Croft Registration – What you need to know
Crofting Law is a complex area of law exclusive to the Scottish Highlands and Islands. Croft land extends to more than 750,000 hectares of Scottish land with approximately 33,000 people living in crofting households. Crofts are registered on two registers; the first being the Register of Crofts which is maintained by the Crofting Commission and the second being the Crofting Register which is maintained by Registers of Scotland.
Register Of Crofts
The Register of Crofts displays:-
• the crofter’s name;
• whether the croft is owned or tenanted;
• whether the croft has common grazing rights; and
• whether there has been a Decrofting Direction or Apportionment Order issued.
Generally, all crofters and their crofts appear on the Register of Crofts and therefore if you purchase a croft you are required to notify the Crofting Commission of your purchase.
Crofting Register
The Crofting Register came into effect in November 2012 with the intention of creating a map of all crofts, common grazings and land held runrigs in Scotland. Unlike the Register of Crofts, which is maintained by the Crofting Commission, the Crofting Register is maintained by the Registers of Scotland. The same information is included in both Registers, the difference being that the Crofting Register includes a map showing the croft boundaries.
There are certain trigger events which induce First Registration in the Crofting Register, such as a Decrofting Application or an Assignation Application for a croft tenancy.
It is also possible to voluntary register your croft on the Crofting Register.
The registration process requires an application to be prepared which includes the croft details, your own details and the name and address of anyone who shares a boundary with your croft. This is required as part of the notification process. Your neighbours will be contacted to inform them that you are registering your croft. This provides them with the opportunity to check the boundaries you are seeking to register. In addition to the application, a £90 registration fee is payable, and you must also provide a plan. The plan must show the whole croft boundary and should also show any areas which have been decrofted or resumed in the last 20 years.
If you register your croft, it shows clear boundaries as to what you believe is your croft extent. The Crofting Register is accessible to all members of the public and allows people to identify who may own or tenant a certain area of land. One way to register your croft is by a Community Application. This is when a crofting township come together and agree on their boundaries and submit a voluntary registration. The benefit of submitting a Community Application is that it can reduce any possible challenges to croft boundaries to the Land Court as all boundaries are agreed.
Rectification in the Crofting Register
Once the Crofting Register has accepted your application you must display a Laminated Notice on your croft and advertise your registration in a local paper. There is a 9 month challenge period in which any party who may be affected by your croft registration can object to the registered boundaries by contacting the Scottish Land Court.
After the expiry of the 9-month challenge period, the croft boundary can only be changed in very limited circumstances.
These circumstances are as follows ;
1. Registers of Scotland have made an error.
2. The Crofting Commission have made an error.
3. The original Applicant can make an application to rectify the boundaries.
4. If the original applicant is deceased, their Executor can also rectify the croft boundaries as per the recent case of Executor of the late Alexander James Murray v The Crofting Commission 2023.
If you would like to discuss the croft registration process, or should you require assistance with the registration application, please contact us on 01478 611336.