Empty property relief for shooting rights/deer forests
Empty property relief at 100% can be granted on shooting rights and deer forests where there are no buildings on the land and no commercial shooting or stalking takes place.
Dumfries and Galloway Council's Communities Committee agreed on 3 October 2023 that from 1 April 2024 all empty properties/land (A business premises which is not currently in use as an active business) would receive a maximum period of 1 year relief from when the property was last occupied.
The relief available would be as follows:
- 50% relief for first 3 months after rateable occupation ends
- 10% relief for 9 months after 3 month 50% relief ends
Eligibility
You can apply if the property you pay rates for meets the following criteria:
- Culling deer as part of the land management programme is acceptable as long as no one pays to be allowed to do so
- Taking paying guests out to shoot deer as part of a cull is regarded as commercial shooting/stalking and no relief will apply
- Letting shooting rights for vermin control to third parties for payment is regarded as commercial shooting and no relief will apply
- Where there is a building on the land the 100% relief cannot apply. This includes deer larders
A separate application form is required for each property.
What happens next
We'll review your application and let you know if you are entitled to a discount, this can take 2 or 3 weeks. We may ask for more information to help us make a decision.
