Understanding the Draft Rates Revaluation and What You Can Do

1. HOW THE NON-DOMESTIC RATES SYSTEM WORKS

What are Non-Domestic Rates?

Non-Domestic Rates (NDR) are a form of local taxation paid by businesses. For self-catering operators, the starting point is the Rateable Value (RV) that the local Assessor assigns to your property. Your RV is not your bill. It is simply the value that the rest of the system uses to calculate what you owe.

Who does what?

Assessors 

Assessors are independent officials. They:

• decide whether your property is classed as non-domestic,
• check if you meet the 140-night and 70-night eligibility thresholds,
• and set your Rateable Value using the valuation methodology.

Assessors do not set tax rates, reliefs or final bills.

Scottish Government 

The Scottish Government:

• sets the poundage rate (the national pence-in-the-pound tax applied to your RV),
• sets the rules for all reliefs, including the Small Business Bonus Scheme,
• and has the statutory power to change the valuation rules, assumptions and methodology. Ministers can intervene, pause or reform the revaluation through legislation.

Local Authorities 

Local authorities simply:

• apply the Scottish Government’s poundage,
• apply any reliefs (such as SBBS),
• issue the bills,
• and collect the payments.

They do not play any role in setting Rateable Values. 

Why are RVs rising so sharply this time?

The 2026 revaluation uses a new rental-only methodology.
This is a significant departure from past practice. Past revaluations considered income, profitability, quality bands, property types, and detailed adjustments. These have been removed.

Assessors are now basing bed-space rates on:

• rental information from only 501 of 16,513 self-catering properties,
• and a national sample of just 135 rented properties, many involving connected parties rather than genuine open-market rents.

Independent analysis shows this small dataset is not representative and has resulted in substantial, often extreme, increases. Many operators are seeing rises of 120 percent on average, with individual cases close to 300 percent.

The timeline

• 30 November 2025: Draft RVs published
• Until 16 February 2026: Operators can send evidence to Assessors to request a review of draft RVs
• 13 January 2026: Scottish Budget sets poundage and announces any changes to reliefs such as SBBS.
• 1 April 2026: Final RVs come into force (formal appeals can then be lodged)

Why the Budget matters

Even if your RV rises sharply, you won’t know your actual bill until the Scottish Government sets:

• the new poundage, and
• the new SBBS thresholds. The threshold for SBBS was lowered in 2023 to £12,000.

Many operators risk being pushed above the current £12,000 threshold for full SBBS relief.

• Find out more here.
• You can find out your draft rateable value for 2026 here.
• Further information on Draft Valuations, including FAQs, is available at Draft Valuation Notices – Scottish Assessors.

2. WHAT YOU CAN DO RIGHT NOW

A. Write to your Assessor

If your draft RV has increased significantly, write to your Assessor now. Explain:

• any factual errors (beds, location category, property details),
• why the draft valuation looks unrealistic for your business,
• and provide any supporting evidence.

Assessors can still adjust draft RVs before 16 February.

B. Write to your MSP

Ask your MSP to support an immediate pause of the 2026 revaluation for self-catering.

The ASSC’s has submitted a legislative proposal which clearly demonstrates that the Scottish Government has the power to:

• pause the process,
• suspend the rental-only methodology,
• reinstate a receipts-based model,
• and require Assessors to publish the rental dataset used.

Encouraging your MSP to act increases pressure for parliamentary intervention.

C. Write to your MP and local councillors

Explain the local impact:

• jobs,
• rural sustainability,
• tourism viability,
• and community consequences.

D. Write to the press

Share your story. Short, factual personal accounts are effective in showing the human impact of these flawed valuations.

E. Make noise

Share your experience with neighbours, suppliers, community councils, business groups and local tourism organisations. Collective visibility increases pressure for change.

3. SHORT BULLET-POINT TEMPLATES FOR LETTERS

The points below are provided as optional prompts to support you in setting out your case clearly and confidently. They are not intended to be used verbatim, and you should adapt or expand on them to reflect your own business, circumstances and experience. Personalised messages are often the most effective.

A.Writing to Assessors

• My draft RV has risen from £[x] to £[y], an increase of [percentage]%, which appears unrealistic.
• The valuation contains factual inaccuracies (e.g. bed spaces, property type, location category).
• Please confirm the details and assumptions used in my valuation.
• The new rental-only methodology is producing extreme increases, based on a very limited and unrepresentative rental dataset (501 of 16,513 properties, 135 used nationally).
• My trading performance does not support such an increase.
• I request a full review of my draft RV before the February deadline.

B. Writing to MSPs

• The 2026 rental-only methodology is flawed and based on an extremely small, non-representative dataset.
• Draft RVs across the sector have increased by an average of 120 percent, with cases approaching 300 percent.
• Many operators may lose SBBS relief due to inflated RVs.
• The Scottish Government has the statutory power to pause and reform the revaluation.
• Please support the sector by calling for an immediate pause and a review of the methodology, in line with the ASSC’s legislative proposal.
• Without intervention, businesses, jobs and rural communities will face serious harm.

Author of Guidance: ASSC
Date of Guidance: December 2025
Version Number: V1

Disclaimer – Guidance Sheets are written by experienced Members of the ASSC and other experts. The information in the ‘Guidance Sheet’ is provided by the ASSC for use by Members in support of their own independent business decisions. It does not constitute advice or instruction for which the ASSC can be held liable in any way whatsoever. All Members and other readers remain responsible for the consequences of any decisions taken whether in the light of information gained from this Guidance Sheet or not.