Rural Land and Crofting Law
Rural Land Law
Macleod & MacCallum provide advice on all aspects of Rural Land Law including community buy outs, agricultural leases, wind farm developments, leases, purchase and sale of farms and small holdings, and fishing leases.
Crofting Law
Crofting tenure was created in 1886 following the Napier Commission’s report into “the condition of the crofters and cottars in the Highlands and Islands”. Decades of social and economic turmoil in the Highlands and Islands following the highland clearances and various attempts at ‘improvement’ highlighted the vulnerability of those occupying land in remote areas of the Highland and Islands, and the original legislation protected them by providing security of tenure, fair rents and compensation for improvements to the land.
Many agricultural holdings in the Crofting Counties of Inverness, Ross and Cromarty, Sutherland, Argyll, Caithness, Orkney and Shetland remain as crofts to this day, and Macleod & MacCallum have an unrivalled reputation as a leading provider of advice in this area.
One of our founding partners, Jeff Macleod, was a former Chairman of the Crofters Commission, and Derek Flyn, our former Senior Partner and Consultant with the Firm, became the first solicitor in Scotland to receive the Law Society of Scotland’s accreditation as a Specialist in Crofting Law. Derek was co-author of the first Crofting Law textbook, published in 1990.
Derek retired in September 2008, and the Firm’s tradition of excellence in this field is continued by David Findlay and Eilidh Ross (who trained under Derek Flyn). David and Eilidh will provide advice to our current and future clients on all aspects of Crofting Law including:
- Croft and house site purchases and sales, including Whitbread v MacDonald (“nominee”) transactions
- Tenancy assignation applications, lets and re-lets, apportionment applications, decrofting and other Crofters Commission applications
- Scottish Land Court Applications including resumption, fixing of fair rents, determination of the status or boundaries of a croft, and croft purchase applications
- Crofting Law advice to Estate owners in the Highlands and Islands including the Northern Isles
Crofting legislation has changed significantly in the last year as a result of the Crofting Reform (Scotland) Act 2007, which amended previous legislation. Details of these recent changes are available here.
Furthermore, the recent publication of the Report of the Committee of Inquiry on Crofting, now known as the Shucksmith Report, may result in further reform of crofting legislation. Details of this publication are available here.
For assistance, advice, an estimate of costs or further information please contact us.
Contact David Findlay
