Scottish Building Safety Levy: technical consultation

3. Brownfield Relief

3.1 Definition of brownfield land

The 2026 Act contains requirements for Scottish Ministers to lay regulations to provide a relief of at least 50% for new residential units that are constructed on brownfield land. This relief supports the Scottish Government’s NPF4 commitment to promote and facilitate the reuse of brownfield, vacant and derelict land and empty buildings. The use of brownfield sites also presents particular challenges in respect of site preparation, which can result in higher development costs. A reduction in liability for the SBSL will help offset these higher costs compared to undeveloped land.

The UK Government’s England-only Levy also includes an additional discounted rate per local authority for development undertaken on a ‘previously developed site’. This discount is effectively set at a 50% reduced rate for each local authority area. Regulation 21 of The Building Safety Levy (England) Regulations 2025 defines land as previously developed if, on or after 1st July 1948, a building was situated on the land, whether or not that building is situated on the land on the relevant date. This definition of previously developed land excludes the following:

• land that is or was last occupied by agricultural or forestry buildings;
• land that has been developed for minerals extraction; and
• land that has been developed for waste disposal by landfill;

There is no statutory definition of ‘brownfield’ land in Scotland. For the purposes of its functions, NPF4 provides a definition of brownfield as “land which has previously been developed. The term may cover vacant or derelict land, land occupied by redundant or unused buildings and developed land within the settlement boundary where further intensification of use is considered acceptable.”

While the NPF4 definition of brownfield is a well-established definition for planning purposes, its broad terminology and flexibility would be difficult in a tax context, where clarity is essential to ensure tax is correctly paid and accounted for.

To achieve the required certainty for taxpayers, the Scottish Government welcomes views on the criteria that should be used to define whether land is considered brownfield land for the purposes of the Levy. We have broken these down into the following criteria for consideration:

• Where a building is situated on the land
• Whether the land is ‘contaminated land’
• Whether the land has large, fixed surface infrastructure, such as roads or car parks
• Whether the land was used for agricultural or forestry purposes (including being occupied by agricultural or forestry buildings)
• Whether the land was developed for minerals extraction; and
• Whether the land has been developed for waste disposal by landfill

By ‘contaminated land’, we refer to the legal definition of contaminated land, which is land where substances are causing or are likely to cause:

• significant harm to people or protected species
• significant pollution of surface waters or groundwater

Question 3: do you agree that, for the purposes of introducing a relief for units built on brownfield land, the definition of ‘brownfield’ should include land that is occupied by a building?

Question 4: do you agree that, for the purposes of introducing a relief for units built on brownfield land, the definition of ‘brownfield’ should include land which is considered contaminated land?

Question 5: do you agree that, for the purposes of introducing a relief for units built on brownfield land, the definition of ‘brownfield’ should include land which contains large, fixed, surface infrastructures, such as roads or car parks?

Question 6: do you agree that, for the purposes of introducing a relief for units built on brownfield land, the definition of ‘brownfield’ should include land that was developed for agricultural or forestry purposes?

Question 7: do you agree that, for the purposes of introducing a relief for units built on brownfield land, the definition of ‘brownfield’ should include land that was developed for minerals extraction?

Question 8: do you agree that, for the purposes of introducing a relief for units built on brownfield land, the definition of ‘brownfield’ should include land that was developed for waste disposal by landfill?

Question 9: are there any other criteria not captured above that should be considered when defining brownfield land for the purposes of a relief?

3.2 Rate of brownfield relief

The Scottish Government has committed to introducing a relief of at least 50% for units built on brownfield land.

A 50% relief would be proportionate to the UK Government’s position of a 50% reduced rate for brownfield developments in England. The Scottish Government has considered implementing a higher relief for brownfield development. However, this would mean less revenue would be generated for cladding remediation or developers not building on brownfield land would need to make a proportionately higher contribution.

Question 10: what percentage rate of relief do you think should be applied to units built on brownfield land?