The grant offers assistance to taxpayers who are liable to pay the levy in the period 23 March to 23 September 2020. The grant can be equivalent to the levy added to the taxpayer’s account for a maximum three-month period, and it will be credited directly to the taxpayer’s Council Tax account.

The levy is applied to long-term empty properties and is part of the Scottish Government’s strategy to encourage owners to return them back into use.

Taxpayers trying to renovate their property - or trying to sell or lease it - may have experienced delays due to the current pandemic, and the grant scheme is designed to recognise this impact.

Applications for a grant may be made by taxpayers trying to:

1. sell their property
2. offer their property for rental
3. repair or renovate their property so that it could be occupied
4. dispose of their property in some other way.

In each case, the actions may have been prevented from happening by the COVID-19 pandemic.