Small landholdings modernisation: consultation analysis

Annex 2. Consultation questions

Small Landholdings Modernisation Consultation

1. Right to Buy

A. Do you agree that providing small landholders with the right to buy the land under their homes and their gardens could give small landholders greater security and allow them to invest into their small landholding and business with confidence?

Strongly agree

Agree

Neither

Disagree

Strongly disagree

Please give reasons for your answer:

B. Do you agree that giving small landholders the right to buy the land under their homes and garden could be beneficial in reducing rural depopulation for the communities with small landholdings in them?

Strongly agree

Agree

Neither

Disagree

Strongly disagree

Please give reasons for your answer:

C. Do you agree that small landholders should have the opportunity to purchase their small landholding if their landlord gives notice or takes action to transfer the land containing the small landholding for sale or transfer to another company or trust?

Strongly agree

Agree

Neither

Disagree

Strongly disagree

Please give reasons for your answer:

D. Do you agree that a clawback provision should be introduced to ensure fairness for the landlord if a small landholder who previously purchased the land under their home and garden or their small landholding and subsequently sells either of these within a specific timeframe?

Strongly agree

Agree

Neither

Disagree

Strongly disagree

E. How do you think this clawback should be calculated and what length of time should the clawback apply to?

Please give reasons for your answer:

F. Do you agree that the most appropriate and fair valuation for the right to buy the land under the home and garden should be decided by a valuer appointed in agreement by both the small landholder and their landlord, or failing both of them agreeing a valuer, one would be independently appointed? The small landholder will be legally required to meet the cost of the valuation.

Strongly agree

Agree

Neither

Disagree

Strongly disagree

Please give reasons for your answer:

G. How should the valuation of the right to buy the land under the home and the garden site be calculated to provide fairness for both the small landholder and their landlord?

Please give reasons for your answer:

2. Diversification

H. Do you agree that small landholders should be able to diversify their activities on their landholdings?

Strongly agree

Agree

Neither

Disagree

Strongly disagree

Please give reasons for your answer:

I. Should small landholders require their landlord’s permission in advance of diversifying their activities?

Yes

No

Don’t know

If yes, should that permission have a set timescale that a landlord is required to meet?

Please give reasons for your answer:

J. Do you agree that if the landlord does not consent to the small landholder’s diversification the small landholder should have to go to the land court?

Strongly agree

Agree

Neither

Disagree

Strongly disagree

If you disagree what alternative do you propose?

Please give reasons for your answer:

3. Assignation and Succession

K. Do you agree that the legislation setting out who can be assigned or succeed a small landholding should be updated to have similar succession and assignation rights as tenant farmers with secure 1991 Act tenancies?

Strongly agree

Agree

Neither

Disagree

Strongly disagree

Please give reasons for your answer:

L. Do you agree that a landlord should be able to object to the person the small landholder wishes to be assigned the small landholding or to succeed it? If so what should those objection grounds be?

Strongly agree

Agree

Neither

Disagree

Strongly disagree

Please give reasons for your answer:

Access to an umbrella body

M. Do you agree that small landholders and their landlords should have access to a public body (in a similar way that tenant farmers and their landlords have for agricultural tenancies)?

Strongly agree

Agree

Neither

Disagree

Strongly disagree

Please give reasons for your answer:

N. If a small landholder and their landlord have a disagreement should the body be able to mediate?

Strongly agree

Agree

Neither

Disagree

Strongly disagree

Please give reasons for your answer:

Additional considerations

O. Is there anything else you think should be changed in the current small landholding legislation to modernise small landholdings, so they can play their part helping to tackle the climate and biodiversity crises and for Scotland to reach Net Zero by 2045?

If yes, please use this text box to provide reasoning for your answer:

Assessing the impact

P. Are you aware of any potential costs and burdens that you think may arise as a result of the proposals within this consultation paper?

Yes

No

Don’t know

If yes, please give reasons:

Q. Are you aware of any examples of potential impacts, either positive or negative, that you consider that any of the proposals in this consultation paper may have on the environment?

Yes

No

Don’t know

If yes, please give reasons:

R. Are you aware of any examples of particular current or future impacts, positive or negative, on young people, of any aspect of the proposals in this consultation paper?

Yes

No

Don’t know

If yes, please give reasons:

S. Could any improvements be made from a young person’s perspective?

Yes

No

Don’t know

If yes, please give reasons:

T. Are you aware of any impacts, positive or negative, of the proposals in this consultation paper on data protection or privacy?

Yes

No

Don’t know

If yes, please give reasons:

U. Are you aware of any examples of how the proposals in this consultation paper may impact, either positively or negatively, on those with protected characteristics (age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation)?

Yes

No

Don’t know

If yes, please give reasons:

V. Are you aware of any examples of how the proposals in this consultation paper might have particular positive or negative impacts on groups or areas experiencing socioeconomic disadvantage?

Yes

No

Don’t know

If yes, please give reasons:

W. Please note these could be households with low incomes or few resources; families struggling to make ends meet; people who experienced poverty while growing up; or areas with few resources or opportunities compared with others.

Yes

No

Don’t know

If yes, please give reasons:

X. Are you aware of any examples of how the proposals in this consultation paper might impact, positively or negatively, on island communities in a way that is different from the impact on mainland areas?

Yes

No

Don’t know

If yes, please give reasons: