and promotes the interests of crofting in Scotland
to secure the future of crofting.
Application for Review of an Apportionment
What is an Application for Review of an Apportionment
This application can be used to seek a review of a permanent or termed apportionment. This could be because the apportionment is no longer being used or is no longer required and you want the land to revert to the common grazings; or because you want one or more of the conditions on which the apportionment was granted to be removed or changed.
Who can apply?
Crofters with an apportionment, Grazings Committees or Owner(s) of a common grazings
- This application cannot be used to extend the period of a termed apportionment. If you are applying to extend the period of a termed apportionment, please use the application form titled ‘Application for Extension of Period of a Termed Apportionment’.
- Please note that this application form cannot be used to seek to convert a termed apportionment to a permanent apportionment. There is no provision in crofting legislation to do this, only to apply to extend the termed period.
To find the correct form you need, please refer to the form finder.
To apply to the Commission for an ‘Review for an Apportionment,’ please complete the Application for Review of an Apportionment Form
You will be asked for the following information:
- Your details
- The croft details
- Details of the Grazings Clerk, and owner(s) of the common grazings
- Details of the apportionment you want to be reviewed
- Why you are applying for a review of this apportionment, making reference, where appropriate, to any condition(s) contained in the ‘Apportionment Order’ that you want to be varied or removed or which you consider are not being complied with.
You must include a copy of the Apportionment Order and map with your application.
If there are any inconsistencies between the application and the Register of Crofts, or if the application is not completed correctly, we will be unable to process your application.
You can submit your application online or by post. The application form and guidance notes can be accessed via our form finder.
Once the Crofting Commission has received your completed application, we will check to make sure that you have completed the correct form and submitted all 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.
We will consult with the crofter who has the apportionment, the grazings committee and the owner(s) of the common grazings (as appropriate and depending on who has applied for the review of the apportionment) when considering this application. We may decide a report needs to be prepared by the ‘Scottish Government Rural Payments and Inspections Directorate’ (SGRPID) office situated in the locality of the common grazings to help the Commission to reach a decision.
For straightforward cases where there are no objections from the other involved parties, we will try to make a decision on your application within 16 weeks.
Please refer to ‘How decisions are made on applications’ for more information.
On reviewing applications ‘For Review of an Apportionment ’, the Crofting Commission may decide:
• To vary or revoke any existing condition imposed on the apportionment
• To impose a new condition on the apportionment
• To bring the apportionment to an end, so that the land returns to the common grazings
• That no action is required.
If following the review of the apportionment the Commission decides to vary or revoke any of the conditions imposed on the apportionment and/or to impose a new condition(s) we will issue an Order detailing what condition(s) have been varied, revoked or imposed. A copy of the new Order will be sent to the crofter, the Grazings Committee and the owner(s) of the common grazings.
Registers of Scotland Requirements - Important
The Registers of Scotland (RoS) holds the Crofting Register, which is a map based register of croft and common grazings land. Further information can be found on the Registers of Scotland Website.If the croft which includes the apportionment or the common grazings is already registered on the Registers of Scotland Crofting Register and the Crofting Commission decides to bring the apportionment to an end following its review, the applicant who applied for the review is required to submit a ‘Subsequent Event (FORM B or FORM E)’ application to the Crofting Commission, together with the £90 fee payment, within a specified timescale. Information about this will be included the letter we send to you and the other involved parties notifying you of the Commission’s decision.
The Crofting Commission will process the FORM B or FORM E Subsequent Event application and send this to Registers of Scotland, to record the apportionment ending on the Crofting Register. The apportionment ends and the land reverts to the common grazings on the date the change is registered on the Crofting Register.
It is important to note the time limit for the submitting the Registers of Scotland FORM B or FORM E is set by law and the Crofting Commission cannot extend this. Failure to submit the Subsequent Event application form, within the relevant timescales, means that although the Crofting Commission decided to bring the apportionment to an end, the apportionment will remain. It will therefore be necessary to re-apply to the Crofting Commission for a review of the apportionment.
The Crofting Commission’s decision can be appealed to the Scottish Land Court within 42 days from the date the Commission notifies you and the other interested parties of its decision. Please refer to the Appeals page for more information.
