A crofter may, failing agreement with the landlord as to the acquisition by the crofter of croft land tenanted by him, apply to the Land Court for an order authorising him to make such acquisition.

A crofter shall be entitled to a conveyance of the site of the dwelling-house on or pertaining to the croft tenanted by him, and a cottar shall be entitled to a conveyance of the site of the dwelling-house on or pertaining to his subject, and the crofter or cottar may, failing agreement with the landlord, apply to the Land Court for an order requiring the landlord to grant such a conveyance.

In this Act “cottar” means the occupier of a dwelling-house situated in the crofting counties with or without land who pays no rent, or the tenant from year to year of a dwelling-house situated as aforesaid who resides therein and who pays therefor an annual rent not exceeding £6, whether with or without garden ground but without arable or pasture land.

The Land Court, in making an order in accordance with subsection (1)(a) above, may provide that the authorisation to acquire is conditional on the crofter granting a lease to the landlord of the shooting rights over or the fishing rights pertaining to the croft land and shall so provide where it is satisfied that if such a lease were not granted the interests of the landlord in the shooting or fishing rights of which the rights being acquired by the crofter form part would be materially affected; and any such lease shall be at such nominal annual rent, for such period of not less than 20 years and subject to such other terms and conditions as the Land Court may specify.

The Land Court, in making an order in accordance with subsection (1)(a) above, may include the condition that the crofter shall grant a standard security in favour of the landlord to secure any sum which may become payable to him or his personal representative under section 14(3) of this Act in the event of disposal of the croft land or any part thereof.

Where the Land Court makes an order in accordance with section 13(1)(a) of this Act and the crofter and the landlord have failed to reach agreement about the consideration payable in respect of the acquisition, the consideration shall, subject to subsection (3) below, be the crofting value of the croft land specified in the order as determined by the Land Court under subsection (2) below.

The crofting value of the croft land, as determined by the Land Court for the purposes of subsection (1) above, shall be such amount as the Land Court may determine to be the proportion attributable to the croft land of the current rent payable for the croft of which the croft land forms part, such amount being multiplied by the factor of 15:

Provided that the Land Court, on an application made to it by the landlord at any time before it makes a final order under section 13(1) of this Act, may determine a fair rent for the croft which shall be deemed to be the current rent for the purposes of this subsection; and section 6(4) of this Act shall apply for the purposes of this proviso as if for the word “parties” there were substituted the words “landlord and the crofter”.

If the relevant land comprises only part of the land which was acquired under section 13(1) of this Act, the Land Court may, failing agreement between the parties concerned, on an application made to it by the person disposing of the relevant land or the landlord referred to in the said section 13(1) or his personal representative, determine for the purposes of subsection (3)(b) above the proportion of the amount of the consideration which was paid under subsection (1) above in respect of the relevant land.

No payment shall be made under subsection (3) above in respect of the disposal of the relevant land in a case where payment is made in respect of such disposal in accordance with an agreement entered into between the landlord and the person disposing of that land.

The Land Court, on an application made to it under section 12(2) of this Act, may make an order requiring the landlord to convey the site of the dwelling-house to the crofter or cottar or his nominee with such boundaries and subject to such terms and conditions as, failing agreement, may be specified in the order.

The Land Court in making an order under subsection (1) above may determine that any of the expenses of the conveyance of the site and other expenses necessarily incurred by the landlord in relation thereto shall be borne by the crofter or cottar:

Provided that where the order relates to the conveyance of the site of the dwelling-house on or pertaining to a croft, any such determination shall be subject to the condition that the conveyance is not included in a deed which also provides for the conveyance of croft land.

Failing agreement between the parties as to the amount of such expenses, the auditor of the Land Court may, on the application of either party, determine such amount; and may determine that the expenses of taxing such expenses shall be borne by the parties in such proportion as he thinks fit.

A landlord shall have power to execute a valid conveyance in pursuance of sections 12 to 15 of this Act, notwithstanding that he may be under any such disability as is mentioned in section 7 of the [1845 c. 19.] Lands Clauses Consolidation (Scotland) Act 1845.

Where the Land Court is satisfied, on the application of the crofter or cottar or his nominee that the landlord has failed to execute a conveyance of land in favour of such person in compliance with an order under section 13(1) or 15(1) of this Act within such time as the Land Court considers reasonable, it shall make an order authorising its principal clerk to execute the conveyance and such other deeds as adjusted at his sight as may be necessary to give effect to the order; and a conveyance executed by the principal clerk under this subsection shall have the like force and effect in all respects as if it had been executed by the landlord.

Where the principal clerk of the Land Court has executed a conveyance in pursuance of subsection (2) above, the Land Court may make such order as it thinks fit with regard to the payment of the consideration in respect of the conveyance and in particular providing for the distribution of the sum comprised in the consideration according to the respective estates or interests of persons making claim to such sum.

Notwithstanding that the Land Court has made an order under section 13(1) or 15(1) of this Act determining the terms and conditions on which land is to be conveyed, the crofter or, as the case may be, the cottar and the landlord may arrange for the conveyance of the land on any other terms and conditions that they may agree.

Where a person other than the landlord is infeft in the subjects to be conveyed, the second references in sections 12(2) and 13(1) of this Act and the reference in the said section 15(1) and in the foregoing provisions of this section to the landlord shall be construed as references to the landlord and such other person for their respective rights.

The Land Court in specifying in an order under the said section 13(1) or 15(1) the terms and conditions on which land is to be conveyed shall have regard to any existing land obligations as defined in section 1(2) of the [1970 c. 35.] Conveyancing and Feudal Reform (Scotland) Act 1970 relating to such land.

Where the landlords are the National Trust for Scotland, they shall not be required to convey land by an order of the Land Court under the said section 13(1) or 15(1) otherwise than by a grant in feu; but section 4(2) of the Order confirmed by the [1947 c. xxxviii.] National Trust for Scotland Order Confirmation Act 1947 (which requires the consent of the Lord Advocate to grants in feu by the Trust exceeding 8 hectares) shall not apply to such a grant.

Where the Land Court is satisfied, on the application of the landlord, that the crofter or his nominee has failed to execute a standard security in favour of the landlord in compliance with a condition imposed by the Land Court under section 13(4) of this Act within such time as the Land Court considers reasonable, it shall make an order authorising its principal clerk to execute the standard security; and a standard security executed by the principal clerk under this subsection shall have the like force and effect in all respects as if it had been executed by the crofter or his nominee.

An order of the Land Court under section 13(1)(a) or 15(1) of this Act shall have effect for a period of 2 years from the date of intimation of the order or for such other period as may at any time be agreed to in writing by the crofter or, as the case may be, the cottar and the landlord or as may be determined by the Land Court on the application of either party.

Where the landlords are the National Trust for Scotland, the Land Court, in making an order under the said section 13(1) or 15(1), shall have regard to the purposes of the Trust.

A compulsory purchase order which authorises the compulsory purchase of land, being land which was held inalienably by the National Trust for Scotland on the date of the passing of this Act and was acquired from the Trust by a crofter in pursuance of an order under section 13(1) or 15(1) of this Act, shall in so far as it so authorises be subject to special parliamentary procedure in any case where an objection has been duly made by the Trust under the [1947 c. 42.] Acquisition of Land (Authorisation Procedure)(Scotland) Act 1947 and has not been withdrawn; and in this subsection “held inalienably” has the same meaning as in section 7(1) of the said Act of 1947.

Where the site of the dwelling-house on or pertaining to a croft has been acquired after the passing of this Act by a person, who immediately before the acquisition was the tenant of the croft, that person and the wife or husband of that person may, so long as either of them continues to occupy the subjects conveyed, enjoy any right to cut and take peats for the use of those subjects which that person enjoyed immediately before the acquisition:

Provided that this subsection is without prejudice to any right to cut and take peats effeiring to the tenancy of the remainder of the croft.

Any person acquiring croft land shall, unless and until the land ceases to be a croft by a direction of the Commission under section 24(3) of this Act, be required to give notice to the Commission of the change of ownership of the land.

Any question arising under subsection (1) above as to the day from which the outstanding amount is deemed to be a loan shall be determined by the Land Court.

Any rights of HIE created under subsection (1) above shall be postponed to any rights, whensoever constituted, of the Secretary of State under that subsection; and such rights of the Secretary of State and HIE shall have priority over any other loan in respect of which the crofter or the cottar or his nominee as owner of the site of the dwelling-house is under any liability and shall be postponed only to such items as are referred to in heads (i), (ii) and (iii) of paragraph 4(b) of Schedule 9 to the [1987 c. 26.] Housing (Scotland) Act 1987.