In focus: Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2025 – part 1

In the first of a new series of articles examining the 2025 Act, Burges Salmon’s Darren Thomson and Bryn Davies focus on large land holdings and community engagement obligations. 

Overview 

The Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2025 received royal assent on 16 December 2025 and marks a potentially significant intervention in land ownership by the Scottish Government. It is the latest step in a policy seeking to redistribute decision-making and, in certain circumstances, ownership of large land holdings. 

The scope of this intervention remains unclear because most of the Act depends on secondary legislation, the timeline for which is yet to be announced. What is clear is that owners of Scottish land must prepare for more stringent obligations surrounding their use of such land, along with a more complex process for transferring ownership. 

In this article, the first in a series on the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2025, we focus on the new concept of ‘large land holdings’ and the community engagement obligations imposed on their owners. The second article will examine the new transfer rules, including the community buy-out and lotting regimes. 

Large land holdings  

Part 1 of the Act applies to the new concept of ‘large land holdings’ (LLHs). This means an area of land exceeding 1,000 hectares formed by a ‘single’ or ‘composite’ holding: 

1. Single holding – the whole of a contiguous area of land in the ownership of one person or set of persons. 

2. Composite holding – two or more single holdings form a composite holding if (a) each is contiguous with at least one of the others, and (b) the owner of one holding is the owner of, or connected to the owner of, every other single holding. 

For single holdings, an area of land is treated as contiguous with another if any part of the area is within 250 metres of any part of the other. For composite holdings, a holding is contiguous with another if a boundary of the holding is (wholly or partly) contiguous with a boundary of the other; a boundary is treated as contiguous with another if any part of it is within 250 metres of the other. This definition includes the foreshore and other land covered with water but excludes the seabed. 

The Act’s definition of ‘connected persons’ is detailed and multi-layered, drawing on company law, tax law and land registration concepts. It draws from several distinct regulatory frameworks and may produce surprising results. This is compounded by a ‘common connected person’ rule, under which connections can cascade through intermediaries. For example, where a single person (such as an individual, trustee or fund manager) is a person with significant control or holds a controlling interest in two or more separate entities, all of those entities are treated as connected to each other even if they have no direct relationship. Consequently, the provisions may prove challenging for landowners to apply without specialist advice, particularly where ownership structures involve trusts, partnerships or corporate groups, which may or may not be combined with personal interests. 

Community engagement 

Owners of LLHs will be required to engage with local communities under the Act.  

The principal obligation will be to produce a land management plan (LMP). LMPs must be publicly accessible and set out the owner’s long-term vision for, and objectives for managing, the land (including any potential sale). They must also evidence how local communities and tenants (including, where relevant, crofters and small landholders) were consulted in their creation. A review of the LMP will be required every five years. 

In addition to LMPs, owners of LLHs must consider a reasonable request from a community body to lease any area of their land, including any buildings on it. 

A new Land and Communities Commissioner will enforce these community engagement obligations. The Act establishes a tiered enforcement regime with fines of up to £1,000 for failure to provide information during an investigation, and up to £40,000 for breach of a community engagement obligation. A further fine of up to £40,000 may be imposed for failure to comply with an enforcement notice, bringing the theoretical cumulative maximum to £81,000 per breach. Fines may be appealed to the Lands Tribunal for Scotland. 

What next? 

While the 2025 Act represents a significant statement of legislative intent, much of its practical impact will depend on secondary legislation that has not yet been laid. The substantive provisions (including the community engagement obligations) are not yet in force and await commencement regulations by Scottish ministers.  

For landowners of holdings that may exceed the 1,000-hectare threshold, whether individually or through aggregation with connected persons’ holdings, it will be important to assess exposure to the Act’s requirements at an early stage.  

In the next article in this series, we will examine the new transfer rules, including the community buy-out and lotting regimes. If you have any questions about the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2025 or its impact on your landholding, contact Darren Thomson or another member of the Burges Salmon estates and land team. 

This article was written by Darren Thomson and Bryn Davies.