Eviction of crofting tenants

Crofting tenants can only be evicted by:

• their landlord

• the Crofting Commission

• Scottish Government ministers
  

In all cases, tenants may be entitled to compensation for any improvements they have made to the croft.

Eviction by your landlord

Your landlord can evict you for the following reasons:

• you have not paid your rent for a year

• you have broken the statutory conditions - this includes going bankrupt

• you have misused or neglected the land
  

In most cases, your landlord must send you a written notice that they want to evict you from the land. The notice must give you time to put this right when:

• you have broken the statutory conditions or

• you have misused the land
  

Your landlord does not need to give you written notice when you have neglected the land. They can apply to the Land Court for an eviction order. The court must let you know about any hearing.

Contact a solicitor if you receive a notice to attend a court hearing or a notice of eviction. They can help you negotiate with your landlord to prevent an eviction, or represent you in court.

Going to the Land Court

In court, you’ll have a chance to make your case and explain why you should not be evicted.

If the court decides to grant an order of eviction, they will:

• end the tenancy

• declare the croft to be vacant

• remove you from the croft
  

You may be entitled to compensation for any improvements that you made to the croft.

Eviction by resumption

This means taking the land back and using it for something other than crofting. Your landlord can only take back your croft with good reason.

Your landlord does not need to give you any written notice that they are resuming the croft. They must apply to the Land Court and inform the Crofting Commission. The commission can support or oppose the landlord’s application.

If your croft is resumed you could be entitled to compensation. This can be:

• offering you a new croft of the same value in a neighbouring area

• paying you compensation

• reducing your rent, if they're only resuming part of the land
  

You could also receive financial compensation for any improvements that you made to the croft.

Eviction by the Crofting Commission

The Crofting Commission can bring your tenancy to an end if:

• you are not living on the land

• you are not working the land properly
  

It is rare for the commission to end a tenancy. They should try to come to a voluntary agreement with you. This should give you time to address their concerns.

A voluntary agreement could be:

• subletting the land to someone else while you’re not living there

• you buying the croft and getting it decrofted

• assigning the tenancy to someone else
  

If you cannot come to an agreement, the commission can make an order to end your tenancy. They must give you six months’ notice. You can then object and ask for a hearing if you want to keep the tenancy.

Eviction by Scottish Government ministers

Scottish ministers can apply to the Land Court for your eviction when you have:

• abandoned your croft

• broken a condition of the repayment of your loan

• broken the statutory conditions - this excludes not paying rent
  

They can only do this if you have:

• taken a loan out from the Scottish Government and

• used the compensation you are entitled to as security for the loan

Compensation when you are evicted from a croft

You could be entitled to compensation if you have made permanent improvements to the land. You can be entitled to this if:

• you gave up your tenancy

• you are evicted from your croft

• your landlord resumes the land
  

To receive compensation all of the following must apply. You must have:

• made improvements suitable for the croft

• made improvements that you were not contractually obliged to make

• paid for the improvements

• made the improvements without receiving any payment or a rent reduction in return
  

Improvements are buildings or fixtures that you have built, provided or made better.

This could include building work, walls, fencing, roads or anything else that adds value to the croft for the purposes of crofting.

Your landlord can also ask you for compensation if you leave the croft in a state of deterioration or disrepair.

If you and your landlord can't agree on compensation you can ask the Land Court to decide. The Crofting Commission or a solicitor can help you calculate the compensation.

Finding somewhere else to live

It is rare to be evicted from a crofting tenancy. If you are facing eviction, you can get information on finding a place to live.