Land reform act backs right to buy

Land reform and community engagement have been key policies for the Scottish Parliament since its inception, with significant early reform being introduced by the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003.

The most recent incarnations of these policies, the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2016 and the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015 have continued the land reform agenda regarding land ownership and further empowerment of communities.

These include proposals for regulations to create a Register of Controlling Interests in Land, and extending the community right to buy to include a right to purchase abandoned, neglected or detrimental land.

Register of Controlling Interest in Land:

There is to be a public register of persons who have controlling interests in ownership or tenants of land. The register, intended to improve transparency in ownership and provide individuals and community groups with a better understanding of who makes decisions about the land, was introduced by the 2016 Act, but the detail of who will be affected, and what information must appear in the register is to be set out in regulations. These are now expected to be put before Parliament in spring next year.

Community right to buy abandoned, neglected or detrimental land or to further sustainable development:

The existing right to buy, introduced under the 2003 Act, and extended to the whole of Scotland by the 2015 Act allows communities to register an interest in land giving them the opportunity to purchase that land if it comes up for sale within five years of registration.

Both the 2015 Act and the 2016 Act introduce new community rights to buy, the first for acquiring abandoned, neglected or detrimental land, and the second to buy land to further sustainable development.

Under the proposed rules relating to abandoned, neglected or detrimental land, the owner of that land can be compelled to sell, if the community body can demonstrate they have already tried and failed to buy that land, but the community also need to demonstrate their plans for the land are in the public interest, and compatible with furthering the aim of sustainable development.

The Scottish Government intends to present the regulations required to establish this new right to the Parliament before the end of the parliamentary year in spring. However, there is not yet any concrete timescale for the proposed regulations to come into force.

The proposals for establishing the right to buy land to further sustainable development are not expected to come into force until this new community right to buy has settled in.