and promotes the interests of crofting in Scotland
to secure the future of crofting.
Change of Ownership Notification
What is Change of Ownership Notification?
This notification is used to inform the Commission where there has been a change in the ownership of land under crofting tenure.
Under Section 41 of the Crofters (Scotland) Act 1993, the Commission is required to compile and maintain a Register of Crofts. The Register of Crofts includes the details of the tenant, landlord and owner occupier crofter of each croft. Section 17(7) of the 1993 Act also states that, any person acquiring croft land shall be required to give notice to the Commission of the change of ownership of the land. It is important therefore that the Commission is notified whenever a change of ownership occurs to ensure the Register of Crofts is accurate and up to date .
Who can should use this notification?
Anyone who buys croft land must notify the Commission. By filling in a Change of Ownership Notification Form , this will help to ensure the Commission has all the information it needs to update the Register of Crofts..
This applies whether it is part of the croft or the whole of the croft that is purchased, and includes tenants who purchase all or part of their croft from their landlord.
If different areas of the same croft are bought by different people, the new owner(s) of each part must complete a Notification Form and send it to us.
- This is the correct notification to use if you:
• Are a tenant who has purchased part of or all their croft
• Have purchased/inherited all or part of an owned croft which is not tenanted.
• Have purchased tenanted croft land as the nominee of the crofter.
• Have become the Landlord of all or part of a tenanted croft.
If an owner-occupier crofter wishes to transfer or sell part of their croft they must apply to divide the croft first. To find out more please visit croft division.
As you fill out the notification form, it is important to read the guidance notes. The guidance notes will tell you what information you need to provide.
This will include:
- Croft Details
- New Owners Details
- Previous Owners Details
- Details of the croft land purchased/transferred (including any apportionments of the common grazings)
- Date of Purchase
- Grazings Share(s) Arrangements (Were associated grazings share(s) included in the purchase?)
- Registers of Scotland Crofting Register application (more info below, on the steps to do this, depending on whether the croft is already registered)
Please use our form finder to access the change of ownership notification.
It is important to note that if the tenant acquires only part of the croft land in their own name, the croft will have an additional landlord and the part purchased by the former tenant will be classed as vacant.
The status of the croft in the Commission’s Register of Crofts will be “part tenanted; part vacant”.
If the whole croft has been acquired by the tenant, the landlord will be removed from the Register of Crofts, and the former tenant will be entered as the ‘owner-occupier crofter.’
If any grazings share(s) or apportionments are not included in the whole croft purchase, a new separate entry will be created in the Commission’s Register of Crofts, as these are deemed to be a croft held in tenancy, in terms of section 3(5) of the 1993 Act. If the grazings share(s) is included, we need evidence of this to be submitted with the notification form (ie a copy of the Title Deeds/Disposition, which needs to make specific reference to the grazings share(s)/grazings rights being included.
Registers of Scotland hold the Crofting Register, which is a map-based register of croft land. Submitting a change of ownership notification may, in certain circumstances, trigger the requirement to register your croft land in the Crofting Register held by the Keeper of the Registers of Scotland.
However, not all changes of ownership of croft land require to be registered. The table below sets out whether the change requires to be registered or not
| Type of Change | Where croft is registered | Where croft is not registered |
|---|---|---|
| Purchase by tenant | Yes | No |
| Change of Owner Occupier Crofter | Yes | Yes |
| Change of Landlord | Yes | No |
If you’re a new Owner Occupier Crofter and the croft is not already registered, you need to submit a ‘First Registration (FORM A)’ application form. This should be submitted at the same time as the notification form. In this application you will need to provide a map of your croft boundary. For details of how to prepare a map of your croft and the correct form, please refer to the Registers of Scotland.
If your croft is already registered, you will need to submit a ‘Subsequent Event (FORM B)’ application for every change of ownership of all or part of the croft. This should be submitted at the same time as the notification form.
You should submit the ‘First Registration (FORM A)’ or ‘Subsequent Event (FORM B)’ application to the Crofting Commission. These can be submitted by post . A fee of £90 is payable when you submit the application. This can be paid by a cheque made out to the Crofting Commission, or bank transfer. The Crofting Commission will process your application and forward it to Registers of Scotland.
Here is a summary of the key points:
- If you’re a new Owner Occupier Crofter and your croft is not already registered, you need to submit a ‘First Registration (FORM A)’ application.
- If your croft is already registered, you need to submit a ‘Subsequent Event (FORM B)’ application, along with the notification, for every change of ownership.
- There is a fee payable of £90 when you submit the Registers of Scotland application.
- The Crofting Commission will process your registration application and forward it to Registers of Scotland.
The Commission will update its Register of Crofts to reflect the change of ownership. The effective date of transfer will be the date specified in the notification to the Commission.
The Commission will process and forward your croft registration (Form A) or subsequent event (Form B) application to the Registers of Scotland.
Factsheet-Change-of-Ownership-of-Croft-Land-180425.pdf
