Scottish building safety levy - technical consultation - Scottish Government consultations

Overview

This consultation seeks views on approaches for the floorspace methodology for the Scottish Building Safety Levy (referred to as 'The Levy' in this consultation), options for refining the tax base through further exemptions or reliefs, and payment flexibilities for certain development types. This will enable the Scottish Government to obtain views from the public and professional experts to inform the final design and delivery of the Levy, in advance of the introduction date of 1 April 2028.

This consultation builds on engagement already undertaken to shape the design and implementation of the Levy. This includes the joint UK-Scottish Government consultation on the devolution of powers for the Levy published in January 2024; our Consultation on the principles of a Scottish Building Safety Levy, published in September 2024; the work of the Building Safety Levy Expert Advisory set up to information policy development on the Levy; and reflects on the work undertaken by the UK Government in shaping its England-only Levy through consultation.

This document should be read in conjunction with the publication of indicative rates for the Levy, published alongside this consultation on 31 July 2026.

Read the consultation paper. The consultation paper contains full background information for this consultation. You may find it useful to read or refer to while responding.

Consultation questions preview Consultation questions preview

The consultation questions are included here for your reference. Please click 'Begin consultation' at the bottom of this page to proceed.

Question 1

Do you agree that floorspace should be calculated using Gross Internal Area (GIA)?

Question 2

Do you agree that communal areas of a building should be excluded from being charged?

Question 3

Do you agree that, for the purposes of introducing a relief for units built on brownfield land, the definition of ‘brownfield’ should include land that is occupied by a building?

Question 4

Do you agree that, for the purposes of introducing a relief for units built on brownfield land, the definition of ‘brownfield’ should include land which is considered contaminated land?

Question 5

Do you agree that, for the purposes of introducing a relief for units built on brownfield land, the definition of ‘brownfield’ should include land which contains large, fixed surface structures, such as roads or car parks?

Question 6

Do you agree that, for the purposes of introducing a relief for units built on brownfield land, the definition of ‘brownfield’ should include land that was developed for agricultural or forestry purposes?

Question 7

Do you agree that, for the purposes of introducing a relief for units built on brownfield land, the definition of ‘brownfield’ should include land that was developed for minerals extraction?

Question 8

Do you agree that, for the purposes of introducing a relief for units built on brownfield land, the definition of ‘brownfield’ should include land that was developed for waste disposal by landfill?

Question 9

Are there any other criteria not captured above that should be considered when defining brownfield land for the purposes of a relief?

Question 10

What percentage rate of relief do you think should be applied to units built on brownfield land?

Question 11

Do you agree that a further relief or exemption should be provided for conversions?

Question 12

If you agree that a relief or exemption should be applied for conversions, should this relief apply to the conversion of non-residential buildings, residential buildings, or both?

Question 13

Do you agree that BTR and PBSA developments that have been granted a building warrant before 5 June 2025 should be given the option to make payments over a period of up to three years?

Question 14

What are your views on the introduction of a full or partial relief for taxpayers responsible for completed units that are sold onto first time buyers?

Question 15

What are your views on the conditions that would have to be met in order to qualify for a first-time buyer relief?

Question 16

What evidence would a taxpayer be able to provide to evidence their sale of a property onto a first-time buyer?

Question 17

If implemented, do you think that such a relief would benefit first time buyers, for example through proportionately lower house prices or more housing stock?

Question 18

What other mechanisms should the Scottish Government explore to help support first-time buyers?

Useful information about responding to this consultation Useful information about responding to this consultation

As you complete your response, each page will provide the option to 'Save and come back later' at the bottom. This means you can save your progress and return to the consultation at any time before it closes. If you don't use this feature and leave the consultation midway through, your response will be lost.

Once you have submitted your response, you can enter your email address to get a pdf copy of your answers sent to you.

On the 'About You' page at the end of this consultation, organisations will have the opportunity to tell us more about their work and/or how their response was informed.

After the consultation has closed there will be a few months delay before any responses are published. This is because we must check any responses to be published abide by our Terms of Use.

All relevant submitted responses will be analysed. This may be carried out by third party organisations who Scottish Government, its executive agencies or non-ministerial offices, contract to do this work. Such data sharing will be governed by appropriate contractual arrangements to keep your data secure.

An analysis report will usually be published some months after the consultation has closed. This report will summarise the findings based on all responses submitted. It will be published on the Scottish Government website and you may be notified about it if you choose to share your email address with us.

You can also join our consultation mailing list where we regularly list newly published analysis reports (as well as new consultations).

Why your views matter

This consultation offers the opportunity to comment on a range of aspects of policy which aim to ensure the Levy achieves the policy intention of providing funding for the Cladding Remediation Programme whilst operating as frictionlessly as possible on the housebuilding sector. Views captured will also help to inform relevant impact assessments and ensure the Levy does not create unintended consequences.

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Scottish building safety levy - technical consultation