The Right to Buy Land to Further Sustainable Development (Eligible Land, Specified Types of Area and Restrictions on Transfers, Assignations and Dealing) (Scotland) Regulations 2020
| Jurisdiction | Scotland |
| Citation | SSI 2020/114 |
| Year | 2020 |
2020 No. 114
Land Reform
The Right to Buy Land to Further Sustainable Development (Eligible Land, Specified Types of Area and Restrictions on Transfers, Assignations and Dealing) (Scotland) Regulations 2020
Made 1st April 2020
Coming into force 26th April 2020
The Scottish Ministers make the following Regulations in exercise of the powers conferred on them by sections 46(2)(b) and (e), 46(3)(b), 49(9)(a), and 61(1) and (3) of the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 20161and all other powers enabling them to do so.
In accordance with section 126(3) of that Act a draft of this instrument has been laid before and approved by a resolution of the Scottish Parliament.
Citation and commencement
1. These Regulations may be cited as the Right to Buy Land to Further Sustainable Development (Eligible Land, Specified Types of Area and Restrictions on Transfers, Assignations and Dealing) (Scotland) Regulations 2020 and come into force on 26 April 2020.
Interpretation
2. In these Regulations—
“the Act” means the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2016,
“Lands Tribunal” means the Lands Tribunal for Scotland,
“Part 5 community body” is to be construed in accordance with section 49(1) (Part 5 community bodies) of the Act,
“Register of Applications by Community Bodies to by Land” means the Register established under section 52 of the Act,
“restriction period” is to be construed in accordance with regulation 7.
Eligible land
Eligible land: types of occupancy or possession that are to be treated as a tenancy
3.—(1) The types of occupation and possession that are to be treated as a tenancy for the purposes of section 46(2)(a) (eligible land) of the Act are—
(a)
(a) occupation or possession of tied accommodation,
(b)
(b) occupation or possession under a licence agreement that is in the nature of a tenancy,
(c)
(c) occupation or possession of residential accommodation other than under a tenancy—
(i) in connection with an individual’s employment or education, and
(ii) in a building or structure that is owned or occupied by the employer or education provider,
(d)
(d) temporary occupation or possession offered, on a night-by-night basis, other than under a tenancy, to individuals who are homeless persons, and
(e)
(e) occupation or possession by a liferenter.
(2) In this regulation —
“liferenter” means an individual who, by virtue of a liferent, has the right—
(a) to receive for life the benefits of the property, and
(b) to live in the building or structure, or on the land, for life,
“tied accommodation” means accommodation provided to an individual by their employer in the form of a service occupancy (that is, in return or part return for the performance by the individual of services under the employment agreement).
Excluded land: land pertaining to land occupied by an individual’s home
4. The following types of land are specified under section 46(2)(a) of the Act—
(a) land that forms the curtilage of the individual’s home,
(b) land that is used for one or more of the following purposes—
(i) the storage of possessions kept by the occupants of the individual’s home that are used for the maintenance, upkeep or subsistence of the individual’s home or its occupants,
(ii) the storage of vehicles that are used by the occupants of the individual’s home,
(iii) drainage, water supply or the provision of other services (such as media or electricity) for the individual’s home,
(iv) the growing of food which is principally for the subsistence of the occupants of the individual’s home,
(v) activities including recreation and leisure activities which are incidental to the use of the individual’s home,
(vi) the keeping of pets belonging to the occupants of the individual’s home,
(vii) access to the individual’s home, if the land is owned by the same person that owns that home.
Excluded land: land held or used by a Minister of the Crown or government department
5. Land that is held or used by a Minister of the Crown or government department within the meaning of paragraph 3 of Part 1 of schedule 5 of the Scotland Act 19982is excluded land for the purposes of section 46 of the Act.
Specified areas for defining a community
Specified types of area for defining a community
6.—(1) For the purposes of section 49(9)(a) of the Act, the types of area by reference to which a community may be defined are—
(a)
(a) an electoral ward,
(b)
(b) the area of a community council,
(c)
(c) a postcode area,
(d)
(d) a postcode district,
(e)
(e) a postcode sector,
(f)
(f) an island,
(g)
(g) a locality delineated on the maps included in the Population Estimates for Settlements and Localities in Scotland, Mid-2016 published on 12 March 20183, or
(h)
(h) a settlement delineated on the maps included in the Population Estimates for Settlements and Localities in Scotland, Mid-2016 published on 12 March 2018.
(2) In this regulation—
“electoral ward” means a ward within the meaning of section 1 of the Local Governance (Scotland) Act 20044,
“area of a community council” means an area of a community council established in accordance with Part IV of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 19735,
“postcode area” means a sub-area of a postcode unit that—
(a) is given a unique alphabetic coding to facilitate the delivering of mail, and
(b) is identified by one or two alphabetic characters at the start of a postcode (a postcode being the reference by which a postcode unit is identified),
“postcode district” means a sub-area of a postcode area and is identified by the characters within the first half of a full postcode, and
“postcode sector” means a sub-area of a postcode district and is identified by the postcode district, the single space and the first character of the second half of the postcode unit,
“postcode unit” has the meaning given in section 49(11) of the Act.
Restrictions on dealings while application pending
Restriction period
7.—(1) Regulations 8 and 9 apply during the restriction period being the period that—
(a)
(a) begins on the date which an application made under section 54 (right to buy: application for consent) of the Act first appears on the Register of Applications by Community Bodies to Buy Land, and
(b)
(b) ends on the end date as determined in accordance with paragraph (2) or (3) as the case may be.
(2) If the Part 5 community body is refused consent to exercise the right to buy, the end date is the earliest of—
(a)
(a) the day after the expiry of the time period specified in section 69(7) (appeals to sheriff) of the Act, but only if no appeal is lodged within that period, or
(b)
(b) the day on which the sheriff issues a decision in an appeal under section 69 of the Act, but only if the outcome of the appeal is that the Part 5 community body is refused consent for the application under section 54.
(3) If the Part 5 community body is given consent to exercise the right to buy, the end date is the earliest of—
(a)
(a) where no third party purchaser is nominated, the expiry of the period specified in section 62(1) (confirmation of intention to proceed with purchase and withdrawal) of the Act, but only if the Part 5 community body does not, within that period, notify the Scottish Ministers, the owner of the land and, where the application is to buy a tenant’s interest, the tenant, of its intention to proceed to buy the land or, as the case may be, the tenant’s interest,
(b)
(b) where a third party purchaser is nominated, the expiry of the period specified in section 62(2) of the Act, but only if the third party purchaser or the Part 5 community body (or both the third party purchaser and the Part 5 community body) do not, within that period, notify the Scottish Ministers, the owner of the land and, where the application is to buy a tenant’s interest, the tenant, of the intention to proceed to buy the land or, as the case may be, the tenant’s interest,
(c)
(c) the day on which the owner of the land or, where the application is to buy the tenant’s interest, the tenant, receives a copy of the Scottish Ministers’ acknowledgement under section 62(5)(b) or (c) of the Act, but only if the matter acknowledged is—
(i) the Part 5 community body’s withdrawal of its application under section 62(3)(a) or (4)(a) of the Act,
(ii) the Part 5 community body’s withdrawal of the confirmation under section 62(3)(b) or (4)(b) of the Act that it intends to proceed, or
(iii) the nominated third party purchaser’s withdrawal of the confirmation under section 62(4)(b) of the Act that it intends to proceed,
(d)
(d) the day on which the Part 5 community body or nominated third party purchaser’s confirmation of intention to proceed made under section 62(1) or (2) in relation to the land or the tenant’s interest is to be treated as withdrawn under section 64(7) (completion of transfer) of the Act,
(e)
(e) the day on which the consideration is paid in accordance with section 64(2) or (3) provided that, on that day, the owner is able to effect the grant of good and marketable title or, as the case may be, the tenant is able to assign the tenant’s interest to the Part 5 community body or nominated third party purchaser,
(f)
(f) the day on which, following the consignment of the consideration or estimate of what the consideration might be into the Lands Tribunal under section 64(5) of the Act, one of the following events occur—
(i) the owner grants a good and marketable title to the Part 5 community body or, as the case may be, the nominated third party purchaser,
(ii) the tenant assigns the tenant’s...
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