Crofting Law in Scotland - 10 Risks to Watch Out For

Introduction

Crofting law affects land across the Highlands and Islands of Scotland, and so most solicitors will have to deal with it at some point. Crofting law is widely acknowledged to be complex, difficult to navigate, and professionally risky.

The law was changed in 2007, 2010, and further reform is currently on the parliamentary schedule (but which may yet be side-lined again).

Participants will be armed with knowledge which will help them to deal with common crofting law problems which are often overlooked.

What You Will Learn

This webinar will cover the following:

• Should you advise your client against buying a croft?
  • Statutory conditions, statutory duties and penalties for breach thereof
  • What can you do with a croft?
  • Will you get planning permission?
  • Where can you live?
  • Beyond farming
  • Missives for purchase/sale
• Croft registration - don’t listen when they say it’s easy
  • When to register
  • Correct procedure and diligence for croft registration including mapping
  • Common problems
• Croft status - the most important and most misunderstood issue
  • How to establish a croft status
  • When to ignore the Register of Crofts and Crofting Register - and when not to
  • Penalties for getting that wrong
  • Pros and cons of each
  • How to convert from one status to another
• Purchasing a croft from your landlord
  • Have you bought the whole croft?
  • What about apportioments?
  • What about your grazing share?
  • What happens to your grazing share afterwards?
  • Landlord’s clawback
  • Sporting rights
• Don’t forget the common grazing’s share/s
  • When is it separated and when is it not?
  • Wills and succession
  • It isn’t worth anything - is it?
• Acting for landlords
  • Tools for regulating tenants
  • Options for letting tenancies
  • Be careful about terminating tenancies.
  • Liabilities - renunciations etc.
• Croft Succession - a very fiddly and high-risk affair
• Penalty for failing to register a regulatory decision
• Crofting law v agricultural law (and effects on occupation etc.)
• Marketing of croft land and sales particulars - Property Misdescriptions Act

This webinar was recorded on 24th May 2023