Fresh start relief

Relief of 100% is available for a period of up to 12 months, for certain occupied premises. The property does not need to include a building to be eligible. The following criteria must be met:

• The property has been unoccupied for a continuous period of at least six months immediately prior to the applicant's occupation - you must provide documentary evidence of this, ie. Confirmation from agent marketing property.
• No more than 12 months have elapsed since the date on which the lands and heritages became re-occupied.
• The property has a RV of up to £100,000.

Payday lenders are not eligible for Fresh Start relief.

The following are not eligible for Fresh Start relief from 1 April 2026: advertisements, car parks, betting shops, properties requiring a short-term let licence to operate but which have not obtained one, and shootings with the following exceptions:

• Shootings which are crofts, agricultural holdings or small landholdings. 
• Shootings which are leased on a commercial basis to a person who, in accordance with the Rural Development (Scotland) Regulations 2015, is in receipt of support under the Scottish Rural Development Programme, on account of being a new entrant to farming.
• Shootings which are leased in accordance with the model lease for environmental purposes made available by the Scottish Ministers in terms of section 11 of the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2025.
• Shootings/deer forests on which:
  - shooting rights are exercised solely for the purposes of environmental management or for preventing damage to woodland or agricultural production, or a combination of those purposes, and any deer shot are made available for human consumption as venison, and
  - shooting rights are not exercised.

If you wish to apply, download Fresh Start Application - 2026 (Word doc, 43 KB).