The Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2025 Is Now An Act Of The Scottish Parliament: “The Most Radical Land Reform Since Devolution”?

The Land Reform (Scotland) Bill was passed by the Scottish Parliament in November 2025 and received Royal Assent on 16 December 2025.  We now have, therefore, the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2025.  The Scottish Government hailed the passing of the Bill as “the most radical land reform since devolution”. This note summarises the new Act. Complicated and exceptionally bureaucratic?  Definitely. Radical? We are not convinced.    

The Act has generated significant scrutiny and commentary since its introduction as a bill in March 2024. The headline measures are well known: Part 1 of the Act includes provisions which affect “large landholdings” (i.e. landholdings over 1,000 hectares), notably land management plans and restrictions on sale, and Part 2 of the Act deals with “leasing” including some aspects of agricultural holdings legislation. Our briefing note with more detail on the Act is available here.

The only parts of the Act which are in force (and therefore “law”) are the duty on the Scottish Ministers to publish a model lease for environmental purposes and regulation making powers. A lot of work is required before the large landholdings part of the Act can be implemented, including the passing of regulations, development of frameworks and guidance and (for community engagement regulations and lotting) the appointment of a new Land and Communities Commissioner. In most cases, regulations and guidance will be subject to consultation, giving stakeholders the opportunity to provide feedback that may shape the form of future enforceable legislation.

The Scottish Parliament will be in recess from 26 March 2026 then dissolved, and there are many pieces of legislation being worked on before then. It is therefore our view that it is extremely unlikely that progress will be made on the regulations and guidance required under the Act before the next Scottish parliamentary election. Whilst the Act has received Royal Assent, we think it is likely that it will not actually be brought into force as law for a very long time.  

Notwithstanding, it may be sensible to review your landholdings and tenancy arrangements in anticipation of the new requirements even although many provisions will only come into effect once further regulations are made (and these regulations may change or clarify key points such as the definition of a large landholding). In the meantime, considering how you might approach future land management plans, community engagement and potential sale strategies could help you prepare, while recognising that implementation may take some time and details could evolve.

Part 1: Large landholdings

At first glance, what constitutes a large landholding appears straightforward: landholdings over 1,000 hectares will be subject to additional duties. In practice, however, determining whether a particular estate or landholding qualifies is much more complicated. The scope for unintended consequences is very high. 

When calculating total land size, any land within 250 metres of other land under the same or “connected” ownership is taken into account. Changes were made in the final stages of the pre-enactment Bill  to extend “connected” ownerships by reference to the People with Significant Control regime as well by reference to the Register of Persons Holding a Controlled Interest in Land. The 250 metre proximity and connected party tests – in addition to any mapping required to calculate hectarages – mean that determining whether or not land qualifies as a “large landholding” could be very complicated. 

In addition, the connected parties test hinges on what “requires” registration in the relevant public register meaning that this cannot be verified by reference to public information, creating uncertainty for purchasers, communities exercising rights under the Act and those responsible for enforcement. 

The Scottish Ministers have powers to change or “clarify” the definition by regulations and it is hoped that once work is underway to bring the Act into force, the issues with the definition will be addressed through any such regulations. 

Land management plans

The Scottish Ministers have powers to make community engagement regulations, including a duty for the owners of large landholdings to produce and publicly share land management plans. Much of the detail will only be known once draft regulations and guidance are published. Implementation will also require the appointment of the new Land & Communities Commissioner, who will be responsible for enforcement. 

Restrictions on sale

The Act includes two major restrictions on the sale of large landholdings (in whole or in part): 

1. Prohibition on sales without notification

Under the initial proposals, owners of large landholdings would not have been able to sell any of their land without notifying the Scottish Ministers and allowing communities the opportunity to use the community right to buy late application process. This sparked criticism for potentially blocking small-scale sales. Changes were made in the final stages of the pre-enactment Bill to allow the Scottish Ministers to make regulations specifying those “transfers” which are excluded from this restriction. The intention behind this is to allow for transfers based on type, as well as transfers based on size, to be excluded. Until these regulations are made, it awaits to be seen how this will work in practice. 

The new process will require a detailed framework in place before it can operate, and the timing may also be subject to completion of the wider review of the community right to buy.  

2. Lotting

One of the more controversial parts of the Act is the requirement for the owner of a large landholding to obtain a “lotting decision” from the Scottish Ministers before selling their land. The Scottish Ministers must determine whether the land should be divided into lots based on a “public interest” test which was introduced in the final stages of the pre-enactment Bill and which is linked to community sustainability. 

A significant amount will need to be done before this part of the Act can be implemented. The new Land & Communities Commissioner, responsible for providing reports to the Scottish Ministers for lotting decisions, would need to be appointed. Regulations on some of the financial aspects would need to be in place and guidance about the lotting decision process would also have to be published. 

Five year review

The pre-enactment Bill was amended in its final stages to provide that the Scottish Land Commission must carry out a review of the large landholdings part of the Act within five years of the legislation coming into force. This review must include looking at whether the land size thresholds and the land to which the large landholdings provisions apply are appropriate and considering any unintended consequences and loopholes. It must also consider the impact of this part of the Act on the transparency of land ownership, the amount of land purchased by community bodies and community involvement in decision-making about land. 

The Scottish Land Commission must publish a report and the Scottish Ministers have one year to respond publicly to its findings and set out what action they intend to take as a result. 

Part 2: Leasing

Part 2 of the Act deals with “leasing” including some important adjustments to the existing statutory framework for agricultural holdings, especially 1991 Act tenancies. These chapters of Part 2 read as if they should be subject to stand alone agricultural holdings legislation rather than shoehorned into the end of a long Act dealing with various other aspects of land management, use and ownership.

This part of the Act starts out with two forms of “leasing” which are (probably) not intended to be agricultural tenancies at all requiring Scottish Ministers to publish “model leases” for environmental purposes and for hutting. Despite keen interest from stakeholders, no comfort is provided in the Act that a “model environmental lease” is not also an agricultural lease. Without such comfort it is unclear what, if any, purpose or benefit such a lease will provide to the industry.

It then goes on to overhaul the law of small landholdings, potentially affecting around 59 individuals in Scotland, giving them some rights akin to 1991 Act tenants, retaining some rights akin to crofting, and setting out the legislation in a schedule at the very end of the Act. 

Finally, Part 2 deals with existing agricultural tenancies. 

Perhaps the most controversial is changes to the resumption framework. Tenants under 1991 Act leases and some longer forms of fixed term tenancies will obtain the right to additional compensation on resumption. Tenants under shorter term fixed term tenancies will not be so entitled (at least at the moment). The retrospective addition of additional rights for fixed term tenancies, outwith the terms understood to be contracted for or applicable to those tenancies as a result of the prevailing legislation in force at the time they were entered into, is considered by many in the industry to be harmful to confidence in letting and thus harmful to the industry as a whole.

The resumption provisions also enable the Scottish Ministers, within five years, to introduce additional measures via regulations to enhance compensation on resumption from any fixed term agricultural lease. The threat of this potentially coming down the tracks is again of potential detriment to the lettings market.

The Act reverses a previous attempt to remove the requirement for the secure agricultural tenant to register in order to claim a pre-emptive right to buy, kicking the detail of what the registration process might look like into the long grass of further regulation.

A new statutory test for a contested rent review is brought into force replacing the “open market” test with the “fair rent” test assessed in accordance with a non-hierarchical list of factors to be taken into account. The pre-existing statutory test has of course long been the subject of criticism following two high profile, expensive and long running cases. It remains to be seen (on the first contested rent review reaching the Land Court under the new test) whether the “fair rent” test will work better. 

The long overdue updating of the nature of improvements qualifying for compensation is updated, potentially of practical assistance to both landlord and tenant at a waygo.

The law on game damage and diversification as it applies to agricultural tenancies is updated.

A new claims process (the detail of which is again subject to future regulations) is intended to be introduced in future for claiming compensation at waygo or on other circumstances to be determined by Scottish Ministers.

Many opportunities to clarify the law have been missed particularly as to when parties to an agricultural lease may or may not reach their own contractual agreements and where the terms of the legislation are prescriptive. Much of the detail is still to be ironed out and may be subject to further consultation and scrutiny. 

Written by Rona Macdonald, Professional Support Lawyer, and Heather Bruce, Legal Director.

Please get in touch with your usual contact at Turcan Connell to discuss how these changes may impact you.