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Guidance for owner-occupier crofters

02 February 2012

In order to fulfil the statutory definition of owner-occupier crofter, a person must satisfy the 3 conditions set out in section 19B of the Crofters (Scotland) Act 1993[1].

The first of those conditions provides that an owner-occupier crofter must be the owner of a croft. The croft can be owned by more than one person, but those persons must own the entire croft jointly and their title deed must be in their joint names.

Those persons who own only part of a croft are therefore not considered by the Commission to be owner-occupier crofters because they cannot satisfy all 3 conditions. Accordingly, they are considered by the Commission to be landlords of part of a vacant croft. It is open to the Commission to regulate that person’s use of the croft under sections 23-25 of the 1993 Act (rather than sections 26A-26K, which apply to owner-occupier crofters). Furthermore, landlords of part of a vacant croft cannot submit an application for division under section 19D, because such an application must be made by an owner-occupier crofter Similarly they cannot submit an application to let their part croft on a short term lease under section 29A as this option is only available to owner-occupier crofters.

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. Any division of a croft (whether by a tenant crofter or owner-occupier crofter) can only be effected by the Commission, following an application and subsequent affirmative decision of the Commission.

[1] All references to the Crofters (Scotland) Act 1993 are to the Crofters (Scotland) Act 1993 as amended by the Crofting Reform (Scotland) Act 2007 and the Crofting Reform (Scotland) Act 2010 insofar as the 2010 Act is implemented by the relative 1^st and 2^nd Commencement Orders.

List of Nominated Candidates Published

27 January 2012

The full list of nominated candidates for the forthcoming elections to the Crofting Commission have been published by Highland Council. In all, there are 29 nominations, with 5 of the 6 constituencies being contested. There was only one nomination in Orkney & Caithness.

To view the full list of nominees, please follow this link to the Highland Council website.

SCF to hold Register of Interest

26 January 2012

The Scottish Crofting Federation (SCF) is compiling a list of those interested in acquiring a croft. They will provide information on how to find a croft and also on vacant crofts available.

If you wish to be in this initiative, please contact Karen MacRae at the SCF for further information and a data form: Karen@crofting.org or 01599 530 005.

Crofters Commission holds local meetings to discuss the elections to the Crofting Commission

17 January 2012

INFORMATION MEETINGS

The Crofters Commission is holding a series of Information Meetings to discuss the forthcoming election of Commissioners to the Crofting Commission.

Details of the dates and venues can be found below.

For further information please contact Jane Thomas on 01463 663 479
jane.thomas@crofterscommission.org.uk

25 January	Rogart Village Hall, Sutherland	18:00 – 19:00
30 January	Herrislea House Hotel, Tingwall Shetland	18:00 – 19:00
31 January	Broadford Hotel, Isle of Skye	18:30 - 19:30
7 February	Falls of Lorne Hotel, Connel Ferry, Argyll	18:30 – 19:30
20 February	Lynnfield Hotel, Kirkwall, Orkney	19:00 – 20:00
20 February	County Hotel, Stornoway, Isle of Lewis	At 18:30
21 February	Dark Island Hotel, Benbecula, Uist	At 18:00
27 February	Portland Arms Hotel, Lybster, Caithness	18:00 – 19:00
28 February	Ullapool Village Hall, Ullapool, Ross-shire	18:00- 19:00

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