In Scotland a croft is a small parcel of agricultural land that is occupied and farmed by a crofter who pays rent to the landlord who owns the land. The rent is fixed by law, and is minimal.

Crofts are situated in one of the counties of Shetland, Orkney, Caithness, Sutherland, Ross-shire, Inverness-shire and Argyll in the north of Scotland, and held subject to the provisions of the Crofting Acts. The first crofting act was passed in 1886 to give security of tenure to crofters, protecting them from further forced removal from the land (see the Highland Clearances). The legislation that covers crofting was consolidated into the Crofters (Scotland) Act 1993. Crofting is regulated by the Crofters Commission , based in Inverness.

Since 1976 it has been legally possible for a crofter to acquire title to his croft, thus becoming an owner-occupier.

External links

• Scottish Crofting Foundation
• Crofters Comission