Community right to buy abandoned, neglected or detrimental land (ANDL)
The community right to buy abandoned, neglected or detrimental land came into force on 27 June 2018.
It gives community bodies a right to compulsorily purchase land (and by land we mean land, bridges and other structures built on or over land, inland waters, canals and the foreshore) which is wholly or mainly, abandoned or neglected or the use or management of the land is causing harm to the environmental wellbeing of the community.
Community right to buy abandoned, neglected or detrimental land: main guidance provides more detailed information.
To find out more, please see the sections below:
- forming a community body
- exercising the right to buy land
- notification of applications received
- register of applications by community bodies
Forming a community body
Before you submit an application, you must receive a compliance letter from Scottish Ministers confirming that the community body’s governing document is compliant with all of the provisions of the relevant part(s) of the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003.
We have produced the following templates and guidance on how to form a community body compliant with the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003 provisions:
- Company Limited by Guarantee (CLBG): model template and guidance
- Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation (SCIO): model template and guidance
- Community right to buy abandoned, neglected or detrimental land: main guidance
We have also produced the following information leaflet to provide a brief overview of the process involved:
We also provide guidance, via email, phone or face-to-face, to community bodies wishing to acquire land (or bring land back into productive use), as well as owners and interested third parties. We can look over draft applications and provide additional guidance on anything related to the right to buy abandoned, neglected or detrimental land process and procedures. However, please note that we cannot provide legal advice.
We have produced a community mapping tool, which can assist communities to define their community, as required by the legislation. The community definition will form part of your governing documents. We have also published community mapping tool guidance to help with using the mapping tool.
Exercising the right to buy land
A community body wishing to apply to exercise the right to buy land under community right to buy abandoned, neglected or detrimental land is required to complete a community right to buy abandoned, neglected or detrimental land application form. The form also includes guidance on completing the form, together with information on the pre-application criteria as well as purchase and compensation information.
Notification of applications received
The following community bodies have submitted applications under Part 3A of the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003 and views regarding any application listed should be sent to crtb@gov.scot.
There are currently no live applications under this part of the Act.
Register of applications by community bodies to buy land
Right to buy applications will be available to view, free of charge, on the Register of applications by community bodies to buy land, held by Registers of Scotland.
Information events
See slides of presentation about community land ownership from The Gathering 2019 event in Glasgow.
Contact
Email: CRTB@gov.scot
Community Land Team
Q Spur
Saughton House
Broomhouse Drive
Edinburgh
EH11 3XD
The Community Land Team are currently working from home. Community bodies and other interested parties are advised to contact the team by emailing the crtb@gov.scot mailbox. Community bodies can also send applications via email, but these will only be dealt with if all relevant contact details in the application have an email address.