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Practical guidance for owning and managing land in the public interest

Public bodies play a vital role in shaping how land and buildings are used across Scotland. Decisions about public land influence local services, community wellbeing, regeneration, housing delivery and economic opportunity.

The Scottish Land Commission provides clear, practical advice to help public bodies put the principles of the Land Rights and Responsibilities Statement (LRRS) into practice and demonstrate leadership in the responsible ownership and use of land.

Our advice and guidance

Our guidance supports public bodies to make transparent, inclusive and forward-looking decisions that deliver lasting public value.

We provide tools and resources to support public bodies in managing land and assets responsibly and in line with the Land Rights and Responsibilities Statement (LRRS) which sets clear expectations around how both private and public landowners should own, manage and engage on land in the public interest. These include:

Protocols - practical steps for applying the LRRS in areas such as transparency, community engagement and opportunities for ownership, lease and use.

Guidance and toolkits - covering community wealth building, community benefits, vacant and derelict land, governance and more.

Events and training - online and in-person sessions to build confidence and support good practice.

Case studies and stories - real examples showing how public bodies are using land to deliver positive outcomes.

Key expectations

Community engagement

Creating meaningful, and wherever possible, early, opportunities for people to input on decisions that affect them, particularly where land use may change or significantly impact the local area.

Transparency

Making clear, accessible information available about land ownership, decision-making, plans and contacts.

Opportunities for ownership, lease and use

Ensuring that communities and local enterprises can access public land where appropriate, including through Community Asset Transfer or partnership approaches.

Community wealth building

Using land and buildings to strengthen local economies, support local enterprise and ensure that public assets deliver broad social and economic value.

Common Good

Managing Common Good land in ways that reflect its purpose and ensure decisions are transparent and accountable to local communities.

Vacant and derelict land

Taking proactive steps to bring underused or abandoned public assets back into productive use.

Access toolkits and guides to support you in delivering on these actions.

How we support public landowners

Public bodies often approach us for guidance on applying good practice to real decisions. These are some of the most common questions we help with.

Why should we engage communities early?

Early engagement builds trust, reduces risk and helps shape proposals that better meet local needs. Our early engagement guidance and LRRS protocols set out what meaningful, timely conversations look like in practice.
How can we demonstrate transparency around how we are managing public land?

Transparency means being open about ownership, plans and decision-making processes. It also means providing a clear route for questions and concerns. Our transparency protocol outlines practical steps to get this right.
As a local authority, how should we manage Common Good Land and Buildings?

Local authorities have a duty in managing Common Good assets to consider the interests of the residents of the former Royal burgh where the assets are located. There are duties to engage on and publish registers of Common Good assets and to engage with communities on disposal and change of use these assets. The Commission’s protocol on Common Good and the Scottish Government’s statutory guidance for local authorities provide more information.
What can we do to support bringing Vacant and Derelict sites back into use?

We have published a wide range of resources to help people get started on tackling vacant and derelict land. Some steps to consider are reviewing entries on the Vacant and Derelict Land Register, identifying smaller vacant and derelict sites that require action, looking at boundaries of existing projects to identify opportunities to include VDL sites in the work, exploring funding options for bringing sites back in to use, and identifying partners who may wish to work with you, including communities.
What should we consider in relation to Community Asset Transfer?

Community organisations have a right to request to take over publicly-owned land or buildings that they feel they can make better use of for local people through Community Asset Transfer (CAT) processes. CAT operates with a presumption in favour of the community proposal which means that transfer should be supported unless there are reasonable grounds for refusal. Good practice involves being open to approaches from communities, sharing relevant information that might help during the acquisition process, and supporting communities to explore options for management and use of land and buildings. You should be transparent about processes, meet the timeframes set out in the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015, and consider transfers for best value, not just financial value.
Not all transfers to communities have to go through CAT processes. Negotiated transfers are still possible. However, if a community wishes to use the CAT process they should not be discouraged or prevented from using it.
Our protocol on Opportunities for Ownership, Use and Lease of Land, governance guide, community wealth building guidance and case studies offer practical insight.

Community Wealth Building and land

This guidance supports public bodies to use the land and buildings they own, manage or influence in ways that strengthen local economies and deliver wider community benefit.

Community Wealth Building and Land guidance

As anchor institutions, public bodies shape places through their investment, spending, employment and stewardship of assets. The guidance outlines practical steps for coordinating land-related decisions across departments, ensuring staff work together to make best use of public assets and contribute to fair, resilient and community-led local development.

ACCESS THE GUIDE

Good practice in action

Across Scotland, landowners and managers are putting the Land Rights and Responsibilities Statement into practice. Our case studies and news posts highlight how good stewardship, community engagement and transparent decision-making work on the ground, and the difference these approaches can make for landowners, communities and the wider public.

READ CASE STUDIES AND STORIES

Related areas of our work

Good practice in landownership connects to other parts of the Commission’s work:

Get in touch

If you’d like to discuss your situation in more detail, you can speak to one of our advisers.

There are 3 main ways to get in touch:

Call us on 01463 423 300
Email us at goodpractice@landcommission.gov.scot
Fill in the online contact form to tell us a bit about your situation.

We handle all conversations sensitively. However, as a public body, we are subject to Freedom of Information legislation. You can read more about how we handle personal information in our casework privacy policy.