Land Tenure Reform (Scotland) Act 1974
| Year | 1974 |
Land Tenure Reform(Scotland) Act 1974
1974 CHAPTER 38
An Act to provide, as respects Scotland, for the prohibition of new feuduties and other periodical payments from land; for the right to redeem feuduties and other such perpetual payments on a term day; for the redemption by law of feuduties and other such payments on transfer of land; for limitations on the residential use of property subject to long lease and other rights of occupancy; for the variation of heritable securities in the event of residential use of the security subjects; for restrictions on certain rights of reversion, redemption and pre-emption; for limitation of the right to raise an action of irritancy for non-payment of feuduty; for abolition of the right to create leasehold casualties; for the recognition of interposed leases; for amendment of the law relating to registration of leases; for abolition of the registration and recording of documents in the Office of Chancery; and for related matters.
[31st July 1974]
Be it enacted by the Queen'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:—
Part I
Feuduties, Etc.Prohibition of Future Feuduties, and Redemption of
1 Prohibition of new feuduties.
(1) No deed executed after the Commencement of this Act shall impose feuduty; but a deed executed after that date which contains a grant of land in feu shall have effect otherwise as if the grant were subject to a feuduty.
(2) A provision in a deed executed after such commencement which purports to impose feuduty shall not render the deed void or unenforceable, but the deed, if it contains a grant of land in feu, shall be subject to the provisions of subsection (1) above.
2 Prohibition of new ground annuals and other periodical payments from land.
(1) No deed executed after the commencement of this Act shall impose ground annual, skat or any other periodical payment (other than feuduty) in respect of the tenure or use of land or under a land obligation, not being a payment in respect of a lease, liferent or other right of occupancy, a payment of teind, stipend or standard charge, a payment in defrayal of or contribution towards some continuing cost related to the land, or a payment under a heritable security.
(2) A provision in a deed executed after such commencement which purports to impose any payment to which subsection (1) above applies shall not render the deed void or unenforceable, but the deed shall have effect only to the extent (if any) that it would have had effect under the law in force before such commencement if it had not imposed any such payment.
3 Charters of novodamus, etc.
(1) The feuduty under a charter of novodamus or other deed having equivalent effect executed after the commencement of this Act may be of any amount which does not have the effect of increasing the total amount of feuduty exigible in respect of any land; and any provision in any such deed which produces that effect shall to that extent be void and unenforceable: Provided that, where any provisions relating to two or more feuduties, contained in such a deed or in two or more such deeds executed on the same day, have the effect cumulatively of increasing the total amount of feuduty exigible in respect of any land, they shall, to the extent that they have the effect of altering the amount or incidence of that feuduty, be void and unenforceable.
(2) This section shall apply, subject to any necessary modifications, to payments to which section 2 of this Act applies, as it applies to feuduties.
4 Right to redeem feuduty, ground annual, etc. on a term day.
(1) Subject to the provisions of this section and of any agreement in relation to the redemption of feuduty made before the commencement of this Act, and without prejudice to any existing method of redemption, any proprietor of a feu may, at any term of Whitsunday or Martinmas, redeem the feuduty which, as at the date of the notice aftermentioned, is exigible in respect thereof.
(2) A proprietor who wishes to redeem a feuduty in terms of this section shall, not later than the term of redemption,
(a ) give to the superior or his agent a notice of redemption in or as nearly as may be in the form contained in Form 1 of Schedule 1 to this Act, and
(b ) pay to or for behoof of the superior such a sum of money as would, if invested in 2
per cent. Consolidated Stock at the middle market price at the close of business last preceding the date occurring one month before the said term, produce an annual sum equal to the feuduty (hereinafter in this section referred to as ‘the redemption money’), and also any amount of feuduty unpaid in respect of the feu, liability for which has accrued up to and including that term, and any interest or other payment exigible in respect of the feuduty last mentioned. 1 2
(3) After due notice and payment in accordance with the foregoing provisions of this section, the feuduty shall, at the said term, be redeemed, and no payment shall be exigible in respect of the feuduty so redeemed for any period after such redemption; but the feu shall continue in force otherwise as if the feuduty were not redeemed.
(4) On redemption of feuduty in terms of this section, the superior or his agent shall, at the expense of the superior, grant a receipt in or as nearly as may be in the form contained in Form 2 of Schedule 1 to this Act.
(5) The redemption of feuduty in terms of this section shall be binding on all persons having interest: Provided that such redemption shall not prejudice the rights of existing heritable creditors who are not parties thereto, but the superior shall be liable to indemnify any proprietor of the feu against liability arising after such redemption from such rights.
(6) Where the interest of the superior in a feuduty which is redeemed in terms of this section is subject to any trust, liferent or entail, the redemption money shall be treated for all purposes as capital money.
(7) For the purposes of this section ‘feuduty’ includes any cumulo feuduty which is unallocated and any part of a cumulo feuduty which has been allocated, and includes any payment (whether unallocated or allocated as aforesaid) of ground annual, skat or any other perpetual periodical payment in respect of the tenure, occupancy or use of land or under a land obligation, not being a payment of teind, stipend or standard charge, or in defrayal of or contribution towards some continuing cost related to the land, or under a heritable security; and this section, in its application to any payment to which it is extended under this subsection, shall have effect subject to any necessary modifications.
5 Redemption by law of feuduty, ground annual, etc. on transfer of land for valuable consideration.
(1) Subject to any agreement made before the commencement of this Act in relation to the redemption of the feuduty exigible in respect of a feu and to subsection (2) below, on the date when entry is taken under an obligation to grant a conveyance of the feu for valuable consideration or under the deed containing such a conveyance (the said date being hereinafter in this section, subject to subsection (2) below, referred to as ‘the date of redemption’), the feuduty exigible as at the date of redemption shall be deemed to have been redeemed: Provided that this section shall not apply in any case where the date of the obligation to grant a conveyance or of the execution of the deed occurred before the commencement of this Act.
(2) Where the date (whether before or after the commencement of this Act) when entry is taken, as specified in subsection (1) above, is earlier than the date of the obligation there specified or (where there was no such obligation) the execution of the deed there specified, the date of redemption shall be the date of the said obligation or execution as the case may be.
(3) No payment shall be exigible in respect of a feuduty for any period after the date of redemption thereof; but the feu shall continue in force otherwise as if the feuduty were not redeemed.
(4) On the date of redemption, there shall be payable to the superior by the person who was the proprietor of the feu immediately before the date of the obligation specified in subsection (1) above or (where there was no such obligation) the execution of the deed there specified, or by his representatives, such a sum of money (hereinafter in this section referred to as ‘the redemption money’) as would, if invested in 212 per cent. Consolidated Stock at the middle market price at the close of business last preceding the date occurring one month before the date of redemption, produce an annual sum equal to the feuduty.
(5) Subject to the provisions of subsections (6) to (8) below, at and after the date of redemption, the redemption money, if it has not been paid to the superior, shall, together with interest thereon from the date of redemption until payment at such rate or rates as may be determined, be secured in favour of the superior, as a...
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