Crofting Support Service – 5 Ways To Make Your Life Easier (This one is for Solicitors)

My objective, when I set up my firm, was to assist not only crofters and landlords, but also law firms. Crofting transactions can be the cause of much worry to solicitors, particularly those who do not deal with crofting law on a regular basis. If solicitors refused to act where there was any hint of crofting tenure, they would scarcely accept instructions relating to land north or west of Inverness. Yet in some cases the crofting element can become problematic, and can pose a threat to both time management and, more importantly, to risk management.

Sometimes, when I was in private practice, it felt as though increasing demands were being placed on the legal profession: anti-money laundering practices and new registration of title practices being just two which spring to mind. Crofting need not be another thing to find time for and to worry about, and I am pleased to be able to provide a support service for my practising professional colleagues whereby I can deal with the time consuming crofting law element, allowing the solicitor to focus on the many other aspects of the transaction.

I always take a flexible approach and can help with most crofting matters. My services are (I hope obviously) entirely confidential and I carry my own PI insurance. If you would like to discuss how I can help you, drop me an email (eilidh@camus.scot) or give me a ring (07876 513404).

In the meantime, here are just five ways in which I can help solicitors and law firms:-

Croft Purchase Negotiations

I can deal with croft purchase negotiations in advance of a croft purchase. When a client instructs you to purchase their croft, I can either advise you, or else liaise directly with your client and the landlord or tenant of the croft (as the case may be), to ensure that your client is not granting rights, or agreeing to reservations and conditions, which they need not. Often the preparation of plans is part of this, to ensure that, for example, landlord’s claw back is only applied to croft land in any croft purchase, and excluded from a croft house and garden ground. Once terms have been agreed and the plans prepared, I then provide you with a note for your file explaining what has been agreed and why.

Regulatory Matters

Regulatory matters such as decrofting applications are often encountered by solicitors in the course of crofting conveyancing transactions. During my time in private practice, I found that these were particularly time consuming.
I now work with many firms whereby they authorise me to deal with these matters; either for the firm, or directly on behalf of their client. We have found that this is a cost effective and satisfying way to work – for both solicitor and client.
I can also provide advice to crofters who are being regulated by the Crofting Commission, usually for breach of a statutory duty such as residency or cultivation.

Croft Boundary Disputes

These eat up vast swathes of time, which solicitors in private practice can rarely spare. I can undertake background research, negotiations and, if matters cannot be agreed out of court, I can assist in the preparation of your client’s case, leaving you to focus on the court process itself and any appearance in court which is necessary.

Crofting Register

I can also deal with first and subsequent applications to the (new) Crofting Register. First registrations can be particularly time consuming, requiring careful correspondence with the crofter to ensure the registered boundaries are correct, and on occasion resulting in a challenge to the Scottish Land Court. Subsequent registrations, required for example after a registered croft has been assigned, or let, or an area of such decrofted, must be lodged within 3 months of the date of the regulatory decision. If you fail to lodge a registration application within that time scale, the assignation, decrofting or whatever it may be, must be repeated.

I can also assist with rectification applications to the Crofting Register.

Croft Status Investigations and Solutions

I can help you to establish the status of a croft and, in most cases, correct it. The defining problem, in my experience, of the last few years, is that of the ‘cursed’ crofts. I have written about these crofts on many an occasion, most recently on this web site back on 15 September 2017.

These are crofts which, for various reasons, are not classified as “owner-occupied crofts” but as “vacant” crofts. This status means that their owners are not eligible for the crofting grants (Crofting Counties Agricultural Grant Scheme and the Croft House Grant Scheme). Despite the widespread belief that there are no active crofters left, there    are indeed many such individuals, many of whom are looking to start out in the world of crofting and who stand to benefit handsomely from the injection of funds which these schemes provide.

Your first port of call to establish the status of the croft will be, understandably, the Crofting Commission. However, the information provided by the Crofting Commission cannot be relied upon (because their records are only as good as the information provided to them), and is frequently incorrect. If you market or contract to sell, or actually sell, a croft as an owner-occupied croft when it is not, you may end up with a very unhappy client because they cannot obtain funds for their agricultural shed, their fencing, or their new house. They may be able to remedy the defect, but that will take time and expense.

I can help by:-

• Checking the status of a croft before you place it on the market or at any time to give you or your client clarity.

• I can explain to your client why the status is defective.

• I can advise whether a remedy is possible and I can then work with you to carry out the corrective work.

• I can correspond with the Crofting Commission to rectify the information they hold.

• I can have input in to the missives to ensure that the relevant provisions are incorporated.
  ‘Cursed crofts’ are still bought and sold, and indeed in some cases there can even be some advantages to them, but they must not be described as owner-occupied crofts.

If you would like to discuss how I can help you, drop me an email (eilidh@camus.scot) or give me a ring (07876 513404).