Hacker Newsnew | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submitlogin

Do you mean, get land ownership details from the Registers of Scotland? This OP project is for England and Wales only; Scottish land ownership is tracked by a separate organisation with better transparency rules. edit: they still charge £24 per property ownership lookup…

I would hardly describe the landed estates of Scotland as 'notoriously unequal'; Much of the land in England is sold as leasehold, such that your house in Lambeth will revert to the Archbishop of Canterbury in 99 years unless some legal procedure (and fee, and solicitor's consideration) is paid (usually when selling). In Scotland, the leasehold is nigh-non-existent, and the standard ownership is a freehold (the property owner own the property in perpetuity).

I think this project is to highlight the rent-seeking behaviour of the leaseholders.



In Scotland the leasehold was abolished in 2004, it doesn't exist.

http://www.gov.scot/Publications/2004/08/19790/41578


It's unequal insofar as so much of the country is owned by such a small number of people, Scotland's supposedly the worst in the West in that respect.


Surely Lichtenstein, Monaco, San Marino, etc. would be worse, and I know the Papal State has fewer landholders…


The relevant figure is the proportion of owners to population, not the absolute numbers.


What an exciting new development in the classification of this group! Could one say, those examples are no comparison to the true state of land ownership in Scotland?

That's a fallacy with an entirely-appropriate name.


Your comparison was a straw man in the first place.




Consider applying for YC's Winter 2026 batch! Applications are open till Nov 10

Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: