Delay proposed to Controlled Interests Register offences

Scottish ministers are proposing to extend the period of grace after which failure to notify controlling interests in land becomes an offence.

The Register of Persons Holding a Controlled Interest in Land came into effect on 1 April 2022. It is designed to improve transparency about land ownership by showing who has significant influence of control over the owners (or tenants under long leases) of land in Scotland where such information is not publicly available elsewhere.

It covers interests in land that were already "controlled" as at 1 April 2022 as well as those becoming controlled after that date, and both the person whose name is on the register and the person with the controlling interest have obligations in relation to notification.

Possible criminal penalties were due to apply to those with obligations to register who had not done so by 1 April 2023. However ministers have laid draft regulations before the Scottish Parliament proposing to extend the transitional period in respect of the offence provisions by 12 months from 1 April 2023 to 1 April 2024. An affirmative SSI, it requires the approval of MSPs.

The policy note laid with the draft explains that stakeholders have raised concerns in relation to the cost of compliance with the register and the maintenance of entries, owing to the number of titles they hold or the complex nature of their structure. Extending the transitional period is intended to ease this burden.

However the Church of Scotland, which along with the Scottish Episcopal Church and the United Reformed Church is particularly affected by the new register due to its internal structure and the number of properties it holds, has called for a more fundamental rethink of the register, which it claims will cost it "tens if not hundreds of thousands of pounds in legal and administrative costs".

The Church of Scotland's chief officer, Dave Kendall commented: "We have not asked for more time, and an extension of the deadline does not in any way address our concerns about the implications of introducing this deeply flawed legislation in its current form. Even at this late stage we urge the Scottish Government to reconsider, and for those who will be affected – especially clergy/treasurers/session clerks – we encourage them to raise this failure of statecraft to engage and address our concerns with their MSPs as soon as possible."