The Register of Persons Holding a Controlled Interest in Land (RCI) is a new register affecting land in Scotland that will be open for submissions from 1st April 2022. All owners of land and buildings in Scotland and tenants under long leases (that is, a lease of more than 20 years) are potentially affected and so will need to know about the RCI and understand if they need to register.

Why has the RCI been introduced?

The RCI has been set up as part of the Scottish Government’s ongoing land reform agenda. It aims to improve the transparency of land ownership in Scotland by making it possible to “look behind” the registered owner or tenant of land to see who is really in control of it. The intention is that the new register will allow interested parties (such as members of the local community) to find out who the true decision-makers are in respect of the land and to then engage with those people directly.

Isn’t the owner or tenant of land already shown on the existing Land Register?

Yes, but the aim of the RCI is to deal with situations where the registered owner or tenant and the person actually in control of the land are not the same, or where the person in control of the land is not clear. Some examples are:

  • where an individual owns or tenants land but it is really held for the benefit of a partnership
  • where a partnership owns or tenants land, but the individual partners have changed
  • where trustees own or tenant land, but the individual trustees have changed
  • where the land is owned or tenanted by an unincorporated body (such as a sports club) with office bearers making decisions on behalf of the members
  • where the owner or tenant is an overseas entity.

Who needs to register in the RCI?

Where a person or body is the owner of land or tenant under a long lease and someone else has significant control or influence over that land, then the owner or tenant has a duty to register in the RCI. In the language of the new register, the owner or tenant is the “Recorded Person” and those with control over decisions about the land are “Associates”.

What are the duties of a Recorded Person?

The Recorded Person has a duty to supply certain information to the RCI as from 1 April 2022. Failure to do so, or giving false or misleading information, is a criminal offence (although there will be a 12 month transitional period before this is enforced from 1 April 2023).

The Recorded Person will need to provide all of the required information to the RCI about themselves, the land and their Associates, including names and contact addresses. It is also up to the Recorded Person to inform their Associates of their duties and rights under the RCI regulations. Any changes must be notified to the RCI within 60 days.

The RCI will be free to submit to and to search.

What are the duties of an Associate?

Associates must supply the required information to the Recorded Person, confirm it is correct and inform the Recorded Person of any changes.

Are there any exemptions?

To avoid duplication of information that is already publicly available, owners or tenants of land that are already covered by other similar rules or transparency regimes do not need to supply information to the new RCI. Examples are:

  • UK registered limited companies and LLPs
  • SCIOs or CIOs
  • Public Authorities.

It will also be possible for Recorded Persons and Associates to apply for a Security Declaration, which will prevent their information appearing on the public register if they are at serious risk of violence or abuse, for example victims of domestic violence.

Will agricultural tenancies be caught by the regulations?

Agricultural tenancies will only be caught if they were originally granted for a period in excess of 20 years, as only leases of more than 20 years need to be registered in the Land Register or Register of Sasines. Agricultural tenants under leases that were initially granted for less than 20 years but which have run on by tacit relocation or statutory extension will not therefore need to register. However tenants under Limited Duration Tenancies or Modern Limited Duration Tenancies with an initial term of more than 20 years will be in scope of the RCI.

How can I find out more?

For further information and advice about the new RCI and how it may affect you, please contact a member of our team.