Scottish lairds may be forced to break up estates during land sales

Bill proposes dividing large estates into smaller lots to spread land ownership and boost rural populations

Scottish lairds will be ordered to break up their estates into smaller parcels during sales under plans to reverse the country’s heavily concentrated patterns of land ownership.

A land reform bill proposes introducing rules that could force someone selling an estate larger than 1,000 hectares (2,740 acres) to divide it into smaller lots, if it is was needed to increase the number of people owning land or living in the area.