New building safety levy risks punishing rural housing builders, warns SLE
Press ReleaseThe proposed Building Safety Levy (Scotland) Bill risks stalling rural housing delivery unless clear exemptions are introduced for small developers and rural projects, Scottish Land & Estates warned today.
The rural business organisation made the comments as it responded to a parliamentary consultation on the Bill which is currently at Stage 1 at Holyrood. The Bill seeks to introduce a levy on the construction of residential property in Scotland to help fund the Scottish Government’s cladding remediation programme.
SLE said whilst it supports the aim of ensuring safe buildings, the proposals are unfairly designed, targeting developers with no involvement in the cladding crisis and threatening to make rural housing projects unviable.
Anna Gardiner, Senior Policy Adviser (Business & Property) at Scottish Land & Estates, said:
“We fully support making buildings safe – but this is a blunt instrument that will punish rural builders for a problem they didn’t cause. In fragile housing markets, it could be the final nail in the coffin for small-scale development. The result will be fewer homes, higher costs and declining confidence in an already fragile sector.
“If the Scottish Government presses ahead without meaningful rural exemptions, we will see developments cancelled, investment withdrawn, and depopulation worsen. Rural housing delivery is already challenging without an extra levy playing into viability challenges. That’s the opposite of what Scotland’s housing strategy and rural economy needs.”
SLE said that rural housing is already far more expensive to deliver than urban projects, often costing twice as much per unit, with small developers working on tight margins. The organisation warns that a flat-rate levy charged at completion could push many projects over the financial edge.
In their consultation response, SLE has called for:
A full Rural Impact Assessment before the Bill progresses.
Exemptions for small-scale and SME-led rural housing projects.
Reliefs to protect housing delivery in low-margin, high-need rural areas.
SLE has also expressed concern that much of the Bill’s detail is being left to secondary legislation, creating uncertainty and undermining developer confidence.
Anna Gardiner continued: “We urge Ministers to learn from England’s approach, where smaller developments and those on brownfield land benefit from exemptions or discounted rates.
“These proposals threaten to undo much of the hard work that went into reassuring developers and investors around rent control measures, where positive steps have been taken to address industry concerns.
“The Scottish Government must put clear safeguards into the Bill now rather than waiting for secondary legislation. Rural Scotland cannot be an afterthought.”
A copy of SLE's consultation response can be read here.