Community and right to buy

The Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003 introduced the community right to buy, allowing communities to register an interest in an area of land (including buildings) and subsequently giving them a pre-emptive right to buy, should the owner wish to sell.

Initially, it applied only to rural communities but was later extended to cover the whole of Scotland.

In 2015, the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act went further, by introducing a way in which community bodies can apply to ministers to buy land which is abandoned, neglected or detrimental to the environmental wellbeing of a community.

This differs from the original right to buy in a number of ways, in particular it gives the community an absolute right to buy land, even if the owner does not wish to sell.

Prior to making an application to ministers, the appropriate community body must have attempted to buy the land from the owner and also, if relevant, to remedy any environmental harm by contacting the relevant regulator to request action.

The first two applications to buy abandoned, neglected or detrimental land were registered with ministers in December 2019 and are currently being considered. Both relate to small areas of woodland within Helensburgh.

In the meantime, the effect of the application is that ministers have 180 days within which to make a decision on the application, having taken into account the views of the owner and other interested parties. During this period, the owner is prohibited from selling or transferring the land.

If ministers reject the application, the application is treated as though it had never been registered. If, however, the application is accepted, ministers must appoint a valuer to assess the market value of the land. The owner can have input and the valuer has eight weeks to carry out the valuation exercise.

After the value has been fixed, the community body has 21 days to confirm to ministers and the landowner if they are proceeding with their right to buy. The community body must pay for the land within six months of the ministers consenting to the application.

In summary, the effect of a community wishing to buy abandoned, neglected or detrimental land could be that the owner is prevented from selling their land for approximately six months and may then have to wait a further six months before the community body completes their purchase, assuming that the value is accepted and they can raise the funds. ●

Picture: Shutterstock. Communities can apply to buy land which is abandoned – even if the owner does not wish to sell.