Register of crofts - now online
A huge vote of confidence here for the new online Register of Crofts (ROC), launched on Monday by the Crofting Commission.
You can find the ROC here.
The obligation upon the Commission to create and maintain a Register of Crofts was conferred by the Crofters (Scotland) Act 1955. Current provision can be found at s. 41 of the Crofters (Scotland) Act 1993.
The ROC has always been a useful source of information but its weaknesses, in my view, are (1) that it is not map based, and (2) that the information cannot always be relied upon.
The new Crofting Register (introduced by the Crofting Reform (Scotland) Act 2010 will remedy the mapping issue, and already is proving to be enormously helpful in providing certainty regarding croft boundaries.
The latter problem exists largely because the ROC is only as accurate as the information provided to the Commission by crofters and landlords. The problem will not be remedied unless strict obligations are placed (by reform of the current law) on crofters (all types) and landlords to provide accurate information.
For example, the 1993 Act requires those persons purchasing croft land to inform the Commission that they have done so. There is no penalty enforced for failing to do so, and sometimes it gets forgotten. The consequence of that is that if you look at the ROC entry for a particular croft, it might be noted as tenanted, when in fact the crofter purchased the croft but did not inform the Commission. This lack of accurate information can also affect the status of a croft (a whole other story).
This issue aside, having direct access to the ROC at any time of day or night has already saved me considerable time and effort. I would previously email the Commission on a weekly (sometimes daily) basis to ask for copy entries from the ROC. It is a starting point in any crofting transaction, and dealing with these requests must have been hugely time consuming for the Commission. The fact that I can simply access the online ROC without having to email and wait, saves everybody time and effort.
The Commission’s statement on the online ROC is here.
