Secondary legislation proposals for Part 3A of the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003: the community right to buy abandoned, neglected or detrimental land as introduced by the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015

4. Land pertaining to land on which there is a building or structure which is a person's "home"

Background

Section 97C(5)(a) of the 2003 Act provides that land which is eligible for purchase by a Part 3A community body does not include land on which there is a building or other structure which is a building or other structure which is an individual's home other than a building or other structure which is occupied by an individual under the terms of a tenancy.

Land pertaining to land which is to be treated as a person's home will not be eligible land which can be bought by Part 3A community bodies, unless that home is occupied by an individual under the terms of a tenancy.

The Scottish Government proposals seek to describe the land that should be treated as land pertaining to a building or structure which is a person's home for the purposes of section 97C(5)(b) of the 2003 Act.

This is that that land pertaining to a person's home may include a number of elements. Each of these elements may have a number of roles for the home. Along with the proposal that land within the curtilage of a home should be land pertaining to a home, the consultation listed several categories of land that should also be included. These are:

• Land which is used for access to the home;
• Land which is used for storage of personal possessions for the maintenance and upkeep of the house and any vehicles;
• Land which is used for space to store fuel and other necessities to provide subsistence for the house;
• Land which is used for space to generate heat and warmth for the home;
• Land which is used for space to grow food and provide other subsistence;
• Land which is used for activities pertaining to maintaining the home;
• Land which is used for space in an outbuilding for business use;
• Land which is used for space to enjoy the house and personal space around the house so as to allow privacy within the house.

Question 2: Do you agree that the above types of land should be land pertaining to land that is a person's home?
37 respondents answered this question, with 29 agreeing and 8 disagreeing.

Question 2a: If not, please explain.
17 respondents answered this question. Like question 1, their responses indicated that those in agreement still has some issues.

Some of their issues were about clarification of a number of the criteria. For example, several respondents stated that conditions such as access, vehicle storage etc. should only be associated with the ownership of the home.

One respondent suggested that an area based approach could be used to determine what was considered to be within the curtilage of a house. They also noted that this was not currently a defined term.

Question 2b: Are there any types of land that you believe should be added?
Five respondents answered this question. Some of the additional types of land that were suggested were;

• Space for generating electricity for the home
• Essential services for a house such as a septic tank, soak away or a well/borehole to provide fresh water
• Land containing service media or infrastructure for a home
• Designed Landscape
• Listing e.g. contained within the same conservation listing as the home
• Sites of Special Scientific Interest
• Land deemed to meet good agricultural and environmental condition.

Question 2c: Are there any types of land that you believe should be removed?
Two respondents answered this question. One stated that it did not have any types of land that should be removed. The other stated that land which is used to grow food should be restricted to food actively grown for domestic consumption.

Question 2d: Are there any descriptions or classes of land that you believe should not be eligible for purchase by a Part 3A community body?
Six respondents answered this question. However, two simply stated that they had no descriptions or classes of land. One referred to their answer in question 1.

The Law Society of Scotland also referred to its answer for question 1, as far as land within a development plan or that had planning permission. It suggested that this land could be excluded.

Scottish Land & Estates also proposed that land with development plans and with planning permission should be excluded. It also suggested that land which meets GAEC and land which is deemed to be eligible hectares for the purpose of the Basic Payment Scheme should also be excluded.