Scottish Land Commission to develop compulsory sale order power

The non-departmental public body, which was established under the 2016 Land Reform (Scotland) Act, will consult publicly on its proposals, which will then be considered by the Scottish government.

The creation of a CSO power was one of 62 land reform recommendations made in 2014 by the Land Reform Review Group. The commission intends to explore the potential role that such a power could play in bringing vacant and derelict land in Scotland back into productive use, by requiring its sale by public auction to the highest bidder.

There were 12,435 hectares of derelict and urban vacant land in Scotland as of 2016, according to official figures.

Hamish Trench, chief executive of the Scottish Land Commission, said that the proposals would "provide a clear description of the purpose of powers, how they might operate, the conditions under which they could be triggered and fully comply with the European Convention of Human Rights".

Property law expert Alan Cook of Pinsent Masons, the law firm behind Out-Law.com, said that CSOs "could be useful for unlocking the development and use of abandoned or derelict land". However, "a balance will need to be struck with the rights and interests of existing owners".

"Development of vacant sites, often involving the assembly of a number of separate land interests to create a larger development area, can often have lead-in times over a period of years, and developers and owners will be concerned to know that long-term efforts to achieve this will not be ignored," he said.

"In addition, there are issues around what the subsequent auction purchaser of the land does with it. Will they end up not developing it for example, perhaps after discovering what the previous owner already knew, that it was not that straightforward after all; or will they sell it on to others for profit, thereby unfairly exploiting the forced sale of the land by the original owner? The commission will be required to consider all of these issues if it is to produce a balanced report," he said.

The commission would also have to consider how a new CSO power would interact with existing laws around compulsory purchase in Scotland, including the anticipated introduction of the community right to buy 'abandoned, neglected and detrimental land' in Scotland under part 3A of the 2003 Land Reform (Scotland) Act, according to property law expert Rachel Oliphant of Pinsent Masons.

Extended community rights to buy were introduced in 2015, although they will not come into force until the relevant regulations are passed by the Scottish government. The part 3A right will apply to land which has been abandoned, neglected or is causing detriment to the environmental wellbeing of a local community. It will only apply where a community body, set up in accordance with the 2003 Act, has tried and failed to buy the land from the owner, and only with the consent of the Scottish ministers.