Scotland’s centuries-old debate over land ownership has reached a new turning point, as the Scottish Parliament passed the Land Reform (Scotland) Bill on November 6, 2025. The legislation, widely described as both landmark and controversial, aims to modernize agricultural tenancy law, expand farming opportunities, and chip away at one of the most concentrated patterns of land ownership in the western world. Yet, as the ink dries on the Bill, the battle lines between government, landowners, rural communities, and campaigners are as stark as ever.
For many, the question of "who owns Scotland?" is about far more than property deeds. As BBC News notes, it’s a question that stirs up strong emotions, touching on people’s livelihoods, the distribution of power, and the very future of rural communities. Scotland’s land ownership pattern is indeed remarkable: just 421 individuals, corporations, and trusts control over 40% of the nation’s rural land. Dr. Josh Doble, policy director at Community Land Scotland, called this concentration "shocking," describing Scotland as "an international anomaly."
The new Land Reform Bill represents the Scottish government’s latest attempt to address this imbalance. According to the Scottish government and reporting from NEN Press, the legislation gives ministers the power to split up landholdings of over 1,000 hectares when they are sold—if it is deemed in the public interest. The Bill also modernizes the creation and operation of new small landholdings, aiming to help new entrants and the next generation of farmers gain access to land. It grants greater protections for tenant farmers and small landholders, including the right to fair compensation if they are removed from their holdings.
Rural Affairs Secretary Mairi Gougeon emphasized the Bill’s transformative potential. "Tenant farmers and small landholders are vital to the fabric of our rural communities, and these reforms will help them to make a decent living on their holding and make improvements on the land they work on," Gougeon stated, as reported by NEN Press. She added, "It will allow them to work in a way that promotes sustainable and regenerative agricultural production, and – possibly most importantly – be protected from being removed from their holding without fair compensation." Gougeon also highlighted the Bill’s provision for advance notice of large land sales and the ability for ministers to pause transactions so communities can explore the option of a Right to Buy application. "This is an important step in our land reform journey," she said.
The Bill’s supporters argue it will give communities a greater voice over their futures, increase transparency in land ownership, and help address longstanding inequalities. The government plans to launch a consultation in the coming weeks about the powers of the Tenant Farming Commissioner and alternative options for dispute resolution, seeking input from tenant farmers, small landholders, and crofters.
Yet opposition to the Bill has been fierce and vocal, especially from Scottish Land & Estates (SLE), the organization representing many large landowners. SLE’s chief executive, Sarah-Jane Laing, has not minced words, telling media outlets including NEN Press and The Scotsman that the legislation is "junk law." According to Laing, "Perhaps uniquely, this legislation has succeeded in uniting landowners, land reform campaigners, lawyers, property agents and accountants – all of whom recognize that, whatever your stance on land reform, this is junk law." She warned, "The reality is that many of the Bill’s provisions are so badly drafted that it will take years of additional work by government and others before they can be implemented in practice – and some may never come into effect at all."
Laing’s criticisms are wide-ranging. She contends that the Bill will create new layers of bureaucracy and confusion, rather than driving meaningful change. "No one emerges as a winner from this – not government, not landowners, not rural businesses, not communities, and certainly not the taxpayer who will bear much of the cost of the added bureaucracy," she said. SLE argues that the only likely beneficiaries will be lawyers, as property transactions become more complex and legal challenges multiply.
One of the Bill’s most contentious features is its requirement for farms and estates to develop Land Management Plans. Laing called these plans "expensive and bureaucratic," asserting that "no other business type is being asked to justify its activities in such a way." She also accused the government of missing an opportunity to revitalize the tenanted farming sector, warning that new compensation measures could discourage landowners from letting land and risk "delivering the final blow to a sector already in decline."
Supporters of large estates, like Will Callander, a landowner interviewed by BBC News, argue that scale can be a force for good. Callander’s 650-hectare estate is home to a diverse array of enterprises, from coffee roasters to pottery studios. "It’s the variety of things that are going on which makes it exciting to manage and run," he said, insisting that large estates are not synonymous with vast wealth. "We live here, we work here, and we want to be surrounded by fun, exciting, happy people." Callander and others warn that the new Bill could create uncertainty and spark legal challenges that would hamper investment and innovation in rural Scotland.
The Land Reform Bill’s passage comes against a backdrop of deep historical grievances. The infamous Highland Clearances of the 18th and 19th centuries saw thousands of people violently evicted from their ancestral lands to make way for more profitable sheep and cattle farming. This legacy led to the 1886 Crofters Holdings Act, which granted security of tenure to small tenant farmers. More recently, community buyouts—such as the one that brought Knoydart Peninsula under local control in 1999—have been hailed as models of successful reform. Stephanie Harris, who runs the Old Forge pub in Knoydart, told BBC News, "There’s lots more people live here, there’s lots of kids here now, there’s more private businesses and community enterprises going. There’s a lot more opportunities and the fact people still want to come here I think is showing that it’s working."
Still, the debate over Scotland’s land remains highly charged. The Bill was supported by Labour and Liberal Democrats, opposed by Conservatives—who called it unworkable and devastating—and abstained on by the Scottish Greens, who argued it did not go far enough. Some campaigners, including Dr. Doble, believe more radical reform is needed to tackle Scotland’s rural housing crisis, economic inequality, and environmental challenges. "If we had a much more democratic and equitable way in which land was shared amongst people, we would start to address those issues in an actually meaningful way," Doble argued.
As Scotland embarks on this latest chapter of land reform, the only certainty is that the conversation is far from over. The new law may reshape the landscape—literally and figuratively—but it is clear that the struggle over who owns Scotland, and who gets to decide its future, will continue to spark passionate debate for years to come.
