Community right to buy review: consultation

1. Ministerial foreword

The first Community Right to Buy was introduced over 20 years ago in the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003, with the aim of increasing opportunities for communities to take ownership of local land and assets. Rights have been extended in a number of ways since and now cover rural, urban and crofting communities; pre-emptive and compulsory rights; land and assets that are being neglected, and land to support the sustainable development of communities.

Since 2003, 268 applications have been received from community groups seeking to acquire their own assets, with two-thirds of these (175) approved by Scottish Ministers. Community Rights to Buy have made a significant contribution to our aim of increasing community ownership, alongside other routes into community ownership and control, such as Community Asset Transfer.

Since asset transfer legislation was introduced in 2017, over 300 public assets have been transferred to community ownership, lease or management, from community halls to parks and woodlands. This legislation is the first of its kind in the UK, shifting the balance of power towards communities and ensuring that asset transfer is available throughout Scotland. A Scottish Government review of asset transfer legislation was published in March 2025 and its findings will inform work to strengthen the asset transfer process and further empower communities.

Community Rights to Buy have made a significant contribution to our aim of increasing community ownership, alongside other routes into community ownership, such as those mentioned above. The National Performance Indicator for Community Ownership has risen steadily from 155 in 2003, to 754 in 2023. We know that the volume of applications has declined since 2017, and we have been told by community groups and other stakeholders that the process can seem complicated and burdensome. This is why I announced a Review last year to consider what improvements could be made to strengthen the contribution the Rights make to delivering our community ownership aims.

Following consultation with a number of community bodies who have been through this process and other relevant organisations, we have identified a number of potential legislative changes to Community Rights to Buy on which we are seeking your views. We want to ensure that we make the right changes to enable community ownership. These potential changes form the basis for the questions set out in this consultation, and I hope that you are encouraged to contribute to ensure that Community Right to Buy remains a key tool in our aim to increase community ownership over the coming years. Our discussions have also identified some non-legislative ways to improve guidance and processes that we intend to take forward in parallel. These are detailed for information at the end of this consultation document.

Mairi Gougeon, MSP

Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs, Land Reform and Islands