NFU Scotland has admitted it is likely to lose members as a result of its stance on tenants’ absolute right to buy property from their landlords.
In response to a consultation into Scottish land use and policy, launched by the Land Reform Review Group, the union has said it is completely opposed to the absolute right to buy as it could be deterring landowners from putting let land on the market.
As a result of its stance on this highly contentious issue, it was likely the union would lose members due to the strong feelings on each side of the argument, said president Nigel Miller.
The union was calling for legislation and policy surrounding land use in Scotland to be focused on management of the land, rather than ownership with a greater focus on collaboration with communities and improved relations between tenant farmers and landlords, he said.
In addition, NFUS was calling for the pre-emptive right to buy – which allows tenants to register an interest in buying a farm, should the landlord put it on the market – to be made automatic, he said.
With regards to community buyouts – many high-profile cases have been reported in the Scottish islands – Mr Miller said the union was in favour of these in cases of land abandonment.
However, the key issue that needed to be addressed in the sector was that of strained relationships between landlords and tenant farmers, he said.
An estimated 20% of tenants didn’t have successors in place, while 50% of the tenant farmer membership questioned were in favour of the right to buy.
“There are going to be a lot of secure tenancies which come to an end without a successor in place, and some sort of review and widening of the assignation would be positive,” said Mr Miller.
“The key frustration for us is that some sort of fast track, accessible dispute resolution is not in place, even though we have been talking about it since last February. We need a robust practicioners’ guide in place – that was flagged up by the rent review group last year.”
NFUS views on land reform |
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- The link between land ownership and actual land management should go, and landowners should be encouraged to develop good relationships with the local community.
- Land ownership in Scotland does not need to be diversified, and changes in ownership should not be seen as a solution to land management issues that could be addressed by other means.
- Landowners and managers should not be forced to give communities a greater say in land ownership and management – instead, communities should be involved in collaborative working and projects with landowners.
- There is no merit in transferring large areas of public sector land to community ownership unless there is a demonstration of the benefits. Instead, the union proposes more of a “community partnership” approach.
- Rural properties undergoing restoration should be exempt from council tax to encourage owners to put these on the rental market to address the rural housing shortage.
- The union opposes the absolute right to buy as this deters landowners from putting let land on the market, and hampers the next generation.
- Tenancy structures must be more robust to incentivise landlords to put land on the market and aid new entrants. The focus on short-term tenancies is putting new entrants at a disadvantage.
- Thought should be given to developing a “retirement” package for tenant farmers wishing to leave the industry, and more consideration should be given to share or partnership farming arrangements.
- A fast-track, low-cost dispute resolution process should be developed to improve relations between tenant farmers and landlords – this should be backed up by a robust practitioners’ guide.
- The pre-emptive right to buy (an agreement that allows tenant farmers to register interest in buying the farm, if the landlord decides to sell) should be made automatic for all 1991 Act tenancies.
- No tax should be imposed on land – the notion of taxing an asset, rather than an income, would be “catastrophic” and result in negative equity, which could have serious consequences for Scottish farms.
- Fresh water resource management is more important than ownership – community access to water is down to who owns the fishing rights, rather than the land.
- Changes to succession law are a separate issue and should not be looked at in the context of the Land Reform Review Group.
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