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

7. Prohibitions on sale or transfer of land; suspension of rights

Background

Section 97N(1) of the 2003 Act gives Ministers the power to, by way of regulations, make provision for or in connection with prohibiting certain persons from transferring or otherwise dealing with land which is the subject of the Part 3A application once that application has been registered, and the period of time for which the transfer or dealings in that land is prohibited.

Section 97N(2) of the 2003 Act sets out what Ministers may include in such regulations. One such power allows Ministers to set out the transfers or dealings in relation to the land which are not prohibited by the regulations set out in section 97N(1).

Section 97N(3) of the 2003 Act gives Ministers the power to, by way of regulations, make provision for or in connection with suspending rights in or over land which is the subject of a Part 3A application.

Proposals

Following receipt of a valid application, the Scottish Government considers that the prohibition or suspension of rights will come into operation from the date on which the owner or, as the case may be, the creditor in a standard security with the right to sell the land, receives the notice of prohibition. The prohibition notice will accompany the notice(s) sent under section 97G(9)(a)(i) or (iii) of the 2003 Act.

Question 5: Do you think the proposed dates are appropriate?
There were five responses to this question. Four agreed with the proposals and one disagreed.

Question 5a: If not, please explain
There were three responses to this question. Only one disagreed with the proposals.

Friends of Midmar Inn Community Company suggested that the date should be the point at which a community group indicates that it will be submitting an application.

Community Energy Scotland considered it should be the date of receipt of a valid application.

Scottish Land & Estates stated that "Whilst the proposed date makes sense, service of the notice will be a critical step in the process. We believe that the owner or creditor as the case may be cannot be held liable for the vagaries of the postal system."