This guidance covers the registration of deemed crofts.
Where a share in a common grazings has been decoupled from a croft and is, in terms of section 3(5) of the Crofters (Scotland) Act 1993, deemed to be a croft in its own right, we will accept an application to register the deemed croft.
Find out more about when to register a croft.
There are three potential scenarios:
First, where the application relates to an apportionment (ie it is a deemed croft by virtue of section 3(5)(b) of the 1993 Act), there will be a graphical extent for the apportioned area so the application can proceed as normal with the applicant providing a plan showing the extent of the apportioned area. Please note that a registration fee of £90 is required in order for the application to proceed.
Second, where the ‘deemed croft’ relates to a share in a common grazing (ie a deemed croft by virtue of section 3(5)(a) of the 1993 Act) and the common grazing is registered then the deemed croft will be listed as one of the associated crofts in the registration schedule for the common grazings. The entry will make clear the status of the croft by including the following text after the tenant’s designation: 'being a croft by virtue of s.3(5)(a) of the Crofters (Scotland) Act 1993'. Please note that when an application is submitted for subsequent event affecting a deemed croft already noted in the common grazings schedule then a form B should be submitted along with the £90 registration fee.
Third, where the associated common grazings is not registered, then the deemed croft by virtue of section 3(5)(a) of the 1993 Act will be reflected in a croft registration schedule, until such time as the common grazings is registered. Our approach to mapping the extent of the deemed croft (ie the whole of the common grazings) will be determined by the amount of information in the application. We will accept applications supported by evidence sufficient to identify the general location of the deemed croft (rather than the precise extent) on the Ordnance Survey map. RoS will mark the location on the register map by way of a general reference such as a seed point (or small red edge).
When the associated common grazings application is registered then, unless the deemed croft has been subsequently apportioned, the croft entry will be deleted from the register and added to the common grazings registration as described at scenario 2 above. The original applicant will be informed of this and supplied with the registration number of the registered common grazing. Please note that a registration fee of £90 is required for this in order for the application to proceed.
Support
If you have any enquiries, contact the Crofting Register team.
Email: croftenquiries@ros.gov.uk
Phone: 0131 659 4513