Patrick Colquhoun, assistant chief executive of Luss Estates, which owns almost 50,000 acres of land around Loch Lomond, said the legislation could lead to an “infringement” on property rights.
Mr Colquhoun, who is also vice-chairman of Scottish Land and Estates, told the BBC’s Scotcast podcast that he feared the definition of a large landholding could be reduced in future.
“Already the government are being pressed to reduce that down to 500 (hectares), then it’s 200, then it’s 10, then it’s five and suddenly your plot at home, your garden ground could be under threat,” he said.
Some lawyers have also raised concerns. Don Macleod, head of land and property at law firm Turcan Connell, described the bill, external as “junk”, arguing that ambiguity over the definition of a large landholding could make the law “unworkable and impossible”.
Community Land Scotland, which represents community landowners, said the bill, external was a “step forward” for land reform.
However, it warned that the measures did not “go far enough to meaningfully intervene in the land market and change landownership patterns”.