Self Catering Properties

Dwelling houses which are used for self catering holiday accommodation purposes can, in certain circumstances, be listed in the Non Domestic Valuation Roll instead of the Council Tax List.  The eligibility of such properties is checked on an annual basis.  It is the responsibility of the operators of such properties to provide evidence to the Assessor that the requirements have been satisfied for each financial year.

There is a time limit in law for providing evidence for each financial year.  The evidence must be provided by the later of 56 days after the end of the financial year to which it relates, or 56 days from the date the information is requested by the Assessor.  Any evidence received after this time cannot be considered.

The legislative requirements from The Council Tax (Dwellings and Part Residential Subjects) (Scotland) Regulations 1992 (as amended) are:

1. The property is not the sole or main residence of any person.
2. The property is available for letting on a commercial basis, and with a view to the making of profit, as self-catering accommodation for short periods amounting in the aggregate to 140 nights or more in the financial year.
3. The property has in practice been so let in the financial year for a total of 70 nights or more of the period of 140 nights described in head (2).

This legislation is independent of any HMRC rules in respect of Furnished Holiday Lets and any local authority licensing requirement.

 

Annual Audit – 2022/23

The Assessor has now completed the audit of properties listed in the Valuation Roll in the year 2022/23.  Where a property did not meet the requirements of the legislation, the entry in the Valuation Roll has now been removed.  An entry will be made instead in the Council Tax List.

If you did not make a return for 2022/23, and you believe that the requirements were satisfied, you may complete a declaration form –

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THIS IS THE LAST FINANCIAL YEAR FOR WHICH RETROSPECTIVE INFORMATION CAN BE PROVIDED.

Note – this form is a fillable PDF form which requires to be completed and returned by post or email.   Mobile phone browsers are generally unable to allow such forms to be completed.  

 

Annual Audit – 2023/24

The Annual Audit of properties in the Valuation Roll for the 2023/24 year is now underway.  The Assessor will send a request for information to the last known operator.  This must be responded to, with sufficient information, within 56 days.  If no response is received, or the information provided is insufficient, the Assessor must determine that the requirements are not met, and remove the property from the Valuation Roll, placing it instead in the Council Tax List from 1 April 2023.  ANY INFORMATION RECEIVED AFTER THE DEADLINE CANNOT BE CONSIDERED.

You do not need to wait for a request to be sent to you – you can complete a declaration form online at any time at saa.gov.uk/self-catering

 

Notes on the Requirements

Note 1 – Requirement that the property was available to let as Self-Catering Accommodation for at least 140 nights in the financial year 2023/24. 

 The following information should be provided:

• Copies of booking calendars showing available nights.
• Reference to a website/online marketing and/or details of any other type of advertising.

Note 2 – Requirement to provide evidence that a minimum actual letting of 70 nights was achieved in the 2023/24 financial year.

 The following information should be provided:

• Copies (either electronically or by print) of evidence of actual bookings that have taken place, including dates, and the income received from each booking.
• Where any individual booking is in excess of 28 nights, please provide additional explanation of the reason for this stay.
• A copy of tariff information for low/mid/high seasons.

If you use an online letting agency (e.g. Airbnb, Sykes, Booking.com) they should be able to provide you with a summary of bookings. This summary should clearly show the periods of each booking. 

If you undertake self-advertising (e.g. your own website/social media/word of mouth) and have no other form of evidence showing the income received from each booking, then you should also provide:

• Copies of bank statements (redacting non-relevant transactions) that show payment transactions from customers in relation to these confirmed bookings.

Please note that any non-commercial lettings to family members and friends should not be included in the 70 night actual letting requirement.