Citation and commencement

1.  This Order may be cited as the Council Tax (Exempt Dwellings) (Scotland) Amendment Order 2025 and comes into force on 1 April 2025.

Amendment of the Council Tax (Exempt Dwellings) (Scotland) Order 1997

2.—(1) The Council Tax (Exempt Dwellings) (Scotland) Order 1997( 2) is amended in accordance with paragraphs (2) and (3).

(2) In article 2 (interpretation)( 3)—

(a) after the definition of “charitable” insert—

““ close relative ” means any of the following—

(b) after the definition of “student” insert—

““ unmarried partner ” means the other member of a couple consisting of two people who are not married to, or civil partners of, each other but are living together as if they were a married couple or civil partners; ”.

(3) In schedule 1 (exempt dwellings) for paragraph 26 (accommodation for persons formerly residing in Ukraine) substitute—

“Persons formally residing in Ukraine

26.   A dwelling which—

(a) is the sole or main residence of at least one person who—

(i) holds permission to enter or stay in the United Kingdom granted under the Homes for Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme or the Ukraine Permission Extension Scheme set out in Appendix Ukraine Scheme of the Immigration Rules made under section 3(2) of the Immigration Act 1971( 4) , or

(ii) has applied for permission to stay under the Ukraine Permission Extension Scheme and is awaiting the outcome of the application,

(b) is being made available by a host approved by a local authority in accordance with the version of the guidance entitled “Super Sponsor Scheme and Homes for Ukraine: guidance for local authorities” published by the Scottish Ministers on 4 February 2025( 5) ,

(c) is not being made available by a host who is a close relative of the person, and

(d) is not the sole or main residence of any person other than—

(i) a person described in sub-paragraph (a), or

(ii) a person falling within paragraph 10(a) (dwellings occupied by students, etc.). ”.

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Order)

This Order amends the Council Tax (Exempt Dwellings) (Scotland) Order 1997 (“ the 1997 Order”), which lists those classes of dwellings which are exempt from council tax in Scotland.

Article 2(3) substitutes a new paragraph 26 into schedule 1 of the 1997 Order. New paragraph 26(a) and (b) updates the exemption relating to dwellings made available as the sole or main residence of a person with permission to enter or stay in the United Kingdom under the Homes for Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme. The effect is that no council tax is payable in respect of certain such dwellings where the accommodation is being made available by a host approved by a local authority in accordance with the version of the guidance entitled “Super Sponsor Scheme and Homes for Ukraine: guidance for local authorities” published by the Scottish Ministers on 4 February 2025 (“the Super Sponsor Scheme and Homes for Ukraine guidance”). Further, new paragraph 26(a) and (b) provides that no council tax is payable in respect of certain dwellings used as the sole or main residence of a person who has permission to stay in the United Kingdom under the Ukraine Permission Extension Scheme, or who is awaiting the outcome of an application for permission under that scheme. Again the accommodation must be made available by a host approved in accordance with the Super Sponsor Scheme and Homes for Ukraine guidance.

In relation to both the Homes for Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme and the Ukraine Permission Extension Scheme, paragraph 26(c) provides that the exemption applies only where the host is not a close relative of the person being hosted. Article 2(2) of this Order inserts a definition of “close relative” and “unmarried partner” into the interpretation provision of the 1997 Order. Paragraph 26(d) provides that a further condition of exemption is that the dwelling is not the sole or main residence of any person who falls neither within paragraph 26(a) nor within paragraph 10(a) of schedule 1, relating to dwellings occupied by specified persons, including students.