The Association of Scotland’s Self-Caterers (ASSC) wishes to provide a comprehensive update following the release of the draft rateable values (RVs) and the accompanying Practice Note for the 2026 Revaluation.
What is a Rateable Value?
A Rateable Value is the amount the Assessor determines your property is worth on the open market, based on a specified valuation date. Your RV is not your bill. The Scottish Government applies an annual “poundage” rate to determine your Non-Domestic Rates liability. Relief schemes, such as SBBS, may reduce or eliminate the final bill.
Assessors have now published the proposed national rates per adjusted bed space, which will be used where there is no local evidence. These figures represent significant increases for self-catering operators:
For most rural and semi-rural operators, the relevant category is Fair Demand. The new rate of £1,200 per bedspace for properties with more than two bedspaces represents a substantial rise from £550 in the 2023 revaluation. This uplift exceeds 118 percent before any local adjustment is applied, and it does not reflect the current trading performance of the sector.
Understanding the roles in the Non-Domestic Rates System
Concerns about methodology
The ASSC has engaged with Assessors for several months in anticipation that such increases may arise due to the underlying methodology. Our concerns, set out in our consultation response, were explicit and remain unchanged. Assessors are basing RVs almost entirely on rental evidence, yet only 501 of Scotland’s 16,513 self-catering units are recorded as rented, representing just 3 percent of properties. Many of these appear to be between connected parties or structured for tax or personal reasons, not as genuine open market transactions. This is documented clearly in our consultation response, which notes that this dataset is “small and questionable” and cannot provide a “credible foundation for a national valuation methodology” .
Our NDR Revaluation Briefing Note further explains that relying on these 501 rentals risks setting RV levels that are “excessive and unrepresentative of the ability to pay rates,” and warns that many of the existing agreements “may not be genuinely open market rents”.
Risk to the Small Business Bonus Scheme
There are also serious concerns for operators currently benefiting from the Small Business Bonus Scheme (SBBS). The consultation response highlights that inflated RVs could push many above the current £12,000 threshold, placing large numbers of businesses at risk of losing relief entirely. With no clarity from the Scottish Government on whether thresholds will change for 2026, the combined effect of methodological change and threshold uncertainty poses a significant risk to sector sustainability.
Disconnection from commercial reality
The proposed bedspace rates do not reflect sector performance. Many operators have experienced reduced occupancy and tightening margins. The ASSC sees no evidence to justify uplifted figures such as £1,200 per bedspace in Fair Demand areas.
Early examples submitted by members already demonstrate increases that, in some cases, exceed 200 percent:
These increases are disproportionate and would be unmanageable for many businesses.
What the ASSC has done
The ASSC has written today to Assessors across Scotland requesting:
What the ASSC has already argued in the consultation process
The ASSC has been consistent in recommending that Assessors adopt a profitability-based model rather than one driven by unreliable rent data. Profit and loss accounts offer a transparent, realistic measure of operator performance and would allow for fair adjustments based on location, seasonality, bed spaces and quality. This approach would:
These points were clearly set out in our consultation response.
What Assessors will do next
Assessors will continue to review proposed values in response to new information received and property changes applied between 30 November 2025 and 15 March 2026.
Please regularly review your 2026 Proposed Value Tab to check if there has been any change to the value expected to apply from 01 April 2026.
The proposed values may change before that date if, for example, alterations are carried out to the property or if the Assessor obtains information that affects the initial assessment. A Valuation Notice confirming the proposed values and providing information on appeal rights will be issued prior to April 2026.
Immediate next steps
To build a robust picture of the impact and strengthen our evidence base, the ASSC conducted a snap survey to capture:
This dataset is essential for engagement with Assessors, local authorities and ministers.
The ASSC also strongly encourage you to write to your MSPs and MPs and Assessors.
Conclusion
The scale of the proposed increases, combined with a reliance on extremely limited and questionable rental evidence, creates a fundamentally flawed valuation framework. The ASSC will continue to challenge any approach that lacks evidence, threatens business viability, or undermines fairness in the rating system.
The ASSC remains fully committed to ensuring that the sector’s concerns are rigorously represented and that a fair, evidence-based valuation model is secured.