A ban on foreigners buying Scottish land?

A report published in June by the Land Reform Review Group has recommended that a maximum limit be set on the amount of Scottish land that could be held by a single private owner or beneficial interest, and there was also a call for a ban on non EU ownership of Scottish land. The ban would potentially enable more land to become available for community use, boosting community land ownership across the country.

Legal experts have said that they think the idea could well be unworkable, pointing out that some of the report’s recommendations could even fall under the widely anticipated Community Empowerment Bill, which aims to free up land owned by the Scottish government for purchase by communities.

The report suggested a number of ways to improve the diversity of land ownership in Scotland, which is to be applauded, but could fall foul of the European Convention on Human Rights which enshrines the ‘right to property’.

With regard to keeping land in the community - the intention of freeing up under-used land to be used by local communities is commendable, but in practice, not only do the rights of the landowner have to be weighed up against the desires of a local community but where are these communities going to get the money from to fund all these potential purchases?

Restricting property sales to EU entities is also inherently tricky. It’s hard to disagree that increasing  the number and diversity of land owners in Scotland would be in the public interest but at what point should you step in and say that an entity owns ‘too much’ Scottish land?

Preventing inward investment into Scotland, through property or any other means, isn’t going to do a lot to boost the Scottish economy, and the recommendation that we refuse to let non EU nationals register their purchases on our Land Registry is difficult to imagine working in practice.

On a positive note, Scottish environment minister Paul Wheelhouse said that he agreed with the Land Reform Review Group that it was necessary to get a ‘clear understanding’ of who owns Scottish land, and pointed out that the Land Registration (Scotland) Act, which was doe to be implemented in December this year, should go some way to increasing the speed at which the current land registry process is being completed.

For advice on how any changes to legislation might affect you, contact the experts at Sturrock, Armstrong and Thomson.