and promotes the interests of crofting in Scotland
to secure the future of crofting.
Assignation of a Croft Tenancy
What is Assignation of a Croft Tenancy?
‘Assignation’ is the term used to describe the permanent transfer, with Crofting Commission consent, of a croft tenancy from the crofter, referred to as the ‘assignor’ or ‘current tenant’, to another person of their choice referred to as the ‘assignee’ or ‘proposed new crofter’.
Who can apply?
If you are a tenant crofter and want to transfer your croft tenancy to another individual permanently, you should apply for an ‘Assignation of Croft Tenancy’.
- If you assign your croft then everything that is held in tenancy will be transferred to the new tenant, including any grazings share(s) and/or any buildings on the croft. This will include your croft house and garden, if this has not been decrofted, and/or you have not purchased it from your landlord and obtained legal title to the area.
- If you want to continue to tenant your croft land and only assign the tenancy of the grazings share(s) which pertain to it, please complete an ‘Assignation of Grazings Share(s)’ application form.
- If you want to continue to tenant part of your croft, including just the grazings share(s), you must first apply to the Crofting Commission for consent to divide your croft.
- A tenancy can only be assigned to one person.
- You can apply to assign your croft and/or grazings share(s) to any individual that you choose.
- If your croft is sublet, you must give your subtenant 6 months written notice that you intend to assign the tenancy before you apply.
Succession planning for your croft is an important consideration and one option is to transfer your croft to your successor within your lifetime. This is known as ‘living succession’ for a tenant crofter, this is done by ‘Assignation’. For more info see here Succession
The Commission uses a set of criteria for each application type, which are referred to as ‘parameters.’ The parameters determine how the decision on the application is taken. If the application meets the parameters, and no objections have been received, the decision to approve the application is made as a straightforward approval (known as Tier 1 approval). These types of decisions are reached the most quickly.
Here are some examples of parameters for a Assignation application:
- The proposed tenant will be ordinarily resident within 32 kilometres of the croft or will be within 18 months of obtaining the croft tenancy
- The proposed tenant has provided evidence that they will cultivate the croft or put all or part of it to another purposeful use
- The proposed tenant has the skills to carry out their proposals for the croft
- The proposed tenant occupies 5 or less crofts (including deemed crofts comprising of apportionments or grazings shares/rights)
- There have been no objections from the landlord
- There have been no objections from any member of the crofting community
- There have been no expressions of demand for the tenancy of the croft, or the person expressing demand already has a croft, or there are vacant crofts in the township .
If an application does not meet all the parameters, it is considered to be a more complex application. Complex applications are decided by more senior staff at the Crofting Commission. Complex applications may take longer for a decision to be taken. For further information on our tiered decision-making process please visit how decsions are taken on applications.
What you need to apply:
- A completed ‘Assignation of Croft Tenancy’ application form
- You must advertise your application to assign the tenancy of the croft in a local newspaper allowing 28 days for comments to be sent to the Commission. There is a sample advert in the application form and guidance notes. The advert should appear no earlier than 1 month before the submission of the application and no later than 2 months after the submission of the application. To find an approved local paper in your area, please visit our Advertising Factsheet.
- You must notify the landlord (and if your croft has grazings share(s) the owner(s) of the common grazings) in writing that you are applying to assign your croft. There is a sample notification for sending to your landlord in the application form and guidance notes.
- A Registers of Scotland Crofting Register application (more info below on the steps to do this depending on whether the croft is or isn’t already registered)
Application form
As you fill out your application form it is important to read the guidance notes provided. The guidance will tell you what information is needed, and what additional documents you must submit.
It is also important to consider the decision parameters when preparing your application.
If the application doesn’t meet the parameters, it will take longer to process and decide your application. If there are any inconsistencies between the application and the Commission’s Register of Crofts, or if the application is not completed correctly, we will not be able to process it.
You can submit your application online or by post. The application form and guidance notes can be accessed via our form finder.
Here is a summary of the key points:
- Read the guidance notes as you fill out your application.
- Consider the parameters when preparing your application.
- You can submit your application online or by post
Registers of Scotland Application
The ‘Registers of Scotland’ (RoS) hold the Crofting Register, which is a map-based register of croft and common grazings land. If you are applying to assign your croft, you will need to either register the croft with Registers of Scotland for the first time, or if it is already registered you will need to submit a form to update the register if your application is approved.
If the croft is not already registered, you need to submit a ‘First Registration (FORM A)’ application. In this application you will need to provide a map of your croft boundary. This should ideally be submitted at the same time as your assignation application. For details of how to prepare a map of the croft, and the correct form, please refer to the Registers of Scotland website .
You should submit your ‘First Registration (FORM A)’ application to the Crofting Commission by post . There is a fee payable of £90 when you submit the application. This can be paid by a cheque made out to the ‘Crofting Commission’ or by bank transfer. The Crofting Commission will check and process your application and forward it to Registers of Scotland.
Your assignation application will be processed and decided more quickly if you send your ‘First Registration (Form A’) application to us at the same time as you apply to assign. The registration application must be submitted within 6 months of the Crofting Commission receiving your assignation application, or it cannot be processed by the Crofting Commission.
If your croft is already registered on the RoS Crofting Register and your assignation application is approved, the proposed new tenant (assignee) will need to submit a ‘Subsequent Event (FORM B)’ application within a specified timescale. Information about this will be included in the letters sent by the Crofting Commission notifying you and the proposed new tenant that the assignation application is approved.
Here is a summary of the key points:
- You need to register your croft land with the Registers of Scotland if you are applying to assign it and your croft is not already registered on the Crofting Register
- For details of how to prepare a map of the croft, and the correct form, please refer to the Registers of Scotland website .
- If your croft is not already registered, you need to submit a ‘First Registration (FORM A)’ application, ideally at the same time as you apply to assign your croft. If you don’t apply to register your croft within 6 months of the Crofting Commission receiving your assignation application, the assignation application cannot be processed
- If your croft is already registered and if your assignation is approved, the new tenant (assignee) will need to submit a ‘Subsequent Event (FORM B)’ application to the Crofting Commission within a specified timescale. The approval decision letter will explain what they need to do next to register the assignation of the croft tenancy on the Registers of Scotland Crofting Register
- Each Registers of Scotland application has a fee of £90, payable by cheque or bank transfer
- The Crofting Commission will process and forward the registration application to Registers of Scotland.
After the 28-day public consultation period has passed, the Crofting Commission will consider any correspondence it has received about your assignation application. This is to establish if the person is entitled to object or otherwise has a relevant interest in your application. Any rejected submissions will be returned or destroyed.
If your croft is already registered with the Keeper of the Registers of Scotland and meets the decision parameters, the Crofting Commission will be able to decide your application more quickly.
If your croft is not registered, the Crofting Commission cannot make a decision on your application until it is registered with Registers of Scotland. If the croft is registered with the Keeper of the Registers of Scotland and the application meets the decision parameters, the Crofting Commission will be able to decide your application more quickly. We would aim to take a decision within 16 weeks for straightforward applications where there are no objections, and no further investigation is required.
If the application does not meet the decision parameters, it may take longer to be processed and decided. Please refer to how decisions are taken on applications.
Here is a summary of the key points:
- The Crofting Commission will check your application to make sure that it is complete and correct.
- If no one objects to your application, the Crofting Commission will try to make a decision within 16 weeks.
- The Crofting Commission cannot make a decision on your application if your croft is not registered with the Registers of Scotland.
The Crofting Commission may either:
You and the other involved parties will have the option to appeal the Commission’s decision or determination of the application to the Scottish Land Court, within 42 days, from the day of the decision letter. Please refer to the Appeals page for more information.
If a croft is registered on the Registers of Scotland Crofting Register for the first time because of an assignation application which is granted by the Crofting Commission, the applicant must notify the Commission within 3 months that the change of tenancy has taken effect. A notification form will be sent to the applicant with the decision letter and this will specify the date the assignation will take effect from. Upon receiving the completed notification from the applicant, the Commission will notify the Keeper of the Registers of Scotland of the change so it can be recorded on the Crofting Register.
If the croft is already registered, and the assignation application is approved, the proposed new tenant (assignee) must submit a ‘Subsequent Event (FORM B)’ application to the Crofting Commission, together with the £90 payment, within a specified timescale. Information about this will be included in the letters sent to you and the proposed new tenant (assignee) notifying you that your application is approved. The Crofting Commission will process the FORM B application and send this to Registers of Scotland to record the change of tenant on the Crofting Register.
It is important to note the time limits for completing and returning the notification form or the Registers of Scotland FORM B application are set by law and the Crofting Commission cannot extend them. Failure to submit the forms within the relevant timescales means the assignation of your croft tenancy will not take effect and you will need to re-apply to assign your croft
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