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3.1 The proposed legislation will allow time for communities to assess their interest when the land in which they have registered an interest comes to be sold. This will give more opportunities for community bodies to consider a community purchase. The proposed legislation will have 2 aspects:
Notification process
3.2 The process will start with a decision by a landowner to dispose of a landholding. The proposed legislation applies whether this disposal is sale on the open market, private sale or any other transfer for value. The owner will have to check whether the property is covered by this proposed legislation ie whether it is on the register of community interest.
3.3 If the property is covered by the proposed legislation, the onus will be on the owner to give notice to Scottish Ministers of his/her intention to sell (or otherwise to transfer his/her property for value). A standard notification form will be provided to minimise difficulty.
3.4 The standard notification form will also require the owner to specify that the closing date will not be earlier than the minimum period from the date of notification as prescribed by the proposed legislation.
3.5 An acknowledgement of the notification will be issued to the owner. Each acknowledgement will set out:
3.6 Where disposal involves a transfer of title, the seller will need to be able to provide the purchaser with evidence of compliance in the form of the acknowledgement from Government. Without the acknowledgement, the purchaser will not be able to obtain a valid title to the property. There will be provision to protect purchasers who are victims of fraud.
3.7 Where the transfer for value does not involve a transfer of title, it cannot be automatically caught in this sort of way. There is no easy solution, partly because of the wide variety of ways that such transfers could be effected and also because tax and companies legislation are reserved matters. The best approach is to deter such transfers. If at a later date (up to 10 years later) there is evidence that there has been a transfer of beneficial ownership, then Scottish Ministers will have as an ultimate instrument the new compulsory purchase power at their disposal.
Minimum period between notice to sell and closing date
3.8 The minimum period between notice to sell and closing date will be 30 days. It seems sensible to keep the minimum period relatively short, so as to minimise interference with the land market. During this period, community bodies that have previously registered an interest in the land will simply have to consider whether to maintain that interest and therefore move on to the next stage in the process.
Compensation
3.9 The proposed legislation will include provision for the Government to pay compensation where directly and wholly related to the process of notification. Decisions on compensation will be appealable to the Lands Tribunal for Scotland.
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