# Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2025, Paragraph 8: Application to Land Court to fix the rent

Extent: S
Status: prospective

(1) On the application of a small landholder or a landlord of a small landholding, the Land Court may, where either condition A or condition B is met, make an order fixing the rent payable by the landholder in respect of the holding.
(2) Condition A is that—
(a) any previous order of the Land Court fixing the rent payable by the landholder in respect of the holding took effect at least 7 years prior to the date on which the new order will take effect,
(b) on the date on which the order will take effect, any period specified in writing in the lease (including in any variation of it) as the period for which the rent is fixed will have elapsed, and
(c) the period of 7 years beginning with the date on which rent first became payable under the lease of the holding will have elapsed on the date on which the order will take effect.
(3) Condition B is that the landholder—
(a) intends to use the land comprising the holding, or any part of it, in accordance with a diversification proposal, or diversification agreement, agreed with the landlord under Part 4, or
(b) has used the land or any part of it for a purpose other than cultivation without the question of altering the rent to take account of that use being addressed.
(4) For the purpose of sub-paragraph (3)(b), the question of altering the rent to take account of a use is addressed where—
(a) there is an agreement under paragraph 7 altering the rent, or an order of the Land Court fixing the rent, which takes account of the use, or
(b) the landlord has agreed that the rent should remain unchanged in respect of the use.
(5) The rent that is to be fixed under sub-paragraph (1) in respect of the holding is the amount that the Land Court, taking account of all the circumstances, considers is the fair rent for the holding.
(6) In determining the fair rent for the holding, the Land Court—
(a) may not increase the rent in respect of any increase in the value of the holding resulting from—
(i) any permanent improvements to the extent that the landholder would be entitled to compensation in respect of those improvements upon renouncing the tenancy of the holding,
(ii) any unexhausted improvements to the extent that, if they were permanent improvements, the landholder would be entitled as mentioned to compensation in respect of them,
(b) may not decrease the rent in respect of any reduction in the value of the holding resulting from the use of any of the land, or changes to the land, for a purpose other than cultivation of the land by the landholder or the landholder’s predecessor.
(7) Before making an order fixing the rent under sub-paragraph (1), the Land Court—
(a) must invite the landholder and the landlord to make representations,
(b) may—
(i) visit the holding to which the application relates,
(ii) take advice from assessors or valuers.
(8) An order fixing the rent under sub-paragraph (1) takes effect as from the first term date (being the date of Whitsunday or Martinmas) falling after the date on which the order is made.

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Source: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/asp/2025/15/schedule/2/paragraph/8 (the official version)
Page: https://openlegislation.uk/land-reform-scotland-act-2025/schedule-2/paragraph-8
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives.