Small landholdings in Scotland: legislation review

Yes - cannot usually be removed from the holding unless breaches the conditions of the 1886 Act section 1 and in the 1911 Act at section 10(1). By failure to pay one year's rent, or on breach of other statutory conditions, the Scottish Land Court has the ability to remove the small landholder.

Yes - cannot usually be removed from the croft by landlord, except in cases where one year's rent is unpaid.

May have tenancy removed by the Crofting Commission if the statutory duties of residency, not to misuse or neglect, and /or to put the croft to a purposeful use are not complied with.

Yes. Notices to quit may be given by either tenant farmer or landlord. If contested, these are decided upon by the Scottish Land Court.

When 6 months' rent unpaid, landlord may raise removal action in the Scottish Land Court which will determine if tenant farmer should be removed at next term-day. Removal effectively annulled if the arrears are paid before that point, or caution for 1½ years' rent is decided upon by the Court.

None

Right to conveyance of a house and garden site.

If purchase of croft land (non-house site) cannot be agreed, a crofter may apply to the Scottish Land Court for an order, which may be refused by the Court, to purchase at a maximum of 15 times annual rent.

Pre-emptive right (first refusal) to buy at the current market value should it come up for sale. Such purchase can be made provided the tenant farmer has registered their interest with Registers of Scotland. This is only valid in the short term as the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2016 has repealed this.

Yes - but limited to son-in-law or any one of the persons who would be, or would in any circumstances have been entitled to succeed to the estate on intestacy by virtue of the Succession (Scotland) Act 1964

Croft may be bequeathed to a natural person, who would then be required to take on the croft.

In addition, a crofter may assign (pass over the tenancy) to another person with the consent of the Crofting Commission.

Tenancy may be bequeathed to a specified group of relatives - son-in-law or daughter-in-law or to person entitled to succeed to the estate on intestacy under the Succession (Scotland) Act 1964

May be altered by agreement between landlord and small landholder, so long as no different rent has been set by the Scottish Land Court, but the landlord or small landholder can apply to the Land Court to fix the rent and once fixed it subsists for 7 years.

May be altered by agreement between landlord and crofter, so long as no different rent has been set by the Scottish Land Court or the landlord or crofter can apply to the Scottish Land Court to which the rent once fixed subsists for 7 years.

May be altered, at an internal of not less than 3 years, by agreement between landlord and tenant farmer, or by recourse to the Scottish Land Court

Permitted on application to, and favourable decision of, the Scottish Land Court

Permitted on application to, and favourable decision of, the Scottish Land Court

Provided the leases contain agreed resumption provisions, the landlord may resume land for agricultural purposes and in the event of a disagreement the parties can apply to the Scottish Land Court for a determination of the resumption rights of the landlord.

Yes

Yes

Yes