf))