Clearing the path

Following the letter by Russell Paterson of Miller & Bryce Ltd published in the August edition of the Journal, it may be helpful to clarify some points about rural community interest in land and the Register of Community Interests in Land (RCIL).

The register

The RCIL was created by section 36 of the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003. It is one new register that is comprised of two distinct parts. The first part, which relates to rural community bodies’ right to buy, became operational on 14 June. At time of writing, there is one registered interest (which is to say an interest that has been agreed by Scottish Ministers) in respect of subjects at Boddam in Aberdeenshire. There are also four pending applications on the register awaiting ministerial decision. These relate to subjects in Assynt in the counties of Sutherland and Ross and Cromarty, and to subjects on the outskirts of Ballater in Aberdeenshire.

Entries in the RCIL will not be cross-referred in either the Land Register or the General Register of Sasines. Following consultation over the proposed rural community right to buy, the Scottish Executive concluded that a separate stand-alone register, the RCIL, was the appropriate way of achieving the policy objectives.

The second part of the register, which was added by section 24 of the Agricultural Holdings (Scotland) Act 2003, relates to agricultural tenants’ right to buy. The Scottish Executive has yet to announce the commencement date for this part of the register but we anticipate it will be operational before the end of this year.

Land Register applications

The Keeper will reject or cancel a Land Register application that seeks to transfer subjects affected by an entry in the RCIL. This is a statutory obligation on the Keeper in terms of section 4(4) of the Land Registration (Scotland) Act 1979. Subsections (4) and (5) of section 4 were inserted by the Land Reform Act as part of a range of measures intended to ensure that landowners cannot avoid the pre-emptive right to purchase of rural community bodies.

Searching the register

It is of course a matter for solicitors to decide whether or not a search of the RCIL is required in land transactions. However, it may be helpful to point out that urban settlements with populations over 10,000 are excluded from the community right to buy. The list of excluded settlements is given in the Community Right to Buy (Definition of Excluded Land) (Scotland) Order 2004 (SSI 2004/296) and maps showing the excluded areas can be viewed on the Scottish Executive website (www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Rural/Land/17063/8278). Whilst a solicitor acting in a rural land transaction may choose to instruct a search of the RCIL, it is very simple for anyone with internet access to check the register, which can be viewed free of charge at www.ros.gov.uk/rcil. Both parts of the register are searchable in the same manner.

It is a matter for discussion between the solicitors acting in a rural transaction how best to confirm that the RCIL is clear in the circumstances of that particular transaction.

The question of an agricultural tenant’s right to buy will only arise if the particular land to be purchased is subject to an agricultural tenancy of the type specified in section 25(1) of the Agricultural Holdings (Scotland) Act 2003. We will publish a Registers Update giving further details on this part of the register, prior to its commencement.

Registers Update No 13 gave information regarding the RCIL and is available at www.ros.gov.uk/pdfs/update13.pdf.

bruce.beveridge@ros.gov.uk