Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2025

Prospective

1 Community-engagement obligations in relation to large land holding S

(1) The Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2016 is modified as follows.

(2) The title of Part 4 becomes “Community engagement in relation to land”.

(3) Before section 44 insert—

“Chapter 1

Community-engagement guidance”.

(4) After section 44 insert—

“Chapter 2 S Community-engagement obligations for owners of large land holdings

Creation of obligations S

44A Power to impose obligations by regulations

(1) The Scottish Ministers may by regulations impose obligations on the owner of land for the purpose of promoting community engagement in relation to the land.

(2) Without prejudice to the generality of the power conferred by this section, the Scottish Ministers must exercise it to impose obligations in accordance with sections 44C, 44D and 44E.

(3) Regulations under this section may impose obligations only in connection with land to which section 44F applies.

(4) Regulations under this section are to be informed by the land rights and responsibilities statement published in accordance with Part 1.

(5) The Scottish Ministers must, before laying a draft of any regulations under this section, consult—

(a) the Land and Communities Commissioner, and

(b) such other persons as they consider appropriate.

44B Power to make further provision about obligations imposed by virtue of section 44A

(1) The Scottish Ministers may by regulations make further provision in connection with obligations imposed by virtue of section 44A.

(2) The further provision that may be made under subsection (1) includes—

(a) the conferral of functions on public bodies,

(b) provision requiring the payment of reasonable fees.

(3) The Scottish Ministers must, before laying a draft of any regulations under this section, consult—

(a) the Land and Communities Commissioner, and

(b) such other persons as they consider appropriate.

44C Regulations to include obligation to have land management plan

(1) Regulations under section 44A must require the owner of land to ensure that—

(a) there is a publicly available land management plan in relation to the land,

(b) there is engagement with communities and tenants (including, where relevant, crofters and small landholders) on the development of, and significant changes to, the plan,

(c) the plan is reviewed and, where appropriate revised, before the end of each period of 5 years beginning with the day on which the latest version of it was made publicly available.

(2) Subsection (1) does not require the obligation it describes to be imposed in connection with all land to which section 44F applies.

(3) Regulations under section 44A must set out the information that a land management plan is to contain, which is to include—

(a) details of the land to which the plan relates, including how the ownership is structured,

(b) the owner’s long-term vision and objectives for managing the land, including its potential sale,

(c) the steps taken by the owner to engage with communities and tenants (including, where relevant, crofters and small landholders) in relation to the development of the plan,

(d) how that engagement influenced the development of the plan,

(e) how, in relation to the land, the owner is complying or intends to comply with—

(i) the obligations set out in the regulations,

(ii) the Scottish Outdoor Access Code in operation in pursuance of section 10 of the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003,

(iii) the code of practice on deer management in operation in pursuance of section 5A of the Deer (Scotland) Act 1996,

(f) how the owner is managing or intends to manage the land in a way that contributes towards—

(i) achieving the net-zero emissions target set by section A1 of the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009,

(ii) adapting to climate change,

(iii) increasing biodiversity,

(g) how the owner is having regard to, or intends to have regard to, any local place plan in relation to the land (in whole or in part) registered with a planning authority in accordance with schedule 19 of the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997.

(4) Regulations under section 44A may, in particular, include provision about the manner in, and the period of time within, which the owner of land may or must comply with obligations imposed in accordance with subsection (1), for example—

(a) provision requiring the owner to ensure that a land management plan is given to another person in order that all land management plans can be published on a single website,

(b) provision about the timescales for compliance in circumstances where ownership of land is transferred.

(5) Subsection (6) applies where—

(a) in accordance with section 29(2) of the Interpretation and Legislative Reform (Scotland) Act 2010 a draft Scottish statutory instrument is laid before the Scottish Parliament containing either—

(i) regulations imposing the obligation described in subsection (1), or

(ii) regulations modifying the obligation imposed in accordance with that subsection, and

(b) the effect of those regulations would be that the obligation imposed in accordance with subsection (1) would not apply in relation to all of the land to which section 44F applies.

(6) At the same time as laying the draft instrument mentioned in subsection (5) before the Parliament, the Scottish Ministers must also lay before the Parliament a statement of their reasons for not imposing the obligation described in subsection (1) in relation to all of the land to which section 44F applies.

44D Regulations to include obligation to consider community request to lease land

(1) Regulations under section 44A must require the owner of land to give consideration to a reasonable request from a community body to lease the land or any part of it (including any building on it).

(2) Subsection (1) does not require the obligation it describes to be imposed in connection with all land to which section 44F applies.

(3) Subsection (4) applies where—

(a) in accordance with section 29(2) of the Interpretation and Legislative Reform (Scotland) Act 2010 a draft Scottish statutory instrument is laid before the Scottish Parliament containing either—

(i) regulations imposing the obligation described in subsection (1), or

(ii) regulations modifying the obligation imposed in accordance with that subsection, and

(b) the effect of those regulations would be that the obligation imposed in accordance with subsection (1) would not apply in relation to all of the land to which section 44F applies.

(4) At the same time as laying the draft instrument mentioned in subsection (3) before the Parliament, the Scottish Ministers must also lay before the Parliament a statement of their reasons for not imposing the obligation described in subsection (1) in relation to all of the land to which section 44F applies.

(5) In this section, “community body” means a community body within the meaning of section 34 of the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003.

44E Regulations to include obligation to consider crofting request

(1) Regulations under section 44A must require the owner of land to give consideration to a reasonable request from a community body for the landowner to apply under section 3A(1) of the 1993 Act to have constituted as a croft—

(a) the whole of the land (provided it is all in a crofting area), or

(b) any part of the land that is in a crofting area.

(2) Subsection (1) does not require the obligation it describes to be imposed in connection with all land to which section 44F applies.

(3) In this section—

• “1993 Act” means the Crofters (Scotland) Act 1993,

• “community body” means—

  (a)

  a community body within the meaning of section 34 of the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003, or

  (b)

  a crofting community body within the meaning of section 71 of that Act,

• “crofting area” means—

  (a)

  any of the crofting counties within the meaning of section 61 of the 1993 Act, or

  (b)

  any area designated by virtue of section 3A(1)(b) of that Act.

44F Land in relation to which obligations may be imposed

(1) This section applies to land that is—

(a) a single holding, or

(b) a composite holding,

that exceeds 1,000 hectares in area.

(2) For the purposes of this section—

(a) a single holding is the whole of a contiguous area of land in the ownership of one person or set of persons,

(b) two or more single holdings form a composite holding if the conditions in subsection (3) are met.

(3) The conditions referred to in subsection (2)(b) are that—

(a) each of the single holdings in question is contiguous with at least one of the others, and

(b) the owner of one single holding (“holding A”)—

(i) is an owner, or connected to the owner, of another single holding (“holding B”) with which holding A is contiguous, and

(ii) where there are more than two single holdings, is also the owner of, or connected to the owner of, every other single holding.

(4) For the purposes of subsection (2)(a), an area of land is to be treated as being contiguous with another if any part of the area is within 250 metres of any part of the other.

(5) For the purposes of subsection (3)—

(a) a holding is contiguous with another if a boundary of the holding is (wholly or partly) contiguous with a boundary of the other,

(b) a boundary of a holding is to be treated as being contiguous with a boundary of another if any part of the boundary is within 250 metres of the other,

(c) references to the owner of a holding, in a case where the holding is owned by more than one person (whether jointly or in common), are to be read as references to an owner of the holding,

(d) whether a person is connected to another is to be determined in accordance with schedule A1.

(6) In this section, “land” includes—

(a) the foreshore, being the land between the high and low water marks of ordinary spring tides, and

(b) other land covered with water except the seabed.

44G Guidance about obligations imposed under section 44A

(1) The Scottish Ministers must issue guidance about obligations imposed by regulations under section 44A.

(2) Before issuing guidance under subsection (1), the Scottish Ministers must consult—

(a) the Land and Communities Commissioner, and

(b) such other persons as they consider appropriate.

(3) The Scottish Ministers must make publicly available the latest version of any guidance issued under subsection (1) as soon as practicable after issuing it.

Enforcement of obligations S

44H Reporting alleged breach to Land and Communities Commissioner

(1) A person mentioned in subsection (2) may submit a report of an alleged breach of an obligation imposed by regulations under section 44A to the Land and Communities Commissioner.

(2) The persons referred to in subsection (1) are—

(a) a body that has registered an interest, or is eligible to register an interest, under Part 2 of the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003 in the land to which the report of the alleged breach relates,

(b) a community council, if the land to which the report of the alleged breach relates falls wholly or partly within its area,

(c) the Crofting Commission, if the land to which the report of the alleged breach relates falls (wholly or partly) within the crofting counties or an area that has been designated by order under section 3A(1)(b) of the Crofters (Scotland) Act 1993 by the Scottish Ministers,

(d) a grazings committee or a grazings constable, if the land to which the report of the alleged breach relates falls (wholly or partly) within the common grazing in relation to which the committee or, as the case may be, the constable is appointed under section 47 of the Crofters (Scotland) Act 1993,

(e) Highlands and Islands Enterprise, if the land to which the report of the alleged breach relates falls (wholly or partly) within the area in relation to which it exercises functions in accordance with section 21(1) of the Enterprise and New Towns (Scotland) Act 1990,

(f) Historic Environment Scotland,

(g) a local authority, if the land to which the report of the alleged breach relates falls (wholly or partly) within its area,

(h) a National Park authority, if the land to which the report of the alleged breach relates falls (wholly or partly) within the National Park in relation to which it exercises its functions,

(i) Scottish Enterprise,

(j) the Scottish Environment Protection Agency,

(k) Scottish Natural Heritage,

(l) South of Scotland Enterprise, if the land to which the report of the alleged breach relates falls (wholly or partly) within the South of Scotland.

(3) A report under subsection (1) must contain—

(a) details of the person that submitted the report,

(b) details of the alleged breach,

(c) the provision of the regulations imposing the obligation that is alleged to have been breached.

(4) In this section—

• “community council” means a community council established by virtue of Part IV of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973,

• “crofting counties” is to be construed in accordance with section 61 of the Crofters (Scotland) Act 1993,

• “National Park authority” means an authority on which functions have been conferred by the National Parks (Scotland) Act 2000 in relation to an area designated as a National Park in an order made under section 7 of that Act,

• “South of Scotland” is to be construed in accordance with section 21 of the South of Scotland Enterprise Act 2019,

• “South of Scotland Enterprise” means the body corporate established by section 1 of the South of Scotland Enterprise Act 2019.

44I Commissioner’s investigation of an alleged breach

(1) The Land and Communities Commissioner must investigate an alleged breach reported under section 44H if satisfied—

(a) that—

(i) the report contains sufficient information to proceed to an investigation, or

(ii) sufficient information to proceed to an investigation has been provided in response to a request under subsection (2), and

(b) that the report is not based on substantially the same facts as a previous report from the same person.

(2) Where the Commissioner is not satisfied that the report contains sufficient information to proceed to an investigation, the Commissioner may require the person that submitted the report to provide such additional information as the Commissioner considers appropriate, by the end of such period as the Commissioner may specify.

(3) The Commissioner may decline to investigate a report of an alleged breach by giving notice in writing to the person that submitted the report where—

(a) the condition in subsection (1)(a) or, as the case may be, (1)(b) is not satisfied,

(b) a request by the Commissioner under subsection (2) for additional information has been made and the period specified for providing the information has expired without the requested information being provided,

(c) the Commissioner considers that a request under subsection (2) for additional information would not provide sufficient information to proceed to an investigation, or

(d) the alleged breach is one in relation to which a fine has been imposed under section 44K.

(4) Where the Commissioner must, in accordance with this section, investigate an alleged breach, the Commissioner must—

(a) give notice in writing to the person that submitted the report that the Commissioner has decided to investigate the alleged breach, and

(b) send to the person alleged to have committed the breach—

(i) a copy of the report alleging the breach, and

(ii) a request for the person’s response to the report within a period specified by the Commissioner.

(5) Nothing in this section precludes the Commissioner, despite no report having been submitted under section 44H(1), from—

(a) investigating whether an obligation imposed by regulations under section 44A might have been breached,

(b) proceeding to investigate an alleged breach,

where the Commissioner considers that it would be appropriate in the circumstances to do so.

(6) Where subsection (5) applies and the Commissioner decides to investigate the alleged breach, the Commissioner must—

(a) prepare a report setting out—

(i) details of the alleged breach,

(ii) the provision of the regulations imposing the obligation that is alleged to have been breached, and

(b) send to the person alleged to have committed the breach—

(i) a copy of that report, and

(ii) a request for the person’s response to the report within a period specified by the Commissioner.

(7) When complying with an obligation under subsection (4)(b)(i) or (6)(b)(i), the Commissioner may do so by providing the report in a redacted form if—

(a) the report contains information about a person, other than the person that submitted the report, which is relevant to the investigation of the alleged breach to which the report relates, and

(b) the disclosure of that personal information in the report could result in that person being identified.

44J Power to require information be provided

(1) The Land and Communities Commissioner may, at any time during an investigation under this Chapter, require any person to provide any information that the Commissioner considers appropriate for the purposes of the investigation.

(2) The Commissioner may, by notice, impose a fine on a person for failing to comply with a requirement under subsection (1).

(3) The amount of a fine imposed under this section is to be determined by the Commissioner, but must not exceed £1,000.

44K Sanction for breach of obligation

(1) Having determined, following an investigation under this Chapter (other than an investigation under section 44M), that an obligation has been breached, the Land and Communities Commissioner may, by notice, impose a fine on the person that committed the breach.

(2) But the Commissioner may impose a fine under this section only if—

(a) the person that committed the breach has been given an opportunity to reach an agreement with the Commissioner about what the person must do to remedy the breach and the person either—

(i) has refused to reach an agreement, or

(ii) having reached an agreement, has failed to fulfil it, or

(b) the Commissioner does not consider it appropriate to give the person that committed the breach an opportunity to remedy it, having regard to the person’s previous failure (or failures) to comply with an obligation imposed by regulations under section 44A.

(3) The amount of a fine imposed under this section is to be determined by the Commissioner, but must not exceed £40,000.

44L Appeal against fine

(1) A person on whom a fine is imposed under section 44J, 44K or 44M may appeal to the Lands Tribunal for Scotland against the fine on the ground that the decision to impose it—

(a) was based on an error of fact,

(b) was wrong in law, or

(c) was unfair or unreasonable for any reason (for example because the amount is unreasonable).

(2) An appeal under subsection (1) must be made before the end of the period of 28 days beginning with the day on which the notice imposing the fine was received by the person making the appeal.

(3) Where an appeal under subsection (1) is made, the fine is suspended from the day on which the appeal is made until the day on which it is determined or withdrawn.

(4) On an appeal under subsection (1), the Tribunal may overturn, confirm or vary the fine.

(5) In the case of an appeal against a fine imposed under section 44K, having overturned the fine, the Tribunal may remit the matter to the Land and Communities Commissioner to give the person concerned an opportunity to reach an agreement with the Commissioner about what the person must do to remedy the breach in relation to which the fine was imposed.

(6) Where a matter is remitted to the Commissioner and the person concerned—

(a) refuses to reach an agreement with the Commissioner about what the person must do to remedy the breach in question, or

(b) reaches such an agreement but fails to fulfil it,

the Commissioner may exercise again the power conferred by section 44K to impose a fine on the person in respect of the breach.

44M Enforcement notice

(1) This section applies where a fine has been imposed under section 44K and either—

(a) the period specified in section 44L(2) in respect of that fine has expired and no appeal has been made, or

(b) if an appeal against that fine has been made under section 44L, either—

(i) the appeal has been withdrawn, or

(ii) the appeal has been determined, the existence of the breach has been upheld, and the Tribunal has not remitted the matter to the Land and Communities Commissioner under section 44L(5).

(2) The Land and Communities Commissioner may investigate whether the breach in respect of which the fine was imposed has been remedied.

(3) Having determined, following an investigation under subsection (2), that the breach has not been remedied, the Land and Communities Commissioner may serve notice (“an enforcement notice”) on the person that committed the breach specifying—

(a) the obligation in relation to which the person remains in breach,

(b) the steps that must be taken to remedy the breach,

(c) the period within which those steps must be taken, which period must not be less than 28 days beginning with the day on which the enforcement notice is received, and

(d) that a further fine may be imposed on the person if the breach is not remedied within that period.

(4) Subject to section 44N, on expiry of the period specified in the enforcement notice in accordance with subsection (3)(c), the Land and Communities Commissioner may—

(a) investigate whether the steps specified in the enforcement notice have been taken and the breach remedied,

(b) if satisfied that the breach has not been remedied, impose, by notice, a fine on the person that committed the breach.

(5) The amount of a fine imposed under this section is to be determined by the Commissioner, but must not exceed £40,000.

(6) This section (apart from subsection (1)) applies where a fine has been imposed under subsection (4)(b) as it applies where a fine has been imposed under section 44K, and either—

(a) the period specified in section 44L(2) in respect of that fine has expired and no appeal has been made, or

(b) if an appeal has been made against that fine under section 44L, either—

(i) the appeal has been withdrawn, or

(ii) the appeal has been determined and the failure to remedy the breach has been upheld.

44N Appeal against enforcement notice

(1) A person on whom an enforcement notice is served under section 44M may appeal to the Lands Tribunal for Scotland, on a ground specified in subsection (2), against—

(a) the decision to serve the enforcement notice,

(b) the steps specified in the enforcement notice,

(c) the time period specified in the enforcement notice.

(2) The grounds are that the matter being appealed against—

(a) was based on an error of fact,

(b) was wrong in law,

(c) was unfair or unreasonable for any reason.

(3) An appeal under subsection (1) must be made before the end of the period of 28 days beginning with the day on which the enforcement notice was received by the person making the appeal.

(4) Where an appeal under subsection (1) is made, the enforcement notice is suspended from the day on which the appeal is made until the day on which it is determined or withdrawn.

(5) On an appeal under subsection (1), the Tribunal may overturn, confirm, or vary the enforcement notice.

Further provision in connection with enforcement S

44O Notice imposing fine

(1) A notice imposing a fine under section 44J, 44K or 44M must be in writing and state—

(a) the grounds for imposing the fine,

(b) the amount of the fine,

(c) the period within which the fine must be paid, which period must be not less than 28 days beginning with the day on which the notice imposing the fine is received,

(d) how it must be paid,

(e) information about the right to appeal under section 44L, and

(f) the consequences of failure to make payment within the period specified.

(2) For the purpose of subsection (1)(c), a notice is deemed to be received 48 hours after it is sent.

44P Further provision about fines

(1) Money received by the Commission in payment of a fine imposed under section 44J, 44K or 44M must be paid into the Scottish Consolidated Fund.

(2) The Commission may recover any fine imposed under any of those sections as a civil debt.

44Q Confidentiality of information obtained in investigation

(1) A relevant person must not disclose any information which has been obtained by or on behalf of the Land and Communities Commissioner for the purposes of an investigation under this Chapter unless authorised to do so.

(2) Disclosure is authorised for the purposes of subsection (1) only so far as—

(a) it is necessary for the purpose of enabling or assisting the exercise by the Commissioner of the Commissioner’s functions,

(b) it is made with the consent of each person to whom the information relates,

(c) it is made for the purposes of civil proceedings,

(d) it is made for the purposes of a criminal investigation or criminal proceedings or for the purposes of the prevention or detection of crime,

(e) it is made in pursuance of an order of a court or tribunal,

(f) it is made in accordance with any other enactment requiring or permitting the disclosure.

(3) A person who knowingly contravenes subsection (1) commits an offence.

(4) A person guilty of an offence under subsection (3) is liable—

(a) on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum, or

(b) on conviction on indictment, to a fine.

(5) It is a defence for a person charged with an offence under subsection (3) to prove that the person reasonably believed—

(a) that the disclosure was authorised under subsection (2), or

(b) that the information had already lawfully been made available to the public.

(6) In subsection (1), “relevant person” means any individual who is or was—

(a) the Commissioner (or acting Land and Communities Commissioner),

(b) a Land Commissioner,

(c) a member of the Commission’s staff,

(d) a person exercising functions on behalf of the Commission or its members.

Modification of Chapter 2 and schedule A1 by regulations S

44R Powers to modify Chapter and schedule A1

(1) The Scottish Ministers may by regulations modify this Chapter and schedule A1 so as to change (or clarify)—

(a) the land in relation to which obligations may be imposed by regulations under section 44A,

(b) the list of persons in section 44H(2),

(c) the maximum amount of a fine which may be imposed under section 44K(1) or 44M(4)(b).

(2) The Scottish Ministers must, before laying a draft of any regulations under this section, consult such persons as they consider appropriate.”.

(5) In section 126 (subordinate legislation), in subsection (3), after paragraph (b) insert—

“(ba) section 44A,

(bb) section 44B,

(bc) section 44R,”.

(6) Insert—

(a) the following before schedule 1 as schedule A1—

“Schedule A1 S Meaning of connected person in Chapter 2 of Part 4

(introduced by section 44F)

1 This schedule makes provision for determining whether one person is connected to another for the purposes of section 44F(3)(b).”,

(b) after paragraph 1 of schedule A1, the text set out in schedule 1.

Commencement Information

I1 S. 1 not in force at Royal Assent, see s. 47(2)