McArthur urges Scottish Government to close loopholes on misleading land sales

Orkney’s MSP, Liam McArthur has today urged the Scottish Government to take steps to raise public awareness of misleading land sale ‘scams’ and asked the Minister for Victims and Community Safety to work with UK counterparts to identify and close any loopholes which allow these practices to happen.

Mr McArthur raised the issue during Justice portfolio questions in the Scottish Parliament this afternoon. It follows reports over the past year of plots of land in Orkney and across the Highlands & Islands being misleadingly advertised as suitable for development, including housing. 

In response, the Minister, Siobhian Brown acknowledged the challenges and committed to work with him to look at how they might be best addressed. Ms Brown also acknowledged Mr McArthur’s correspondence with the Rural Affairs Secretary, Mairi Gougeon seeking to explore the possibility of amending the Land Reform bill at Stage 3 to address elements of this issue.  Mr McArthur is due to meet the Cabinet Secretary next week.

Commenting after the exchange, Mr McArthur said:

“While the actions of operators like Rightmove to review their listings and reinforce the need for transparency in seller advertisements are welcome, it is clear that more needs to be done to raise public awareness of these scams and close any loopholes being exploited by unscrupulous sellers to mislead potential buyers.

“I welcome the Minister’s willingness to consider the issue further and look forward to meeting with her colleague, the Rural Affairs Secretary to see if some of the issues might be addressed through amendment to the Land Reform Bill. 

“Ultimately buyers must be confident that there are adequate protections in place, and local communities also deserve better than local land being misleadingly marketed for development or housing. Hopefully this can be achieved through further action by the Scottish Government based on the commitments given by the Minister in parliament today.”