Leasehold tenure

[Project now completed]

Commissioner
Professor George Gretton

Team members
John Dods, Project Manager
Ross Sanderson, Legal Assistant

This was a medium term project on the question of the conversion of some categories of long lease into ownership. 

Work on the project was completed in December 2006 with the publication of our Report on the Conversion of Long Leases (Scot Law Com No 204).  If enacted, our recommendations for reform would be an appropriate follow-up to the Abolition of Feudal Tenure etc. (Scotland) Act 2000. That Act removed most of the hierarchical nature of land tenure in Scotland. The present recommendations would complete that process while allowing the continued use of leases of reasonable duration. 

The main recommendation of the report is that tenants of ultra-long leases should be entitled to have their rights converted into ownership. An ultra long lease in this context is a lease which is granted for more than 175 years and which still has more than 100 years to run. 

Further details of the recommendations can be found in the News Release issued with the report.

In September 2010 the Scottish Government announced that, as part of its Legislative Programme, it intended to introduce legislation to convert ultra long leases into ownership.  The Long Leases (Scotland) Bill  will implement the recommendations etc in the Report on Conversion of Long Leases.

For further information, please contact info@scotlawcom.gov.uk.

Page archive date: 3 September 2007