Land Reform Act (Scotland) 2003

Land reform in Scotland is an ongoing process whose goal is to end the historic legacy of feudal law. It formally began in 2003 and continues as of 2016.

Scotland's land issues are rooted in two processes that happened in the 18th and 19th centuries, especially in the Scottish Highlands:

The Crofters' Holdings (Scotland) Act 1886 intended to protect the farmers' rights, but it was too weak to have any effect.

The Scotland land reform aims to balance the land-ownership situation by:

During the Scottish devolution (1997-1998), a Land Reform Policy Group (LRPG) was established under the chairmanship of Lord Sewel. After extensive public consultation, the LRPG published a set of proposals for land reform (1999).

In 2000, the Scottish Feudal Law from the 11th century, which protected the sanctity of large holdings, was officially cancelled.

In the same year, the Scottish Land Fund was established, in order to help communities buy their land from their landlords.

In 2001, a Draft Land Reform Bill was published. It was accepted as an Act two years later.

The Land Reform Act 2003 has three parts: unhindered access to open countryside, rights for communities to buy their land when the landowner puts it to sell, and rights of crofting communities to buy their land even without the consent of the landowner. The latter decisively changes the balance of power between the crofting community and the landowner.

1. The first part formalized the tradition in Scotland of unhindered access to open countryside. It created a framework for responsible access to land and inland water, formalizing the tradition in Scotland of unhindered access to open countryside, provided that care was taken not to cause damage or interfere with activities including farming and game stalking. Similar legislation was passed for England and Wales with the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000. This aspect of the Act follows the distinctive approach set out in the Outdoor Access Code, specifying the rights and responsibilities of land managers, countryside users and recreational managers.

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