Land Reform in Scotland

Land reform in Scotland began by the Land Reform Act 2003, an Act of the Scottish Parliament which ends the historic legacy of feudal law.

It has three parts: unhindered access to open countryside, rights for communities to buy their land when the landowner puts it to sell, and rights of crofting communities to buy their land even without the consent of the landowner. This latter right decisively changes the balance of power between the crofting community and the landowner.

1. The first part formalised the tradition in Scotland of unhindered access to open countryside. It created a framework for responsible access to land and inland water, formalising the tradition in Scotland of unhindered access to open countryside, provided that care was taken not to cause damage or interfere with activities including farming and game stalking. Similar legislation was passed for England and Wales with the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000. This aspect of the Act follows the distinctive approach set out in the Outdoor Access Code, specifying the rights and responsibilities of land managers, countryside users and recreational managers.

2. The second part established the Community Right to Buy in order to allow communities with a population of less than 10,000 in Scotland to apply to register an interest in land and the opportunity to buy that land when it comes up for sale.

3. The third part of the Act gives crofting communities the right to buy, in other words to acquire and control the croft land where they live and work and to acquire the interest of the tenant in tenanted land (interposed lease). It decisively changes the balance of power between the crofting community and the landowner. The major distinguishing feature of the crofting community right to buy is that it is a right which can be exercised at any time. It does not depend on the land being for sale, as under the community right to buy. In effect it is a forced sale and in that respect has something in common with a compulsory purchase.

The Act received Royal Assent on 25 February 2003.

See also

• Land reform
• Property law
• Registers of Scotland
• Right of public access to the wilderness
• List of community buyouts in Scotland

External links

• Scottish Executive: Rural Development
• Scottish Outdoor Access Code - Scottish Natural Heritage
• The Mountaineering Council of Scotland — Know the Code
• Text of the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003 as in force today (including any amendments) within the United Kingdom, from the UK Statute Law Database