Tag Archives: owner-occupier crofts

My response to the Consultation on the Future of Crofting Legislation

Response to the Consultation on the Future of Crofting LegislationThe Consultation on the Future of Crofting Legislation received responses up until 20 November 2017. An analysis of the responses was published on 21 March 2018 and Fergus Ewing MSP, Cabinet Secretary for the Rural Economy and Connectivity with responsibility for crofting, outlined the Scottish Government’s plans for legislative reform to the Cross-Party Group on Crofting on 28 March 2018.

I will come back on this blog to look in more detail at the analysis and Government plans. In the meantime I thought I should publish here my own personal response to the Consultation.

Current Scottish Government crofting policy may be stated as:

The Scottish Government values crofting as a form of land tenure and recognises
the added contribution that crofting continues to make to the rural economy and the
sustainability of rural and remote rural communities.

The Scottish Government is committed to reforming crofting to secure its future,
bring new blood into crofting communities, and ensure it can continue to contribute to
the development of a thriving rural Scotland.

This policy is reflected in the current legislative framework which places a number of
duties on crofters, including the duty to reside within 32 km of the croft; cultivate the
croft, or put the croft to another purposeful use; and not misuse or neglect the croft.
These duties serve to maintain the integrity of rural communities in the Highlands
and Islands.

Question 1: Do you agree with the stated Scottish Government policy on crofting?

Answer 1: No strong views on the question of policy but will refer to it when commenting on the ‘Clean Sheet’ approach to legislative reform below.

Question 2: Please select your preferred option to indicate which you believe to be the most suitable way to proceed with any crofting law reform. Should you wish to suggest another approach that has not been discussed above, then please select ‘other’ and provide details.

The options given were:-

Option 1 – Consolidation Bill
Option 2 – Bill amending existing legislation / Pre-Consolidation Bill
Option 3 – Bill amending existing legislation and restating crofting law
Option 4 – Bill setting out ‘new’ crofting law

Answer 2: Option 2.

The Scottish Government has already given a commitment to legislative change. Option 1 will not achieve that and arguably should not have been an option at all.

The Scottish Government’s Crofting Policy “is reflected in the current legislative framework” and thus there would appear no merit in pursuing a ‘Clean Sheet’ approach when current legislation and policy coincide. There is also a danger that pursuing a ‘Clean Sheet’ approach will result in much debate and little ability to actually fix the problems identified in ‘The Sump’ Report within this Parliamentary term. Thus Option 4 should be discounted.

It would appear that Option 3 may result in less problem areas being tackled than Option 2. Consolidation does not need to happen at the same time as amendments to the law and should not be pursued at the same time if that is going to reduce the number of amendments involved to existing law.

Thus Option 2 is really the only sensible one for the Scottish Government to pursue.

Questions 3 – 9 asked various questions on (1) Absenteeism, Misuse and Neglect; (2) Assignation and Succession; (3) Common Grazings; (4) Crofting Commission Regulatory Functions and Processes; (5) Crofting Registration; (6) Owner-occupier Crofts; and (7) Standard Securities.

Question 10 asked for those seven issues to be listed in order of priority: ‘higher priority’ first to ‘lower priority’ last.

Rather than answering those questions individually, or providing a priority list, I decided to deal with that as part and parcel of my answer to question 11 and simply referred the Scottish Government to that particular answer.

Question 11: Please tell us any other thoughts you have about the proposed Crofting Legislation reform not covered in your earlier answers.

I have not answered questions 3 to 10 as I consider my views on these matters to be covered by ‘The Sump’ Report (November 2014) [PDF] and the Proposals put forward by the Scottish Government’s Crofting Legislation Stakeholder Consultation Group (10 February 2015) [PDF]. These documents prioritise matters but ultimately are of the view that all (not some) of the problem areas identified should be tackled and fixed by the Scottish Government. A new Bill under Option 2 should set out to do just that.

My views on Standard Securities are contained in an article entitled “Is it Time for a Crofting Mortgage Bill?” originally published by The Firm Online on 31 May 2010 and subsequently reproduced in The Crofting Law Group Newsletter. Those views have not changed with the passage of time.


Those were my responses. You can view 97 of the 122 submitted responses (N.B. 97 of those 122 respondents gave consent to publish their responses) via this Scottish Government link: https://consult.gov.scot/agriculture-and-rural-communities/crofting-consultation-2017/consultation/published_select_respondent.

In future blog posts I will look at the analysis of those responses and the Scottish Government’s plans in light of that analysis. I will also publish on this blog my views on Standard Securities from 2010 as ‘The Firm Online’, where those views were originally published, is no longer online.

Crofting Commission make a U-turn on Decrofting Appeal to the benefit of many owner-occupiers

Crofting Commission make a U-turn on decrofting appealThe Crofting Commission today confirmed that it has withdrawn its appeal to the Court of Session in connection with the Scottish Land Court’s decision of 18 December 2014 in the case of MacGillivray v Crofting Commission. That case concerned the Crofting Commission’s policy on decrofting where a croft unit is held in multiple ownership.

On 14 December 2012 Crofting Commissioners agreed to adopt a policy that all decrofting and letting applications in respect of crofts with multiple owners, must be submitted by all the owners, in their capacity collectively as the ‘landlord’ of the croft, even in those cases where the application related to a part of the croft held in title by only one of their number. This decision was based on legal advice obtained by the Crofting Commission but never published by them.

This is a sensible decision by the Crofting Commission and puts the position back to what it was before they decided on 14 December 2012 to interpret crofting law in a way that I do not believe was ever intended by the Scottish Government. The Land Court decision was a clear, sensible and fair one and it makes much sense for the Crofting Commission to abide by it.

There will be a huge sense of relief amongst owner-occupiers of croft land who are not classified in law as owner-occupier crofters. They can now apply to decroft land that they own without requiring the consent of neighbours who happen to be owners of part of the original croft unit. The lack of such consent in certain instances was causing huge problems for many who have been in a state of limbo for over two years now.

The Crofting Commission in their official press release have stated:-

Due to the fixed deadline for submitting an appeal, the Crofting Commission submitted a skeleton appeal to provide it with sufficient time to convene the full Commission and allow it to discuss the implications of the decision.

The Commission met last week to review the case and it was decided to withdraw the appeal and accept the ruling of the Land Court which establishes that a single owner, as the landlord of their part of the croft, are entitled to submit a regulatory decrofting application to the Commission.

The Crofting Commission had originally found Mr & Mrs MacGillivray’s application to decroft land at 37 North Ballachulish for house building to have been incompetent, therefore, the Commission could not take a decision on it.  The recent Scottish Land Court ruling found the application to be competent.  No decision has been made yet on the merits of the application which the Commission will now have to reconsider.

The case challenged the Commission’s policy which was adopted at its Board meeting on 14 December 2012.  The policy found that all decrofting and letting applications in respect of crofts with multiple owners, must be submitted by all of the owners, in their capacity collectively as the ‘landlord’ of the croft.

The Land Court has ruled that in a multiple ownership situation one of the owners can apply independently from the other owners where the application solely relates to the land that they own.

Crofting Commission Convener, Susan Walker said “The ruling has implications on part croft owners in relation to the requirement to register the croft prior to submitting certain regulatory applications.  The Commission is working to align our policy to the ruling and will begin to process applications relating to part crofts from single owners.”

Brian Inkster

Decrofting uncertainty continues as Crofting Commission take case to the Court of Session

Court of SessionThe Crofting Commission last week lodged a request that a special case be stated on a question of law for the opinion of the Court of Session in connection with the Land Court’s decision of 18 December 2014 in the case of MacGillivray v Crofting Commission. That case concerned the Crofting Commission’s policy on decrofting where a croft unit is held in multiple ownership.

On 14 December 2012 Crofting Commissioners agreed to adopt a policy that all decrofting and letting applications in respect of crofts with multiple owners, must be submitted by all the owners, in their capacity collectively as the ‘landlord’ of the croft, even in those cases where the application related to a part of the croft held in title by only one of their number. This decision was based on legal advice obtained by the Commission but never published by them.

For the past two years many people have been affected by this policy decision and have been unable to decroft and thus develop land they own if a neighbour who happens to own part of the original croft unit is not willing to consent to the proposed development taking place. Mr & Mrs MacGillivray were in that very position. Their application to decroft land at North Ballachulish for house building had been rejected by the Crofting Commission because it did not have the consent of the landlord of that part of the original croft unit that remained in tenancy. Mr & Mrs MacGillivray referred the matter to the Scottish Land Court who decided that the Crofting Commission were wrong and it was competent for an owner of part of a croft to seek to decroft without requiring the consent of any other owners of the original croft unit. The Land Court took the view that the reference to a croft in the Crofting Acts applied equally to part of a croft.

The Land Court’s decision will have come as a relief to many who have been affected by the Crofting Commission’s policy. However, any hopes of an early resolution to their own predicaments have been dashed by the Crofting Commission appealing that decision to the Court of Session. It is now likely to be many months before a ruling is issued that will settle the matter once and for all.

Many crofting lawyers, including myself, have long held the view that the Crofting Commission’s policy was not a correct interpretation of the law. At the outset I called on this matter to be resolved before the Land Court by the Commission or action to be taken by the Scottish Government to do so. It is a pity that one affected party (there are many) has had to take the Crofting Commission to task over this whilst others have been left in limbo for over two years.

The Land Court’s decision was a clear, sensible and fair one. Even if the Court of Session ultimately were to take a different view, affected parties will continue to lobby the Scottish Government to amend crofting legislation to allow those who own croft land to be able to apply to decroft at their own instance. It is a problem that was highlighted in the final Crofting Law Sump Report as a priority one for the Scottish Government to tackle. They may, of course, not have to tackle it if the Court of Session agrees with the Land Court’s interpretation of the law.

Brian Inkster

Owner-Occupier Crofters

Derek Flyn

Derek Flyn

This is a guest blog post by Derek Flyn who is a retired crofting lawyer and an administrator of the Crofting Law Sump. It was written by Derek on 23 October 2013 so reflects his thoughts on owner-occupier crofters as the law stood at that date.

For this article, it would be best that the reader has available to him a copy of the Crofters (Scotland) Act 1993 as amended by 2007 Act and by 2010 Act and by 2013 Act [PDF].  However it is necessary to discuss how some of the provisions of the 1993 Act came into being.

Whilst there appears to have been no mechanism specifically designed to keep track of the ownership of the estates of landlords in whole or in part, changes in occupation of crofts required to be recorded in the Register of Crofts.  This was especially true of vacant crofts and section 16 of the 1955 Act, now section 23 of the 1993 Act, made provisions in respect of vacant crofts, somewhat unusually placing a burden on every crofting landlord.  There was imposed on the landlord an obligation to inform the Commission about any croft that became vacant  [1955 Act, s 16(1); now 1993 Act, s 23(1)]. Failure to do so was to be met by criminal sanction on summary conviction [1955 Act, s 16(10); now 1993 Act, s 23(2)].

Whilst launching the statutory purchase provisions for tenant crofters, the 1976 Act introduced a rather awkward subsection [1955 Act, s 16(14); now 1993 Act, s 23(12)] declaring that,  for the avoidance of doubt section 23 has effect (and shall be deemed always to have had effect since 27th August 1961) as if (a) a person who has become the owner-occupier of a croft were required under subsection (1) above within one month of the date on which he became such owner-occupier to give notice thereof to the Commission; and (b) any reference in the section other than in subsection (1) above to a landlord included a reference to an owner-occupier”.

The effect was to treat any person who had become the owner-occupier of a croft like a landlord who has a vacant croft (although it is not clear how any sanction could be invoked, if ever it was). It was not necessary to define an owner-occupier by the extent of what he owned because the provision did not differentiate between a part croft and a whole croft [1955 Act, s 16(13) inserted by 1961 Act; now 1993 Act, s 23(11)].

Nor did it seek to differentiate between on the one hand a former tenant crofter who had purchased his own croft and continued to occupy it (or his nominee or successor or a later acquirer of his whole interest) and on the other hand a third party who acquired part of a croft intending to use it or occupy it himself.

These differences did not cause difficulties, because a croft was to be taken to be vacant notwithstanding it was occupied, if it was occupied otherwise than by the tenant of the croft [1955 Act, s 16(11); now 1993 Act, s 23(10) but amended in 2010] and that notwithstanding that the tenant crofter had an approved sub-tenant or had purchased the croft himself.

Any occupancy of a croft outwith an approved tenancy was conclusive that the croft was to be considered vacant. So a crofter who purchased his own croft (albeit encouraged by the 1976 Act to do so) was to be in the same position as the landlord of a vacant croft. This nonsensical approach (to any croft purchased by and which remained in the occupancy of its former tenant) was the source of much confusion and annoyance. Despite the opportunity afforded by the 1993 consolidation, no amendments of policy were to be admitted and no legislative attempt was made to sort it out.

It was not until the 2010 Act that there was statutory recognition that tenant crofters who purchased their croft were apt to continue to occupy their own crofts, and this some 34 years after the purchase provisions had been introduced. They were to be recognised as “owner-occupier crofters” and new sections 19B to 19D were inserted into the 1993 Act specifically to cover their now privileged position.

But all was not well.

Who then is an owner-occupier crofter?

The definition is found in section 19B(1) which provides that a person is an “owner-occupier crofter” if the conditions in subsections (2)-(4) are fulfilled:

THE FIRST CONDITION [Section 19B(2)]

The first condition is that the person is the owner of a croft.

The croft: The first problem is what constitutes a croft for this condition to have effect?

The croft needs to be wholly owned.  The whole croft must be owned, identified as a unit. But what does this mean?

One obvious difficulty is that the 1976 purchase provisions did not require the crofter to purchase his whole croft but allowed purchase of part of the croft.

The whole croft would appear to mean, keeping in mind said purchase provisions, (1) the site of the dwellinghouse (if any) and (2) the croft land.  Given the wording of the purchase provisions, can any restricted meaning of croft land be presumed?  For example, does it mean that any apportionments must be owned if they are contiguous and adjacent to the remainder of the croft? One might think not since apportionments are now to have a temporary nature. But the Land Court in an appeal decision by the Full Court as recently as 26 September 2013¹  have opined that, “once granted, an apportionment effectively becomes part of a croft”. It is no help that section 13(3) indicates that, for the purchase provisions, “croft land” includes any land comprising any part of a common grazing that has been apportioned and is adjacent or contiguous to any other part of the croft or consists of arable machair.

Meanwhile, section 3(5) considers the situation where a crofter has acquired his entire croft other than any right in pasture or grazing land and any apportionment. Does such a crofter become an owner-occupier crofter? It seems doubtful that he should be expected to include in his acquisition any right in pasture or grazing land or any apportionment because there is a provision which deems any such unpurchased interest to be held in tenancy until held otherwise. A further provision goes on to deem that interest to be a croft. The Land Court has been “satisfied that the plain intention of sec 3(5) was to allow a grazing share or apportionment which had not been purchased, to be treated as a separate independent croft”².  That being so the person, who now owns the entire croft stripped of that which was not acquired, must be “the owner of a croft”.

Of course, if a croft has been wholly acquired but any part has been conveyed away without decrofting taking place, the person is not the owner of the croft, only the remaining part.

The person:  The second problem is the matter of plurality. There is nothing to suggest that the person must be a singular natural person.

It has been normal for a purchasing crofter to take his title in joint names, for instance himself and his spouse.  If this is permitted, it seems that more than one person can be the owner-occupier crofter of a croft, but those persons must own the entire croft jointly and their title must be in their joint names.

Partial ownership: Persons who own only part of a croft are not considered to be owner-occupier crofters because they cannot satisfy the first condition. Accordingly, they must be regarded as landlords of part of a vacant croft.  Situations like this may have arisen due to the transfer of ownership of parts of a croft on the (mistaken) assumption that the croft would be automatically divided.

It is the clear intention of the 1993 Act, that any division of a croft (whether by a tenant crofter or owner-occupier crofter) can only be effected following an application and subsequent affirmative decision of the Commission. Since 2010, an owner-occupier crofter may not transfer (whether or not for valuable consideration) ownership of any part of the owner-occupier’s croft without first dividing the croft into the part which the owner-occupier crofter proposes to transfer and the part which the owner-occupier crofter proposes to retain³.  Any transfer of ownership of any part of an owner-occupied croft which is not a new croft created by a division under this section, and any deed purporting to transfer ownership of that part, is null and void⁴  and in such a case the Commission can declare the original croft vacant⁵.

THE SECOND CONDITION (Section 19B(3))

The second condition requires that the person (already identified as the owner of the croft):
(a) was the crofter of the croft at the time of acquiring it (or is such a tenant crofter’s successor in title);
(b) acquired title to the croft as the nominee of a crofter (or is such a nominee’s successor in title); or
(c) purchased the croft from the constituting landlord⁶  (or is such a purchaser’s successor in title).

As an aside it will be noted that in some cases acquisition of the landlord’s interest in the croft, where the tenant crofter nominates another person or persons to take title, has avoided the loss of his tenancy. But where that tenancy cannot be held to have continued beyond the date of acquisition, it seems that any person or persons who became the owner of the croft having received the landlord’s interest as nominee of the tenant crofter can claim to be the owner-occupier crofter.

THE THIRD CONDITION (Section 19B(4))

The third condition is that the croft has not been let at any time since it was acquired to any person as a tenant crofter either by an enforced letting of an owner-occupied croft by the Commission or otherwise.

If all the conditions are fulfilled, such a croft is identified as an owner-occupied croft and the properties of an owner-occupied croft therefore attach to the croft itself until it is again a let subject.

But although it is without a tenant, it is not to be taken as being vacant of it is occupied by an owner-occupier crofter. This is stated to be so by subsection 23(10) although it uses a roundabout way of doing so.

Owner-occupier crofters as a sub-set of owner occupiers

Owner occupiers have been recognised by the Crofting Acts since 1976, when they were required to tell the Commission⁷.  The effect of the requirement is not altogether clear although it does say something along the lines that (a) a person who has become the owner-occupier of a croft is required within one month of the date on which he became such owner-occupier to give notice thereof to the Commission and (b) most references to a landlord are to include a reference to an owner-occupier.

But since 2010 this has been qualified by a new subsection 23(12A) which states that where the owner-occupier is an owner-occupier crofter, he must give notice of that fact to the Commission within one month of becoming such an owner-occupier crofter.

It seems that unless or until an owner-occupier crofter gives notice of the fact that he is an owner-occupier crofter, he will not be recognised as such by the Commission.

Not only that, any owner-occupier crofter (or indeed any owner occupier) will be guilty of an offence if he does not inform the Commission within one month of his becoming an owner-occupier crofter (or owner occupier).

If the reader is still with me, then I applaud his tenacity.

It was on Christmas Eve 2012 that I asked myself,
“If an owner-occupier crofter’s croft is not vacant, [subsection 23(10)] then, even if an owner-occupier crofter is to be taken as a landlord, [subsection 23(12A)] then how can subsection 24(3) apply when it reads “Where a croft is vacant, the Commission may, on the application of the landlord, direct that the croft shall cease to be a croft or refuse to grant the application”?

I then asked the Commission,
“On what authority does the Commission deal with an application from an owner-occupier crofter to decroft land?”

The answer is now history. The answer is to be found in the Crofting (Amendment) (Scotland) Act 2013.

Derek Flyn – 23 October 2013

Footnotes:-

  1. Kennedy v Smith & Crofting Commission SLC/31/12 at [3]
  2. Reference by Crofters Commission under Sec 53 Crofters (Scotland) Act 1993 SLC/121/11 at [23]
  3. 1993 Act, s 19D(1)
  4. 1993 Act, s 19D(6)
  5. 1993 Act, s 19D(7)
  6. as defined in section 19B(6)
  7. i.e. since s 16(4) was added to the 1955 Act by the 1976 Act, now s 23(12) of the 1993 Act

Update on ‘alien’ owner-occupiers

Crofting Commission prepare to deal with the owner-occupier aliens

Crofting Commission prepare to deal with the owner-occupier ‘aliens’ on 6 August 2013

In my last post I promised an update on my earlier post about owners of croft land who are aliens to the Crofting Commission.

Well the ‘alien’ I made reference to in that post back on 22 May 2013 is not much further forward. The Crofting Commission have advised the ‘alien’ as follows:-

… the Crofting Commission agreed in December 2012 to adopt a policy that all decrofting and letting applications in respect of crofts with multiple owners must be submitted by all the owners in their capacity collectively as the “landlord” of the croft, even in these cases where the application related to a part of the croft held in title by only one of their number. The implementation of this policy gave rise to a number of queries, including whether a person in situation similar to your own may apply to the Commission for a decrofting Direction. The Crofting Commission has now received legal advice on this matter which, I understand, is to be considered at the Crofting Commission Board meeting to be held on 6 August 2013.  Once the Board has reached a view on this issue, we will then be in a position to update you on how your application may proceed.

Interesting that this policy was apparently adopted by the Crofting Commission in December 2012 as it was only made public by them on 18 February 2013. Before implementing this policy did it not occur to the crofting Commission that you could have a croft unit where part was held in tenancy and part was owner-occupied? Clearly not. Such issues have, it seems, only come to their attention since implementing the policy. Seven months later and they still don’t have a resolution to it. Eight months later and they just might depending upon what Commissioners decide on 6 August 2013.

I am also aware that the ‘alien’ in question is not alone. The crofting commission have ‘aliens’ to contend with. There is likely to be a good number of owner-occupiers who fall into this category. Indeed I highlighted in my last post that Donald and Elizabeth MacGillivray may well turn out to be ‘aliens’ too but their status is currently unknown.

I await the decision of the Crofting Commission on 6 August 2013 with interest but also with some trepidation.

Brian Inkster

[Picture Credit: Aliens – 20th Century Fox]

Decrofting Spin

Decrofting SpinPoliticians are good at spinning. No exception when it comes to crofting law.

At the evidence gathering session on the Crofting (Amendment) (Scotland) Bill by the Rural Affairs, Climate Change and Environment Committee on 22 May, Paul Wheelhouse MSP stated:-

The existing legislation clearly does not work as it was intended to do. Although some crofting lawyers, such as Brian Inkster, disagree, the concern that I have expressed is shared by others including Sir Crispin Agnew and Derek Flyn. The Commission’s legal advice appears to have drawn the same conclusion.

Not quite correct. As blogged about previously on this blog at the evidence gathering session by the same Committee on 15 May, Sir Crispin Agnew QC said:-

I think that the Bill will solve the particular problem by making it clear that the Crofting Commission can decroft owner-occupier crofts. Brian Inkster might well be right but Derek Flyn might well be right that he is wrong. Until a case has gone to the Land Court and it has made a determination, it is sensible to clarify the situation for the avoidance of doubt.

Sir Crispin did not therefore pass any opinion on whether the existing legislation worked as it was intended to do. He remained neutral on that point but was of the view that given the confusion surrounding the issue it was sensible to clarify it by way of amending legislation. On that point Sir Crispin, Derek Flyn and I are all in agreement. The challenge for Paul Wheelhouse is to deliver such amending legislation that does indeed work without leaving any further confusion. Let’s hope he concentrates on that and not on the spin.

Brian Inkster

[Picture Credit: Rainbow Humming Spinning Top from PoshTotty Designs]

Are owner-occupier crofters a sub-set of owner-occupiers?

Are owner-occupier crofters a subset of owner-occupiers?

Are they really crofters?

At the evidence taking session on the Crofting (Amendment) (Scotland) Bill on 15th May the Convenor, Rob Gibson MSP, asked whether there were any views on my argument that the Bill is not needed?

Richard Frew stated:-

Yes—we have considered Brian Inkster’s view. It is not surprising that different people reach different conclusions on the issue, as a number of people who are involved in this have done. It is clear to us that, although that issue is worth considering, section 23(10) of the 1993 Act clearly sets out that a croft is not vacant if an owner-occupier crofter is on the croft.

Unfortunately, Richard Frew ignores any exploration of section 23(12A) of the 1993 Act but there again that has been a continual failing of both the Crofting Commission and the Scottish Government throughout this process. However, Derek Flyn took up the cudgel on section 23(12A):-

When I brought the matter to the Crofting Commission’s attention, Brian Inkster’s response was pretty immediate. However, having looked very closely at the Crofters (Scotland) Act 1993, as amended, I think that he has missed one thing. The requirement for an owner-occupier to report to the Commission within a month of becoming an owner-occupier is contained in section 23(12) of the 1993 Act, but there is also section 23(12A), which seems to talk about an owner-occupier crofter as a subset of owner-occupiers.

I am sorry—I realise that the issue is complicated, and I know that most people’s eyes glaze over when I start to talk about it. The point is that owner-occupiers are not entitled to occupy their crofts, which can therefore be held to be vacant, and they can be asked to take tenants. However, owner-occupier crofters are entitled to occupy their crofts and must intimate to the Commission the fact that they are owner-occupier crofters. Instead of their being persons who have to give notice, they are persons who give notice as owner-occupiers as well as intimating the fact that they are owner-occupier crofters. I think that Brian Inkster has missed the fact that owner-occupier crofters are a subset of owner-occupiers. The matter is very complicated but, having looked at it many times since Christmas, I cannot see how one can be persuaded that an owner-occupier crofter could have a vacant croft.

The two things that are needed for decrofting are an application by a landlord or landowner and a vacant croft. Although an owner-occupier crofter could be seen as a landlord under the legislation, he certainly could not have a vacant croft.

If your eyes have not glazed over and you are still reading this then I do not believe that owner-occupier crofters are a sub-set of owner-occupiers. Indeed to the contrary an owner-occupier crofter appears to have received special status by way of the Crofting Reform (Scotland) Act 2010 setting them into a category of their own that is very distinct from owner-occupiers. You need look no further than the current controversy over problems associated with applications to decroft by owner-occupiers as opposed to by owner-occupier crofters.

Section 23(12A) is one of those deeming provisions in the 1993 Act which often seem to cause difficulties in understanding and interpretation. It quite simply deems an owner-occupier crofter to have a vacant croft for the purposes of decrofting under section 24(3) of the 1993 Act. If that is not the purpose and intent of section 23(12A) what does that section actually do and why was it introduced by the 2010 Act?

However, as Sir Crispin Agnew QC diplomatically put it:-

I think that the Bill will solve the particular problem by making it clear that the Crofting Commission can decroft owner-occupier crofts. Brian Inkster might well be right but Derek Flyn might well be right that he is wrong. Until a case has gone to the Land Court and it has made a determination, it is sensible to clarify the situation for the avoidance of doubt.

That is indeed where we are at and we shouldn’t, at the moment, whilst some redrafting of the Bill is necessary and hopefully in hand, spend much time debating whether or not the Bill was necessary. There may be a place for a post mortem after the Bill becomes an Act to see if things could have been done differently by the Crofting Commission and or the Scottish Government when the ‘problem’ first manifested itself. From that lessons may be learned for the future to hopefully avoid such a situation arising again.

[NB: This blog post forms part of Submissions (Part 3) by Brian Inkster on the Crofting (Amendment) (Scotland) Bill. See Crofting is not a perfect world and The Crofting Law Hydra which both also form part of those Submissions (Part 3). In addition see Submissions (Part 1): A Sledge Hammer to Crack a Nut; and Submissions (Part 2): An Alternative Crofting (Amendment) (Scotland) Bill]

[Picture Credit: SUbSET via The Presidents of the United States of America]