The Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2025 (the Act) was, arguably, the most significant piece of legislation affecting Scotland’s rural sector passed during the last Parliamentary session. The parliamentary process was protracted and involved material changes to the draft legislation right up to its final stages.
A small number of provisions have already come into force, including the requirement to prepare a model lease for environmental purposes which took effect on Royal Assent in December 2025. This was followed earlier this year by provisions requiring the preparation of a hutting lease and extending the functions of the Land Commissioners.
Further progress has been awaited and in a letter to the Scottish Parliament’s Rural Affairs Committee in August, the Cabinet Secretary for Climate Action and Rural Affairs set out the proposed timeline for the next stages of implementation.
Land and Communities Commissioner
Priority number one is appointing the Land and Communities Commissioner (LCC), a new role created by the Act. The LCC forms part of the Scottish Land Commission and is tasked with enforcing community engagement obligations under the Act. The appointee will also play a role in lotting decisions (i.e. whether large areas of land may be sold as a whole or must be divided into smaller lots) under the Act, providing reporting to Ministers.
The intention is that the LCC appointment process will begin in September 2026, with a candidate aimed to be appointed in April 2027. The LCC is to have expertise or experience in land management and community empowerment; they cannot be the owner of a large holding of land as defined by the Act.
First Consultation on Community Engagement (Autumn 2026)
Implementation of the community engagement provisions will involve two separate public consultations.
The first consultation, expected in Autumn 2026, will focus on the community engagement obligations contained in Part 1 of the Act.
The Act gives Ministers power to create obligations to promote community engagement in relation to large holdings of land, and to require owners of such land to provide a publicly available Land Management Plan (LMP).
Initially, consultation will focus on the general approach, including the content of LMPs and how owners of large holdings of land are to meet their community engagement obligations.
The consultation is also expected to provide greater clarity on how a large holding of land will be established in practice, including how connected persons are defined. Sight of this will be eagerly awaited, as concerns have been raised within the sector about the scope and specificity of the provisions as set out in the Act.
Second Consultation on Draft Regulations (Autumn 2027)
Following the first consultation, formal draft regulations on the community engagement obligations will be prepared and then consulted upon.
This second public consultation is intended to take place in Autumn 2027. The newly-appointed LCC will be involved in preparing the proposed regulations before they go out for public consultation.
The finalised draft regulations are then expected to be laid before Parliament in late 2028.
Land Transfer Restrictions
In connection with planned restrictions on transferring large holdings of land, the requirements for prior notification (i.e. enhanced rights for community bodies to be notified and facilitated to register a right to buy land) and lotting, are to be consulted upon and brought into effect sometime after the community engagement rules. These two sets of transfer restrictions are intended to be implemented together.
The intention looks to be that LMPs should be in place before any lotting decision may have to be made, with the Cabinet Secretary indicating that consideration of LMPs may form part of how a lotting recommendation is reached.
As a result, while community engagement regulations are currently expected to be finalised in late 2028, measures relating to transfer restrictions are unlikely to follow until 2029 at the earliest, particularly as the Cabinet Secretary anticipates that all regulations will “contain a grace period before coming into force and enforcement beginning”.
Summary of Proposed Implementation Timeline for Part 1 of the Act
The Scottish Government has provided an indicative timetable for some elements of implementation. Other dates below reflect the likely sequencing of measures based on the timetable published to date and are therefore subject to change.
- Autumn 2026: First public consultation on community engagement obligations and Land Management Plans.
- Autumn 2027: Second public consultation on draft regulations.
- Late 2028: Community engagement regulations expected to be laid before Parliament.
- 2029 onwards: Transfer restriction measures, including prior notification and lotting provisions, are likely to follow.
Part 2 of the Act
Planning for implementation of Part 2 of the Act appears to be at an earlier stage, with the letter noting that “briefing sessions” are to be held on tenant farming, small landholdings and the new model leases.
A number of the planned changes to the agricultural holdings legislation were met with concern in the sector and so it will be hoped that these briefing sessions ensure Parliamentary committees have appropriate knowledge to properly scrutinise the secondary legislation required to bring the Act’s provisions into force.
What Happens Next?
Not unexpectedly, given the scale and significance of the changes, and reflecting the position with previous land reform legislation, this is not a “big bang” implementation. The Act will come into force gradually, with the necessary secondary legislation informed by consultation with the sector.
Engagement with those consultations, by all affected, will be key to ensuring processes that are workable, respecting both the spirit of the legislation and the practical realities of large landownership. For landowners, communities and rural businesses, the next two years are likely to be as important as the Act itself in shaping how these reforms operate in practice.
