Murray Beith Murray LLP is a leading Scottish private client law firm.
For 175 years we have specialised in meeting the legal, financial and administrative needs of individuals and families, family trusts, charities and private companies.
The Scottish Land Commission (the “Commission”) published a report on 20 March 2019 on the impact of the concentration of land ownership in Scotland with recommendations to the Scottish Ministers.
If you or your business acquired rural or commercial land more than 20 years ago, it is most likely recorded in the General Register of Sasines rather than registered under the land registration regime.
The Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2016 (“the Act”) was enacted just over a year ago on 22 April 2016. The Act is being brought into force in stages by secondary legislation. So far, five Commencement Orders have been made, implementing various parts of the Act and further Orders are expected this year and next.
Since 1979, when the new Land Register opened, Scotland has been on a quest to improve the transparency of its land ownership. 1979 saw the first crucial step in this, with the opening of a map-based register, designed gradually to phase out Scotland’s 1617-established deed-based register. The process acquired new significance with the re-birth of the Scottish Parliament in 1999 and, last month, momentum was sustained with the publishing of the Scottish Government’s "Improving transparency in land ownership in Scotland: a consultation on controlling interests in land".
