Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2025

Part 1 — Land reform

Chapter 1 — Large land holdings: Management and transfer of ownership

Community-engagement obligations in relation to large land holding

1

• (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—

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• (4) After section 44 insert—

(44A) (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) (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) (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) (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) (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 community body within the meaning of section 34 of the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003, or a crofting community body within the meaning of section 71 of that Act, - “crofting area” means— any of the crofting counties within the meaning of section 61 of the 1993 Act, or any area designated by virtue of section 3A(1)(b) of that Act. (44F) (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) (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. (44H) (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) (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) (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) (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) (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) (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) (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. (44O) (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) (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) (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. (44R) (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.

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

(ba) section 44A, (bb) section 44B, (bc) section 44R,

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• (6) Insert—

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

Schedule A1 (1) This schedule makes provision for determining whether one person is connected to another for the purposes of section 44F(3)(b).

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

2

• (1) The Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003 is modified as follows.

• (2) In section 39 (procedure for late applications), for subsection (1) substitute—

(1) This section (other than subsections (4A) and (5)) applies in relation to an application to register a community interest in land if— (a) it satisfies— (i) the conditions mentioned in subsection (1A), or (ii) the condition mentioned in subsection (1B), and (b) it is not an application to which section 39ZA applies.

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• (3) After section 39 insert—

(39ZA) (1) This section applies in relation to an application to register a community interest in land if it— (a) is made by a community body that Ministers invited to make an application in accordance with section 46G, (b) relates to the land in respect of which Ministers invited the community body to make an application, (c) is made within the period that the invitation explained the application had to be made within for it to be considered in accordance with this section, and (d) is the only application that the community body has made within the period in relation to the land. (2) Where this section applies in relation to an application, the procedure for registering community interests in land set out in section 37 is, for the purposes of the application, subject to the following modifications— (a) paragraph (b) of subsection (9) does not apply, and (b) in subsection (17), for “63” there is substituted “30”. (3) Where this section applies in relation to an application, Ministers may not decide that a community interest is to be entered in the register unless they are (additionally to the matters as to which they are to be satisfied under section 38) satisfied— (a) that the level of support within the community for such registration is significantly greater than that which Ministers would, by virtue of subsection (2) of section 38, have considered sufficient for the purposes of subsection (1)(d) of that section, and (b) that the factors bearing on whether it is or is not in the public interest that the community interest be registered are strongly indicative that it is. (4) Where a community interest in land is registered in pursuance of an application in relation to which this section applies— (a) the owner of the land is, for the purposes of this Part of this Act (other than section 59(4)), deemed to have, on the date on which that interest is so registered, given notice under section 48(1) that a transfer is proposed, (b) section 49 does not apply in so far as it relates to that interest, (c) for the purposes of sections 55(2) and (4), 56(3), 59(1), 60A(1) and 65(1)(a), the community body is deemed to have sent the confirmation which Ministers would, had section 49 applied, have required to seek under subsection (2)(a) of that section on the date on which the interest is registered.

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• (4) After section 46 insert—

(46A) (1) Ministers are to keep a list of the contact details of persons who wish to be notified under section 46D(2)(b) about any possible transfer of land to which section 46L applies in a particular area. (2) A person’s details are to be added to, changed on, and removed from, the list at the person’s request. (3) The reference in subsection (2) to a person’s details includes the specification of the area in relation to which the person wishes to be notified of possible transfers of land. (4) Ministers must issue guidance in relation to the making of a request under subsection (2). (5) Ministers must make publicly available the latest version of any guidance issued under subsection (4) as soon as practicable after issuing it. (46B) (1) The owner of land to which section 46L applies, and any creditor in a standard security having a right to sell the land, is prohibited from— (a) transferring the land, or (b) taking any action with a view to a transfer of the land, until Ministers give notice under section 46E that the prohibition under this section is lifted (but see section 46H(2)). (2) A notice under section 46E lifts the prohibition under subsection (1) until— (a) the land is transferred, or (b) if the land is not transferred within the period of 2 years beginning with the day that the notice is sent, the expiry of that period. (46C) (1) An owner of land, or a creditor in a standard security with the right to sell land, may make a request to Ministers to lift the prohibition under section 46B(1) so that the land can be transferred. (2) A request under subsection (1) is to be made by notice in the prescribed manner. (46D) (1) Having received notification under section 46C or 48 of an intention to transfer land to which section 46L applies, Ministers are to publicise— (a) that the owner or, as the case may be, the creditor intends to transfer the land, and (b) how a community body can register an interest in some or all of the land under Chapter 2. (2) In order to comply with their duty under subsection (1), Ministers must— (a) arrange for prescribed information about the possible transfer of the land to be made publicly available on a website, (b) send prescribed information about the possible transfer of the land to every— (i) person whose contact details they hold on the list kept under section 46A so that the person can be notified about any possible transfer of land in an area that (wholly or partly) subsumes or is subsumed by the area of the land, (ii) community council whose area includes the land, (iii) local authority whose area includes the land, (iv) National Park authority whose area includes the land. (3) In this section, “local authority” means a council constituted under section 2 of the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994. (46E) (1) Ministers are to give notice to a person who notified them under section 46C or 48 of an intention to transfer land that the prohibition on transferring the land under section 46B(1) is lifted once the period of 30 days beginning with the day that Ministers fulfilled their duty under section 46D to publicise the possible transfer of the land has expired. (2) If, when that period expires, Ministers are considering whether to impose a prohibition on the transfer of the land under section 46F(1), they are not to give notice under subsection (1) until they have decided whether they are or are not required to impose such a prohibition. (3) If Ministers decide that they are required to impose a prohibition on the transfer of the land under section 46F, they must not give notice under subsection (1) before giving notice under section 46F(2) intimating the imposition of that prohibition. (4) The giving of notice under subsection (1) is not to be delayed by virtue of subsection (2) beyond the period of 60 days beginning with the day that Ministers fulfilled their duty under section 46D to publicise the possible transfer of the land. (5) Any failure to comply with the time limit specified in subsection (4) does not affect the validity of anything done under this section. (46F) (1) In the circumstances mentioned in subsection (3), Ministers are to prohibit the owner of land, and any creditor in a standard security over an interest in the land, from— (a) transferring the land, or (b) taking any action with a view to a transfer of the land, until the expiry of the period mentioned in subsection (2)(b). (2) A prohibition on a person under subsection (1)— (a) is imposed when Ministers give notice intimating that it is imposed, and (b) expires at the end of the period of 70 days beginning with the day it is imposed. (3) The circumstances referred to in subsection (1) are that— (a) Ministers have publicised the possible transfer of the land, or a larger area of land of which it forms part, in accordance with section 46D, (b) a person has submitted to Ministers a note, containing prescribed information, expressing an intention on the part of the person, or another person, to register a community interest in the land (“note of intention to register”), (c) Ministers receive the note of intention to register within the period of 30 days beginning with the day that they sent information about the possible transfer in accordance with section 46D(2)(b), (d) Ministers are satisfied that— (i) before any prohibition they impose under subsection (1) in respect of the land would have expired, it is likely that an application to register a community interest in the land would be made by the person on the part of whom the note of intention to register expresses an intention to register a community interest, and (ii) there is a reasonable prospect of that application resulting in a community interest in the land being registered. (4) For the purpose of subsection (3)— (a) the person on the part of whom a note of intention to register expresses an intention to register a community interest in land need not be a legal person at the time the note is submitted, (b) where Ministers sent the information mentioned in subsection (3)(c) on different days, the reference to the information being sent is to its being sent on the last of those days. (46G) (1) Where, following receipt of a note of intention to register, Ministers impose a prohibition under section 46F(1), they must also send a notice to the person who submitted the note of intention to register that— (a) invites the person said in the note to have an intention to register a community interest in land to make an application under section 37 in relation to the land, and (b) explains that if the person makes the application before the expiry of the period of the prohibition, the application will be considered in accordance with section 39ZA. (2) In this section, “note of intention to register” has the meaning given by section 46F(3)(b). (46H) (1) A transfer of land is of no effect if it is in breach of— (a) section 46B(1), or (b) a prohibition imposed under section 46F(1). (2) Section 46B(1) and a prohibition imposed under section 46F(1) do not apply in relation to— (a) excluded land within the meaning of section 33(1), (b) a transfer to which subsection (1) of section 40 does not apply by virtue of subsection (4) of that section, or (c) a transfer of a kind exempted by section 46M(2). (3) Action is taken with a view to a transfer of land for the purposes of sections 46B and 46F if it would be regarded as having been taken for the purpose of section 40. (46I) (1) Ministers may disapply the prohibition under section 46B(1), or a prohibition imposed under section 46F(1), in relation to any area of land if they are satisfied that— (a) the owner of the land (or any part of it) wants to transfer it in order to alleviate, or avoid, financial hardship, and (b) having to wait for the prohibition to be lifted in accordance with section 46E or, as the case may be, 46F(2)(b) is likely to cause, or worsen, financial hardship for the owner. (2) Ministers may disapply a prohibition in relation to land by virtue of subsection (1) only if a request to do so is made— (a) by the owner of the land, and (b) in the prescribed manner. (3) The disapplication of a prohibition in relation to land by virtue of subsection (1)— (a) begins when the owner of the land receives a notice from Ministers intimating that it is disapplied, and (b) ends on a date specified in the notice. (46J) (1) Where land to which section 46L applies is being transferred, the transferor is to incorporate in the deed giving effect to the transfer a declaration in prescribed form confirming that the transfer is not in contravention of any prohibition under this Chapter. (2) A declaration under subsection (1) is not required if a declaration under section 46K is required in relation to the land being transferred. (46K) Where land is being transferred and that would be in breach of a prohibition but for section 46H(2)(b), the transferor is to incorporate in the deed giving effect to the transfer a declaration— (a) specifying which provision of subsection (4) of section 40 operates so as to make the transfer one to which subsection (1) of that section does not apply, and (b) where the provision so specified is paragraph (a), (e) or (h) of that subsection, stating that the transfer does not form part of a scheme or arrangement, and is not one of a series, the main purpose or effect, or one of the main purposes or effects, of which is the avoidance of the requirements or consequences of this Part of this Act. (46L) (1) This section applies to land that is, or forms part of, a large holding of land. (2) In subsection (1), a “large holding of land” means— (a) a single holding, or (b) a composite holding, that exceeds 1,000 hectares in area. (3) 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 (4) are met. (4) The conditions referred to in subsection (3)(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. (5) For the purposes of subsection (3)(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. (6) For the purposes of subsection (4)— (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 1A. (7) In this section, “land” includes— (a) the foreshore, that is to say, the land between the high and low water marks of ordinary spring tides, and (b) other land covered with water except the seabed. (46M) (1) Ministers may by regulations modify this Chapter and schedule 1A so as to change (or clarify)— (a) the period specified in section 46F(2)(b), (b) the land to which section 46L applies. (2) Ministers may by regulations— (a) specify transfers of land to which section 46B(1) and a prohibition imposed under section 46F(1) do not apply, and (b) in consequence of provision made by paragraph (a), modify sections 46J and 46K. (3) Ministers must, before laying a draft of any regulations under this section, consult such persons as they consider appropriate.

.

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• (1) The Conveyancing and Feudal Reform (Scotland) Act 1970 is modified by subsection (2).

• (2) In section 25 (exercise of power of sale) for the words from “sections” to “provisions)” substitute “the prohibitions on transferring land provided for in the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003”.

• (3) The Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003 is modified by subsections (4) to (7).

• (4) In section 36 (register of community interests in land), after subsection (6) insert—

(6A) Ministers may by regulations— (a) modify this section to change the information and documents required to be in the Register, (b) modify this Part to impose duties on themselves to provide information and documents to the Keeper for the purposes of entering them in the Register.

.

• (5) In section 37 (registration of interest in land), in subsection (19), after “39(2)(b)” insert “or 39ZA(2)(b)”.

• (6) In section 63 (compensation), for subsection (1)(c) substitute—

(c) attributable to— (i) the prohibition under section 46B; or (ii) a prohibition imposed under section 37(5)(e) or 46F;

.

• (7) In section 98 (general and supplementary provisions)—

• (a) in subsection (1), in the definition of “prescribed”, after “Ministers” insert “and related expressions are to be construed accordingly”,

• (b) in subsection (5)—

• (i) for “36” substitute “36(6)”,

• (ii) after “(4B),” in the first place in which it appears, insert “36(6A),”,

• (iii) after “38(2B),” insert “46M,”.

• (8) The Land Registration etc. (Scotland) Act 2012 is modified by subsection (9).

• (9) In section 42 (notification to Scottish Ministers of certain applications)—

• (a) in subsection (1)—

• (i) the word “or” immediately preceding paragraph (b) is repealed,

• (ii) after paragraph (b) insert—

(c) under section 46B of that Act (prohibition to allow time to register community interest in large land holding), or (d) under section 46F(1) of that Act (prohibition to allow time for invited application to register community interest).

,

• (b) in subsection (2), after “43(2)” insert “or 46K”.

4

• (1) The Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003 is modified as follows.

• (2) After Part 2 insert—