NEW RULE ON WHO CAN RECTIFY THE CROFTING REGISTER

Some useful case law was delivered by the Land Court recently, in the case of the Executor of Alexander James Murray v The Crofting Commission (order of 4/9/23 SLC/49/23).

The circumstances of the case were that the original applicant, the late Alexander J. Murray, registered croft 229 Tulloch, Bonar Bridge in 2014. Mr Murray subsequently died and it became clear to his Executor that there were a number of discrepancies in the original application for registration, one of which was the inclusion of an area of land which had been resumed in 1987.

The Executor made an application to the Crofting Register under s. 16 (2) of the Crofting Reform (Scotland) Act 2010 to rectify the Crofting Register to correct those discrepancies. S.16 (2) provides that such an application for rectification should be made by “the person who made that applicant (the “original applicant”) and in this case, the application was rejected because it had not been lodged by the original applicant. 

The executor appealed this decision not to process the application to the Scottish Land Court under s. 20 of the 2010 Act, and the appeal was granted on the basis that an executor is deemed to step in to the shoes of a deceased person and is eadem persona cum defuncto; the Court holding that s. 16 (2) of the 2010 Act “is habile to permit an application by the executor of the original applicant”.

 Good news for anybody seeking to rectify the Crofting Register where the original applicant is deceased.

 I deal with more croft registrations than any other type of work; many of them rectifications. In my experience most crofts are registered incorrectly first time around, particularly where there are issues of title / ownership (including where plots have been sold), and unfortunately the Crofting Register and Crofting Commission do not make it clear in the guidance that these matters must be addressed.

If you would like advice on the first registration of a croft, rectification of an existing registration or if you would like a copy of the Final Order in the case discussed here, please drop me an email eilidh@camus.scot

 Eilidh