and promotes the interests of crofting in Scotland
to secure the future of crofting.
Exchange of Croft Land Application
‘Exchange’ is the term used to describe the transfer, with the consent of the Crofting Commission and the landlord, of all or part of a croft tenancy from one tenant crofter to another tenant crofter. There must be an exchange of land for both crofts, and both crofts must have the same landlord.
Who can apply?
- The croft land, and/or any grazings shares that you wish to exchange, must have the same landlord.
- You can only apply to exchange all or part of their croft with another crofter, if they obtain the consent of both the landlord and the Crofting Commission.
- The landlord of the crofts must be the owner of any common grazings in which the crofters share.
- The proposed Exchange of Croft Land must be to exchange croft land from all crofts subject to the application i.e. Croft A must exchange land with Croft B, and Croft B must exchange land with Croft A.
- The extent of the areas of croft land to be exchanged need not be the same or similar.
- The crofts involved in the proposed exchange can be the same or different for each.
- It is not possible to include non-croft or vacant croft land in an exchange application.
- An owner-occupier crofter is also unable to apply to exchange land.
- If either croft is sublet, the subtenant must be given 6 months written notice of your intention to exchange the croft land before submitting your application.
The Crofting Commission uses a set of criteria for ‘Exchange of Croft Land' applications, 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 Exchange of Croft Land applications:
- Both tenants are complying with their statutory duties relating to residence and land use
- Demand has not been expressed for the tenancy of either croft
- There have been no objections from any member of the crofting community or another other person who is entitled to object
- The exchange will not create any access issues
- There are no concerns over the size and quality of either croft resulting from the proposed exchange.
If an application does not meet all the parameters, it is considered to be a more complex application. Complex applications are considered and decided by more senior staff within the Crofting Commission and may take longer to process and for a decision to be taken. For further information please vist how decisions are made on applications.
What you need to apply:
- A completed ‘Exchange of Croft Land’ application form submitted jointly by each croft tenant and the landlord
- A map of the proposed exchange in relation to the whole boundary of each croft. See the page on Maps for more information
- You must advertise your application for the ‘Exchange of Croft Land’ in a local newspaper, allowing 28 days for comments to be sent to the Crofting Commission. A sample advert is provided in the application guidance. 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.
- A completed Registers of Scotland Crofting Register application form (more info below on the steps to do this depending on whether the croft is already registered with Registers of Scotland, or not).
Application form
It is important to read the guidance notes fully before and as you complete the application form. These notes will tell you what information you need to include in your application and what other documents you need to submit.
It is also important to consider the decision parameters when preparing your application.
If the application doesn’t meet the parameters, if objections are received, if there is any inconsistencies between the application and the Register of Crofts, or if the application is not completed correctly it will take longer to decide your application.
To find the correct form you need, please refer to the form finder.
Here is a summary of the key points:
- Read the guidance notes before you fill out your exchange of croft land 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) holds the Crofting Register, which is a map-based register of croft and common grazings land. If you are applying to exchange areas of croft land, you will need to either register the crofts with Registers of Scotland for the first time, or if they are already registered you will need to submit forms to update the register if your application is approved.
If the crofts are 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 ‘Exchange of Croft Land’ application. 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 already registered on the RoS Crofting Register, and your Exchange application is approved, you need to submit a ‘Subsequent Event’ (FORM B) application within a specified timescale. Information about this will be included in the letter you receive from the Crofting Commission notifying you that your application is approved.
You should submit your ‘First Registration’ (FORM A) or ‘Subsequent Event’ (FORM B) application to the Crofting Commission. These should be submitted by post. You need to pay a fee of £90 when you submit your 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.
Here is a summary of the key points:
Here is a summary of the key points
- You need to register each of the crofts with the Registers of Scotland if you are applying to exchange croft land. If either croft is not already registered, you need to submit a ‘First Registration’ (FORM A) application ideally at the same time as your ‘Exchange of Croft Land' application
- If either croft is already registered, you will need to submit a Subsequent Event (FORM B) application if your exchange application is approved
- Each Registers of Scotland application has a fee of £90 payable by check or back transfer
- The Crofting Commission will process and forward your application to Registers of Scotland.
Once the Crofting Commission has received your completed ‘Exchange of Croft Land’ application and map(s), we will check to make sure that you have filled out the correct form and submitted all of the required information. If you have not submitted everything correctly, you will be made aware, and will have a specified amount of time to submit the information requested.
After the 28-day public consultation period has passed, the Crofting Commission will consider any correspondence it has received about your exchange 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. We will let you know if there are any valid objections or submissions supporting your exchange application, and all applicants will be able to reply to the Crofting Commission about these.
The Crofting Commission will also consider whether it is necessary to undertake any further investigation before making a decision on your application. This may involve a report being prepared by the ‘Scottish Government Rural Payments and Inspections Directorate’ (SGRPID) office situated in the locality of the crofts.
If the crofts are registered with the Keeper of the Registers of Scotland, and your exchange application meets the decision parameters, the Crofting Commission will be able to decide your application more quickly .
If any of the crofts involved in the exchange application is not registered, the Crofting Commission cannot make a decision on your application until it is registered with Registers of Scotland.
If the application does not meet the decision parameters, it may take longer to be processed and decided. Please refer to ‘How decisions are made on applications' for more information.
Providing all the crofts are registered with the Keeper of the Registers of Scotland, we aim to take a decision on your application within 16 weeks. This is only for straightforward applications where all the decision parameters have been met and there are no objections.
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 Commission may either:
• grant
• grant subject to conditions, or
• refuse an ‘Exchange of Croft Land’ application.
The Crofting Commission will notify the crofter applicants, the landlord, and any other involved parties, of its decision by recorded delivery post, within 21 days of the decision being taken, specifying the reasons for its decision.
If the ‘Exchange of Croft Land’ application is granted and all the crofts are registered on the RoS Crofting Register for the first time, the applicants must notify the Commission, within 3 months of the application being granted, that the change has taken effect. Then the Commission will notify the Keepers of the Registers of Scotland of the change. The exchange takes effect on the date provided by the crofters on the ‘Notification Form’ sent to the Commission
If the ‘Exchange of Croft Land’ application is granted all the crofts are already registered, the applicants must each submit a ‘Subsequent Event’ (FORM B) application within a specified timescale. Information about this will be included in the letter you receive from the Crofting Commission, notifying you that your exchange application is approved. The exchange takes effect on the date of its registration with Registers of Scotland.
If the ‘Exchange of Croft Land’ application is granted and one of the crofts is registered on the RoS Crofting Register for the first time, and one is already registered, information about what must be done by each croft tenant and the timescale for completing this will be included in the letter you receive from the Crofting Commission, notifying you that your exchange application is approved. The exchange takes effect on the date it is registered on the RoS Crofting Register.
You (and any other involved party to the application) will have the option to appeal the Crofting Commission’s decision or determination of the application to the Scottish Land Court within 42 days from the date of the decision letter. Please refer to the Appeals page for more information.
Factsheet-Exchange-of-Croft-Land-180425.pdf
law-policy-and-procedure-exchange-of-crofts-or-parts-of-crofts-September-2024.pdf
