Community Rights to Buy: overview
Guidance on Community Rights to Buy - legal powers for communities across Scotland to acquire land.
Community Rights to Buy
Community Rights to Buy are a collection of legal powers: one of several community ownership mechanisms available to communities across Scotland.
This guide serves two functions:
- to provide a comprehensive overview of each of the four right to buy powers
- to act as the single source and portal to all the guidance books, forms, and model templates for each of the rights to buy
Community Right to Buy (“the part 2 Right to Buy”)
The Community Right to Buy allows communities across Scotland to apply to register a community interest in land or buildings, and to be given the first right of refusal should the landowner decide to put the land up for sale.
It provides communities, who have identified a need within their community for an area of land or a building and have successfully registered an interest on that land or building, with the first option to buy that asset.
The next three rights can be exercised at any time, and are compulsory purchases, i.e. a successful application results in the land being acquired compulsorily.
Crofting Community Right to Buy (“the part 3 Right to Buy”)
The Crofting Community Right to Buy gives crofting communities the right 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).
Community Right to Buy Abandoned, Neglected or Detrimental Land (“the part 3A Right to Buy”)
The Community Right to Buy Abandoned, Neglected or Detrimental Land allows communities across Scotland to apply to Scottish Ministers for consent to exercise a compulsory purchase of land or a building, which is wholly or mainly abandoned or neglected, or where the use or management of the land is causing harm to the environmental wellbeing of the community.
Right to Buy Land to Further Sustainable Development (“the part 5 Right to Buy”)
The Right to Buy Land to Further Sustainable Development allows communities across Scotland to apply to compulsorily purchase land or buildings for the purposes of furthering the achievement of sustainable development.
Alternative mechanisms for community ownership
Other legal powers and mechanisms available to communities but which are not covered in this guide include:
Where to find information regarding existing applications
Register of Community Interests in Land
Right to Buy applications under Part 2 of the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003 are available to view on the Register of Community Interests in Land (the RCIL), held by Registers of Scotland.
Register of Crofting Community Rights to Buy
Right to Buy applications under Part 3 of the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003 are held by the Crofting Commission, who can be contacted, should you wish to view these applications.
Register of Applications by Community Bodies to Buy Land
Right to Buy applications under Part 3A of the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003 and Part 5 of the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2016 are available to view on the Register of Applications by Community Bodies to Buy Land (the RoACBL), held by Registers of Scotland.
Applications submitted under Part 5 of the Act are indicated by the registration initials SD, e.g. SD00001. Applications submitted under Part 3A of the Act are indicated by the registration initials AB, e.g. AB00001.
Contact
Email: crtb@gov.scot
Tel: 0300-244-9822
Post:
Community Land Team
Q Spur
Saughton House
Broomhouse Drive
Edinburgh
EH11 3XD
There is a problem
Thanks for your feedback