Council Tax Variation Regulations Scotland: SSI 2013/45, the 2023 and 2026 Amendments Explained
Three pieces of secondary legislation control what Scottish councils can charge on your second home or empty property. Understanding the legal framework helps when you're reading your council's policy, checking whether a premium has been lawfully applied, or preparing an appeal. Here's what each set of regulations does.
The Council Tax (Variation for Unoccupied Dwellings) (Scotland) Regulations 2013 — SSI 2013/45
This is the foundation. Made under powers in Section 33 of the Local Government in Scotland Act 2003, SSI 2013/45 came into force on 1 April 2013. It gave Scottish councils two new tools:
- Discretion to reduce or remove discounts on second homes and unoccupied properties. Before 2013, all unoccupied properties received an automatic discount. SSI 2013/45 let councils strip that away.
- A discretionary empty-home premium of up to 100% on properties that had been unoccupied for more than 12 months. This meant a council could double the council tax bill on a long-term empty dwelling.
SSI 2013/45 also defined the three property classifications that still apply today: second home (furnished, occupied 25+ days per year but not a sole or main residence), short-term unoccupied dwelling (occupied fewer than 25 days, empty under 12 months) and long-term empty home (continuously unoccupied over 12 months).
Schedule 2 of the regulations lists the exceptions — properties actively marketed for sale, marketed for let, or held by a new owner undertaking renovation — that are protected from the premium.
The 2023 Amendment — SSI 2023/389
The Council Tax (Variation for Unoccupied Dwellings) (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2023 came into force on 1 April 2024. It made two significant changes:
Second home premium power. For the first time, councils could levy a premium of up to 100% on second homes — not just long-term empty properties. This doubled the council tax on furnished properties used as second homes in councils that adopted the premium.
New owner renovation grace period. Paragraph 2A, inserted into Schedule 2, created a mandatory exception for a buyer who acquired an unoccupied property within the previous six months and is carrying out repairs or renovations that contribute to its improvement. The council cannot apply the empty-home premium for at least 6 months from the purchase date, and has discretion to extend this further.
The 2023 amendment is the reason most Scottish second home owners saw their bills double from April 2024.
The 2026 Amendment — SSI 2026/169 and the Housing (Scotland) Act 2025
The latest change took effect on 1 April 2026. The Housing (Scotland) Act 2025, together with SSI 2026/169, removed the statutory 100% cap on premiums. The national default remains 100%, but councils now have explicit discretion to set higher local premiums — 200%, 300%, 500% or more.
Midlothian Council has adopted a graduated structure reaching a 500% premium (a 600% total council tax charge). Highland and Glasgow set 200% second-home premiums. Edinburgh's second-home premium is 100% from 1 April through 31 December 2026, then 300% from 1 January 2027.
There is no upper statutory limit. Each council sets its rate under its local policy, and the Scottish Government issues guidance circulars (such as Circular 6/2026) rather than hard caps.
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What This Means in Practice
When you receive a council tax demand showing a premium, the lawfulness of that charge traces back through these regulations. Your council must be exercising a power SSI 2013/45 (as amended) actually grants. If a premium was applied before 1 April 2024 on a second home — rather than a long-term empty property — it was unlawful, because the second home premium power didn't exist until the 2023 amendment.
Similarly, the 2024 grace period for new buyers cannot be applied retrospectively. The First-tier Tribunal confirmed in Wood v Local Authority (2024) that the grace period operates only from 1 April 2024 onwards.
Understanding these dates and powers is essential groundwork for any appeal. Our Scotland second home and empty home council tax guide walks through the full statutory framework, the premium calculation formula and the three-stage appeal process — from Section 81 grievance through the Local Taxation Chamber.
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