Crofting Register now in force
30 November 2012
The new Crofting Register comes into force today. The register, which will have the advantage of being accessible to all for free online, will attempt to record the full extent of croft land in Scotland, along with associated interests. The register will also record land held runrig, and common grazings. It will contain information on the tenant, owner occupier along with the landlord or registered owner. The Keeper of the Registers of Scotland will maintain the register, which is – like the Land Register – map based.
For the first year of operation, entry into the register is voluntary. After the first year, certain ‘trigger’ events will require compulsory registration, mainly relating to regulatory applications to the Crofting Commission such as assignations and croft divisions.
Furthermore, the associated fees for registration have also been published. Any application made to the register will cost £90, to be paid by the applicant, be it crofter, landlord, or owner-occupier. The Scottish Government has set aside £100,000 to assist and encourage voluntary registration; therefore there will be a reduced fee for voluntary registration of crofts where either 10 or more applications for registration in the same township, or all the crofts in the same township comprising more than one but less than 10 crofts, are submitted jointly to the Crofting Commission. These joint applications must be received by the Crofting Commission before 30th November 2013. The fee is then reduced by £20 for each application.
The Crofting Register was a key (and arguably controversial) part of the Crofting Reform (Scotland) Act 2010, largely due to the cost that in many cases will be borne by crofters. Due to the often ambiguous nature of crofting boundaries, there is also a nine month challenge period period following registration provided for in the 2010 Act. Challenges will be made direct to the Land Court who can order for rectification to be made.
When the register goes live, it can be accessed for free at http://www.crofts.ros.gov.uk/register/home.
Brian Inkster has expressed some reservations regarding limitations in the information to be contained within the register and an omission by the Scottish Government in an important trigger point to induce registration. He has written a letter on the subject to the Journal of the Law Society of Scotland to be published in their December edition. We will provide a link to that letter here when published online.
If you require further information on the register, or about any other crofting matter, Inksters can assist you. Contact Brian Inkster in Glasgow or Eilidh Ross in Inverness.
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