The Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2025 – what next?
In this briefing note Findlay Boyd, Director and head of the Rural Land Department and Maggie Larsen, Rural Land Trainee Paralegal outline some controversial reforms to the ownership of large landholdings in Scotland introduced by the 2025 Act.
Described by the Scottish Government as the most radical land reform since devolution, The Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2025 was passed on 5 November 2025 and received Royal Assent on 16 December 2025. The Act, criticised by several legal commentators as being overly complicated and bureaucratic and even labelled junk law, introduces significant reforms aimed at enhancing transparency in land ownership and strengthening community involvement in decision-making, particularly where land is proposed for sale.
What Does this mean for Landowners?
The Act applies principally to owners of large landholdings, defined as land exceeding 1,000 hectares in area. Under The Act, such landholders are subject to a statutory obligation to prepare, maintain, and make publicly available a Land Management Plan.
When preparing the land management plan, landowners must undertake appropriate consultation with affected communities and tenants. The Act further requires that the land management plan must be reviewed, and if necessary, updated every 5 years. This is to ensure ongoing compliance with statutory requirements and relevant land management objectives.
Large landholders will also be required to notify the Scottish Ministers prior to selling or transferring land. Ministers will have the power to grant local communities a right of first refusal to purchase the land before it is placed on the open market. In certain circumstances, Ministers may also require the land to be divided into smaller lots and sold separately.
What next?
Going forward, large landholdings will be subject to increased scrutiny to ensure transparent and meaningful engagement with local communities. The Scottish Ministers will have powers to make community engagement regulations, to include a legal duty for the owners of large land holdings to produce and publicly share land management plans. The implementation of this will require the appointment of a new Land & Communities Commissioner, who will be responsible for enforcement. Where landowners are found to have breached their obligations under the Act, they could face potential fines of up to £40,000.
A considerable amount of work will need to be undertaken by the Scottish Ministers before the large landholdings part of the Act can be brought into force. This will include the passing of various regulations and the preparation of detailed guidance to assist with the implementation of the new regime. For now, large landowners should promptly assess whether any of their landholdings exceed 1,000 hectares, including contiguous areas or composite holdings owned by connected parties. Early engagement with land agents and legal advisors is strongly recommended to consider the obligations for the preparation of Land Management Plans alongside careful consideration of the Act’s requirements to divide land into smaller lots if the sale or transfer of a large landholding is in contemplation.
Macleod & MacCallum are here to advise anyone affected by the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2025. Our rural law team offers clear, practical and tailored advice to help you understand your position and navigate the new requirements.
You can contact the Rural Land team on ruralland@macandmac.co.uk or call 01463 239393.
