If your home is a croft house, sits on croft land or comes with a croft tenancy, selling it is not quite like selling an ordinary house. Crofting has its own law, its own regulator and its own register, and buyers, lenders and solicitors will all want to know exactly where the property stands.
The short answer is that you can sell, but what you can sell, and how, depends on whether you own or rent the croft and whether the house site has been decrofted. An owner-occupied croft can be sold much like other land, with the buyer taking on crofting duties. A tenanted croft cannot simply be sold: the tenancy passes by assignation with Crofting Commission consent, or you use your right to buy first. This guide explains each route, the costs and timescales involved, and what the new crofting legislation means in 2026.
Key points at a glance
- Crofting is governed mainly by the Crofters (Scotland) Act 1993 and regulated by the Crofting Commission. Croft boundaries are mapped on the Crofting Register, kept by Registers of Scotland.
- A tenant crofter cannot sell land they rent, but can assign the tenancy with the Commission’s consent, or buy the croft from the landlord using the statutory right to buy.
- An owner-occupied croft can be sold, but the buyer takes on crofting duties, including living on or within 32 km of the croft, and the croft must be on the Crofting Register.
- Mainstream lenders generally will not lend on a house still under crofting tenure, so decrofting the house site and garden is often the key step before a sale.
- If croft land bought under the right to buy is sold within ten years to someone outside the family, the former landlord can claim half of the increase in value.
- The Crofting and Scottish Land Court Act 2026 will change parts of crofting law, but most of its crofting provisions are still waiting for commencement regulations.
What is a croft, and how do you know if your house is part of one?
A croft is a small agricultural landholding that is subject to crofting law. Most are in the Highlands and Islands, in the traditional crofting counties such as Shetland, Orkney, Caithness, Sutherland, Argyll and the Western Isles, although new crofts can now be created in some areas outside them. A croft can include the croft house and garden, the inbye land around it and a share in common grazings used with neighbouring crofters.
The house itself may or may not still be part of the croft. Many croft houses were decrofted years ago, while others remain under crofting tenure even though the family has treated them as an ordinary home for generations. To find out, your solicitor will check:
- Your title deeds and title sheet in the Land Register or Register of Sasines.
- The Crofting Register: the map based register of crofts, common grazings and land held in common, introduced under the Crofting Reform (Scotland) Act 2010 and kept by Registers of Scotland.
- The Register of Crofts: the older administrative record kept by the Crofting Commission, which also shows tenancies, owner-occupier status and past decisions such as decrofting directions.
Our guide to how the Land Register works when you sell explains the ordinary title side. The crofting registers sit alongside it and are checked separately.
Tenanted croft or owner-occupied croft: why does it matter?
This is the single most important question, because it decides what you are able to sell. The table below compares the three common situations.
| Tenanted croft | Owner-occupied croft | Decrofted house site | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who owns the land? | The landlord | You | You |
| Can you sell it? | Not the land. You can assign the tenancy with Commission consent, or buy first | Yes, the land and house pass to the buyer | Yes, like any other house |
| Does the buyer take on crofting duties? | Yes, as the new tenant | Yes, as an owner-occupier crofter | No |
| Mortgage for the buyer? | Not available on a tenancy | Difficult while the land is under crofting tenure | Usually available, subject to the lender |
| Crofting Commission role | Must consent to the assignation | Duties continue and the croft must be registered | Normally none once the decrofting is registered |
What duties come with a croft?
Tenant crofters and owner-occupier crofters have the same core duties under crofting law. They must:
- Live nearby: be ordinarily resident on, or within 32 km of, the croft.
- Use the land: cultivate and maintain the croft, or put it to another purposeful use.
- Look after it: not misuse or neglect the croft.
If you need to live elsewhere for a time, you can apply to the Crofting Commission for consent to be absent. Where a breach of duty is reported, for example by a grazings committee or a member of the local crofting community, the Commission must investigate and give the crofter a chance to put things right. If that does not happen, it can ultimately end a tenancy or require an owner-occupied croft to be let to someone else.
These duties shape who can buy. A buyer must genuinely intend to live locally and use the land, so a croft rarely suits someone looking for a holiday home or a weekend retreat. That narrows the market compared with an ordinary rural house.
Good to know: If you have moved away and the croft has been left unused, take advice before you market it. Unresolved absence or neglect can come to light when the buyer’s solicitor checks the Commission’s records, and it can delay an assignation or sale. Our guide on what sellers in Scotland must disclose explains why being upfront pays off.
How do you sell a tenanted croft?
As a tenant you do not own the croft land, so you cannot sell it. You have two main options.
Option 1: assign the croft tenancy
An assignation transfers your tenancy to a new crofter. It needs the Crofting Commission’s consent, and the application is usually advertised so that people with an interest can comment. The Commission looks at the interests of the estate and the crofting community and whether the incoming tenant will meet the crofting duties. In practice the incoming tenant usually pays the outgoing tenant for the tenancy and the croft house, and offers are often made subject to Commission approval.
A company cannot normally hold a croft tenancy, so property companies and most investors cannot take an assignation. Your buyer will be an individual who wants to croft.
Option 2: use your right to buy, then sell
A tenant crofter has a statutory right to buy the croft house site and garden, and can also seek to buy the croft land. You try to agree terms with the landlord first. If that fails, you can apply to the Scottish Land Court, which can order the landlord to sell. The right to buy the house site is the stronger of the two, while the Court can refuse an application for croft land in some circumstances, for example where the landlord shows it would cause them substantial hardship or harm the sound management of the estate.
Where the price cannot be agreed, the Crofters (Scotland) Act 1993 sets out how the Land Court fixes it:
| Item | What the law says |
|---|---|
| Price of croft land | The “crofting value”: the share of the annual croft rent attributable to the land, multiplied by 15 |
| Price of the house site | The open market value of the bare site, assuming no buildings, vacant possession and no development permission |
| Clawback | If the land is sold within ten years of purchase to someone outside your family, the former landlord can claim half the difference between its market value and the price you paid |
| Main exceptions to clawback | Transfers to family members and leases for crofting or agricultural purposes |
Because of the clawback, buying croft land cheaply and selling it on quickly is rarely as profitable as it first appears. Your solicitor can work out whether clawback would apply to your plans. Buying the land also makes you an owner-occupier crofter, so the croft stays under crofting law until it is decrofted.
Why is decrofting the house site so important?
Banks and building societies generally will not lend on a house that is still under crofting tenure. Decrofting releases the house and its garden ground from crofting, which usually makes it mortgageable and opens it up to ordinary buyers. For many sellers it is the single step that makes the biggest difference to price and speed.
An owner-occupier crofter, a landlord of a vacant croft, or a tenant who intends to buy the site can apply to the Crofting Commission for a decrofting direction. The Crofting Commission’s published procedure explains that:
- Registration comes first: the croft must be on the Crofting Register, or an application for first registration made within six months of the decrofting application.
- The area must be reasonable: the Commission must be satisfied the garden ground is appropriate for the reasonable enjoyment of the house as a home, and only one house site per croft can be decrofted this way.
- Access matters: the Commission checks that access to the remaining croft land is protected.
- Objections and appeals: a landlord can object, and the applicant or landlord can appeal to the Land Court within 42 days.
- Timing for tenants: a direction for a tenant has no effect until the tenant buys the site, which must happen within five years, and the direction must be registered.
Decrofting other land, such as a field for a new house plot, is a separate “reasonable purpose” application and is often linked to planning permission.
Can you sell an owner-occupied croft?
Yes. If you own the croft, you can sell the land and house together. The buyer becomes the owner-occupier crofter and takes on the same duties to live nearby and use the land. If the croft is not yet on the Crofting Register, the transfer of ownership triggers first registration, which the new owner applies for with a plan of the croft and a fee. Your solicitor will want to check the Commission’s records for any breaches, unapproved changes or shares in common grazings before the sale goes ahead.
If you would rather sell the house to a wider market, a common approach is to decroft the house site and garden, sell the house on its own, and either keep the croft land or sell it separately to a neighbouring crofter or new entrant. Your solicitor can advise whether splitting the croft in this way makes sense for you.
What is changing under the Crofting and Scottish Land Court Act 2026?
The Scottish Parliament passed the Crofting and Scottish Land Court Bill on 24 March 2026, and it received Royal Assent on 18 May 2026. The Crofting and Scottish Land Court Act 2026 is the biggest update to crofting law for years. Among other things, it:
- Strengthens the Crofting Commission’s enforcement powers, including monetary penalties.
- Recognises environmental uses of crofts alongside agriculture.
- Changes the rules on assigning a croft to a family member.
- Gives Scottish Ministers power to set conditions on the sale of owner-occupied crofts, such as requiring the Commission’s prior consent.
- Requires guidance on absence from crofts and makes changes to decrofting and boundaries.
- Merges the Scottish Land Court and the Lands Tribunal for Scotland.
The timing is the important part for sellers. Apart from a few technical sections, the Act only takes effect on dates the Scottish Ministers set in regulations, and as of October 2026 the official legislation website still lists its crofting provisions as prospective. For now, the existing rules described in this guide continue to apply, but the position may change during 2026 and 2027. Ask your solicitor or the Crofting Commission what is in force before you commit to a sale.
How does crofting affect the value of your property?
A croft house that is still under crofting tenure usually appeals to a smaller group of buyers: people who want to croft, live locally and can buy without a standard mortgage. A decrofted house sells much more like any other rural home, so the price gap can be significant. Remote location, access and services also play a part, and our guide to what can reduce the value of a house in Scotland covers these factors in more detail.
Your Home Report surveyor should be told about the crofting position so the valuation reflects it, and you should be open with buyers about it from the start. Crofts often come with other rural questions too, so you may find our guides to selling a house with a septic tank, private water supplies, unadopted roads and agricultural occupancy conditions helpful.
Good to know: A cash buyer can usually only buy what you are able to sell outright. If the house is still part of a tenanted croft, a company cannot take over the tenancy, so the usual route is to buy and decroft the house site first. If you own the house site, or it has already been decrofted, a cash sale can work much like any other.
Practical steps before you sell a croft or croft house
- Establish the status. Ask your solicitor to check the title, the Crofting Register and the Register of Crofts so you know whether the house and land are tenanted, owner-occupied or decrofted.
- Get specialist advice. You will need a solicitor for the sale in any case, and one with crofting experience can save a great deal of time.
- Check your duties. If you live more than 32 km away or the land is unused, talk to the Commission about consent to be absent or other solutions.
- Choose your route. Assign the tenancy, buy and then sell, decroft the house site, or sell the owner-occupied croft as a whole.
- Register early. If the croft is not on the Crofting Register, start the process in good time.
- Plan your timescale. Commission applications, advertising periods and any Land Court hearing all add time, so read up on how long a Scottish sale normally takes and allow extra.
If you have inherited a croft or croft house, the executor needs to deal with the tenancy or title as part of winding up the estate. Our guide to inheriting a home in Scotland covers the wider process, and you should take crofting advice early because tenancies have their own succession rules.
Frequently asked questions
Can I sell my croft house without the croft land?
Yes, if the house site has been decrofted and you own it. If the house is still part of the croft, you would normally need to decroft the house site and garden first, and if you are a tenant, buy the site from the landlord.
Do I have to live on the croft?
A crofter must be ordinarily resident on, or within 32 km of, the croft. If you need to live further away for a period, you can apply to the Crofting Commission for consent to be absent.
Can a buyer get a mortgage on a croft?
Mainstream lenders generally will not lend on land or a house that is still under crofting tenure. Decrofting the house site usually solves this for the house, although the croft land itself will normally still need to be bought with cash or specialist finance.
What is crofting clawback?
If you buy croft land from your landlord under the right to buy and then sell it within ten years to someone outside your family, the former landlord can claim half of the difference between the market value and the price you paid.
Is the Crofting Register the same as the Land Register?
No. The Land Register records ownership of land, while the Crofting Register maps crofts, common grazings and land held in common. Both are kept by Registers of Scotland, and a croft can appear on both.
Can I sell a croft house to a cash buyer?
Often yes, once the house site is owned and decrofted. A cash buyer does not need a mortgage, which helps with remote or unusual properties, but the offer will reflect the property’s position. Our guide on why cash buyers offer less explains the trade off.
Thinking of selling a croft house?
Once your croft house is yours to sell, we can make a free, no obligation cash offer. No viewings, no chain and a date of entry that suits you.
