Halt to owner occupier crofting house sites 13/3/13
The Crofting Commission has ruled out the prospect of decrofting a house site from
any owner occupier holding.
The body points out that the law does not allow the Crofting Commission website to
issue a “decrofting direction to an owner-occupier crofter who is occupying their
owner- occupied croft.”
The anomaly appears to be a blunder in the new crofting legislation. According to
the Crofting Commission, owner-occupier decrofting is not permitted under the Crofting
Reform (Scotland) Act 2010.
Main provisions of the latest law came into force last year including the abolishment
of the Crofters’ Commission.
The new body, the Crofting Commission, established to regulate crofting, says legal
advice it commissioned on the decrofting question makes it clear that such applications
cannot be processed.
Affected crofters will now find it impossible to raise finance to build a home on
a croft as banks will not give a mortgage unless the house site is decrofted.
A Crofting Commission spokesperson said: “Having sought further legal advice, the
board reaffirmed that, as the law currently stands, there is no provision that allows
owner occupier crofters to decroft.
“The commission will continue to work urgently with the Scottish Government to find
a long term solution.
“In the meantime the commission confirm that landlords of vacant crofts and tenants
are still able to decroft.
“Owner occupier crofters finding themselves compromised by recent legal clarity are
advised to seek independent legal advice as to possible remedies. They may also find
it useful to contact the Crofting Law Group or NFU Scotland or Scottish Crofting
Federation.”
Though the commission maintains it is willing to “prioritise any urgent cases or
where individuals are suffering hardship resulting from the situation” it did not
explain how this could possibly happen when it has drawn a complete stop to all such
cases.