Scottish Land Commission Sets Out Changes to Simplify and Strengthen Land Reform Bill

The Scottish Land Commission has proposed key changes to the Land Reform Bill, currently being considered by Parliament, so that it achieves the Scottish Government’s objectives to address the impacts of concentrated land ownership. This additional advice follows the Commission’s earlier evidence on the Bill given to the Parliamentary committee last year.

The Land Reform Bill introduces some important new steps to increase transparency, widen ownership opportunities, and regulate large land holdings in the public interest, including:

• Requiring greater transparency and community engagement through Land Management Plans
• Ending private off-market sales of large landholdings through prior notification
• Introducing scrutiny of the sale of large landholdings with a power to require land to be sold in lots.

In its advice published today, the Commission highlights several changes to simplify and strengthen these measures, ensuring they are both practical and impactful.

Key recommendations from the Commission include:

• Setting a unified threshold of 1,000 hectares for all proposed measures, rather than the varied thresholds currently set out.
• Simplifying the Prior Notification process by introducing a single 90-day notice period, with exemptions for small transactions and a decentralised local notification system.
• Ensuring a wider range of public bodies and community councils are involved in ensuring accountability of Land Management Plans.
• Strengthening the Transfer Test to focus explicitly on public interest and enable strategic public sector land acquisition for housing, community ownership, farming and other opportunities.

Hamish Trench, Chief Executive of the Scottish Land Commission, commented:

“The Land Reform Bill is a significant step in addressing Scotland’s long-standing challenges with concentrated land ownership. For too long, the imbalance of power created by concentrated ownership has limited opportunities for some communities, businesses, and individuals to influence and benefit from how land is managed and used. This Bill introduces measures to increase transparency, regulate land sales, and ensure land is owned and managed in ways that benefit the wider public.

“Our recommendations aim to ensure the Bill delivers on its ambitions by making its provisions stronger, simpler, and easier to implement. With these changes, Scotland can move towards a fairer, more productive system of land ownership that is regulated in the public interest, moving Scotland closer to normal international practice in land governance.”

The Land Reform Bill is currently being considered at Stage 1 in the Scottish Parliament. The Scottish Land Commission is providing advice to the Scottish Government and to inform parliamentary consideration, to support the development and implementation of an effective Land Reform Bill. The Commission will continue to advise on this alongside its work on a wider programme of reforms.

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