House Letting and Rating (Scotland) Act 1911
| Jurisdiction | UK Non-devolved |
| Citation | 1911 c. 53 |
| Year | 1911 |
House Letting and Rating (Scotland) Act, 1911
(1 & 2 Geo. 5.) CHAPTER 53.
An Act to amend the Law as to the Letting and Rating of small Dwelling-houses in Scotland; and for other purposes relating thereto.
[16th December 1911]
Be it enacted by the King's most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
1 Interpretation.
1. In this Act—
The expression ‘small dwelling-house’ means a dwelling-house in a burgh or special district in which this Act is in ope ration, entered in the valuation roll at a yearly rent or value of—
Ten pounds or under if the population of the burgh or special district is less than twenty thousand;
Fifteen pounds or under if the population of the burgh or special district is twenty thousand and less than fifty thousand; and
Twenty-one pounds or under if the population of the burgh or special district is fifty thousand or upwards;
but shall not include any dwelling-house occupied by the owner thereof, or in which the owner resides, or any dwelling-house used as an inn or hotel, or any dwelling-house let along with land for agricultural, pastoral, or horticultural purposes, or any dwelling-house let in conjunction with a shop, workshop, stable, or byre; nor shall it include any dwelling-house let under any contract or lease current at the passing of this Act prior to the expiration of such contract or lease:
The expression ‘assessing authority’ includes a town council, a county council, a parish council, and every other body entitled to impose an assessment:
The expression ‘assessment’ includes all rates, charges, and assessments imposed, assessed, or levied by an assessing authority, the proceeds of which are applicable to public local purposes and which are leviable in respect of the yearly value of lands and heritages, and includes any sum which, though obtained in the first instance by a precept, certificate, or other instrument requiring payment from some authority or officer, is or can be ultimately raised out of an assessment:
The expression ‘magistrate’ includes judge of police:
The expressions ‘owner’ and ‘occupier’ have the meanings assigned to them respectively in the Burgh Police (Scotland) Act, 1892; provided that section fifty-eight of the Burgh Police (Scotland) Act, 1903(which limits the obligations of factors), shall apply for the purposes of this Act as if it were herein re-enacted with the substitution of this Act for the Burgh Police Acts specified in the said section:
The expression ‘burgh’ means a royal, parliamentary, or police burgh; and the expression ‘population’ means, in relation to an existing burgh, the population within the police boundaries thereof according to the census of nineteen hundred and eleven, and, in relation to a burgh constituted after the passing of this Act or to a special district, the population thereof as ascertained for the purposes of this Act in manner approved by the Secretary for Scotland:
The expression ‘special district’ means a special district formed in a county under the Public Health (Scotland) Act, 1897, or the Local Government (Scotland) Acts, 1889 to 1908, for the purposes of water supply, drainage, lighting, or scavenging.
2 Time limit to missives.
2. No agreement, whether verbal or written, for the let of a small dwelling-house shall be binding, if the same has been made more than two months prior to the commencement of such let.
3 Lawful date for termination of let.
3. Notwithstanding the date of entry to any small dwelling-house, all lets of such dwelling-houses, except those for a shorter period than one month, shall terminate and shall be terminable only at noon on the twenty-eighth day of a month, or, when that day is a Sunday, on the Monday next following, and all lets of small dwelling-houses for a shorter period than one month shall terminate and shall be terminable at noon on a Monday.
4 Notice to terminate let.
4. Notice to terminate the let of a small dwelling-house on the day upon which the next payment of rent falls due may be given by either the owner or the occupier, and shall be given by either party in accordance with the provisions of the Sheriff Courts (Scotland) Act, 1907, with respect to notice to terminate a tenancy, but (except as herein-after mentioned) shall expire only at noon on the day upon which the next payment of rent falls due, unless that day is not a lawful date for the termination of a let under this Act, in which case it shall expire only at noon on the lawful date next following the said day: Provided that—
5 Removal of occupier in arrear with rent.
5. Notwithstanding anything herein-before contained, if the occupier of a small dwelling-house shall at any time be in arrear with the rent of the same for a period of not less than seven days, the owner shall be entitled to give to such occupier notice to terminate the let as and from the expiry of forty-eight hours from the date of such notice, and the production of a certificate signed by or on behalf of the owner that the occupier is in arrear with rent for a period of not less than seven days shall be prim facie evidence thereof in any process to follow thereon.
6 Summary application for removing.
(1) If any occupier shall fail to remove from a small dwelling-house upon the expiration of notice to terminate the let in terms of this Act, it shall be lawful for the owner or any person on his behalf to present to the sheriff, or other court at the passing of this Act exercising jurisdiction in summary removings, a summary application for removing, and a decree pronounced on such summary application shall have the full force and effect of a decree of removing and warrant of ejection: Provided that in any burgh where at the passing of this Act the sheriff court is the only court exercising jurisdiction in respect of summary applications, such applications in respect of small dwelling-houses may be presented to the burgh police court, and the same procedure shall be followed in that court in respect thereof as in the sheriff court.
(2) In any summary application for removing as aforesaid no delay beyond forty-eight hours shall be granted by the sheriff or magistrate to the occupier of a small dwelling-house, unless on cause shown (which cause the sheriff or magistrate shall state in his order granting delay), or on caution for, or consignation of, the rent due being found or made as the case may be.
7 Provisions as to rating of...
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