The Land Reform (Scotland) Bill has been passed. The Bill, which was introduced back in March 2024, aims to regulate the management and transfer of large landholdings and modernise agricultural tenancy law. The Bill has been fiercley debated and is a contentious piece of legislation. The Bill is in three parts.
Part 1 of the Bill refers to large land holdings, these are either a single holding or a composite holding of over 1,000 hectares (amended down from 3,000 hectares during the Bill’s passage through Parliament). The new legislation includes;
- Land Management Plans – for large land holdings there will be a requirement for publicly available Land Management Plans (LMP) to be prepared, with community engagement on their development and when there are any significant changes. LMPs will need to be reviewed every 5-years.
- Community right to buy – when a large holding is to be transferred, community bodies are given an opportunity to register an interest; they will be informed when the land is being sold and lotting decisions (see below) must take account of existing occupation, giving occupants the chance to buy. This will end any private, off-market, deals; community bodies, tenants and crofters will have to be informed of the sale.
- Lotting power – if being sold/transferred the owner will have to apply to Ministers for a decision on whether to sub-divide the land into lots. Ministers may require them to break the holding into smaller lots before transfer, if that is considered in the public interest.
- Enforcement – a new Land and Communities Commissioner will have the power to investigate and enforce compliance. If the owner fails to comply with the obligations i.e not having a LMP, the Commissioner can impose a fine and this has been raised to a maximum of £40,000
Part 2 of the Bill seeks to modernise Scotland’s system of land tenure by creating a new model lease to promote environmental sustainable land use and reforming legislation around small landholdings and agricultural tenancies. This includes;
- A Model lease for environmental purposes – Scottish Ministers are required to publish a Model Lease designed for letting land where the use is wholly or partly for an environmental purpose.
- Small landholdings – alligning these more closely with agricultural holdings in terms of rights and functions.
- Agricultural Holdings – the Bill introduces amendments to both the Agricultural Holdings (Scotland) Act 1991 and the Agricultural Holdings Act 2003 including;
- registration of interest and right to buy
- Landlord’s right to resumption including notice, compensation and reversion arrangements
- compensation for improvments, including improvments which enhance sustainable or regenerative agricultural production
- extending Tenant’s diversification to cover environmental benefits
- compensation for game damage
- rent reviews – including the productive capacity of the holding, rent payable on similar holdings, economic conditions of relevant agricultural sectors, open market rent for Landlord’s fixed equipment not used for agriculture, and open market rent for land not used for agriculture
- the rules for good estate management and rules of good husbandry to include references to sustainable and regenerative practices
Part 3 of the Bill covers misceallaneous provisions, including ancillary provisions, regulation – making powers, commencement and the short title.
Not surprisingly there is a split in reactions to the Bill. Community groups and land‑reform campaigners welcomed parts of the Bill as a step forward for transparency and empowerment of local communities but some feel the Bill does not go far enough. Large landowners have voiced concern over the Bill describing it as overly bureaucratic and likely to discourage investment.
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