Foreshore - Sift Instructions

Foreshore is the name for the area of land (beach or coast) which lies between the high and low water marks. In Scots law, foreshore is presumed to belong to the Crown, even if the land adjoining the foreshore is privately owned. Because of this, any disposition which attempts to convey foreshore will need to be closely examined.

How will I recognise foreshore?

• The property description of the application form might include the word foreshore.
• The further information section of the application form might include the word foreshore.
• Supporting documents such as a covering letter or inventory might refer to foreshore.
• The property description in the disposition might specifically refer to foreshore
• The plan – especially for VR applications – might include foreshore. Look out for the abbreviations MHWS and MLWS on the deed plan. This indicates the line for high and low tides, so if the deed plan includes ground between these two points, the tile includes foreshore.

What else do I need to know?

• The law relating to foreshore is different in Orkney and Shetland. This might make a difference to the eventual title sheet, but it doesn’t make any difference during the sift.
• Occasionally, some deeds might attempt to include foreshore even if they omit the word foreshore. The thing to look out for here is that the deed describes the subjects as being bounded by the sea, river, or lowest ebb. If any of these words are included as part of the bounding description, please add foreshore as a case characteristic.

 Form examples