Next steps for land reform summary

What success looks like

A reformed land system would give people confidence and unlock opportunity. Success would mean:

• People and businesses can realistically own, lease or utilise land.
• Communities that want to own land or shape its use can do so meaningfully.
• Landowners have clarity and confidence to invest responsibly.
• Information about land ownership, use and value is open and accessible.
• Where land ownership creates harm, there are clear and effective safeguards.

Achieving this requires opening up land opportunities while rebalancing the power that flows from ownership.

Three priorities to unlock Scotland’s land potential

1. Opening up land: making ownership and use possible for more people

Scotland must act to widen who can own and use land.

• Commit to a national programme to create small-scale land holdings across Scotland.
• Use public land proactively to open up new land opportunities.
• Simplify and strengthen routes into community and co-operative ownership, in urban and rural Scotland alike. 

This will diversify ownership, support housing and enterprise, and build community wealth.

2. Rebalancing power: ensuring land ownership works for the public good

Land ownership brings power. Where that power is overly concentrated or misused, it must be possible to safeguard the public interest.

• Introduce ways to consider and protect the public interest when significant areas of land are acquired, including expectations around local presence.
• Establish clear mechanisms to intervene where the power of land ownership is misused. 

This approach protects the public interest while ensuring power is exercised responsibly.

3. Shaping change locally: putting people at the heart of land use decisions

Scotland is undergoing major land use change. Public support depends on local involvement and benefit.

• Strengthen regional land use planning with real decision-making and delivery powers.
• Give communities and local authorities a decisive role in shaping land use change.
• Make local ownership and benefit a normal feature of renewable energy, nature and climate investment. 

This will carry public confidence and deliver better outcomes.

How reform is done

Land reform will not be achieved through a single bill. It requires a coordinated programme across government. This means:

• Using public land ownership actively to lead change.
• Deploying tax and fiscal levers to encourage productive use and fair sharing of land value.
• Giving local government stronger powers to tackle dereliction and unlock stalled sites.
• Transforming land data, starting with completing the Land Register and building a joined-up national system.