Conversion of Long Leases - Long Leases (Scotland) Act 2012

Owned by Admin4
Mar 25, 2021
23 min read


Table of Contents
Useful Links

Conversion of Long Lease - rectifying title sheet

Conversion of Tenant's Right to Ownership under the Long Leases (Scotland) Act 2012 - DW Settle

Notices under Long Leases (Scotland) Act 2012 - Example Deeds

Updating Landlord's (Ownership) Title Sheet after the Conversion to Ownership of the Tenant's Interest in a Registered Lease

Introduction

On 28 November 2015 (the "appointed day"), the provisions of the Long Leases (Scotland) Act 2012 ("the Act") converted certain ultra-long leases into ownership. On that day, the landlord's right of ownership of the land over which an ultra-long lease was held was also extinguished where the lease was converted.

In general terms, to qualify for conversion to ownership under the Act, a lease must be:

  • registered in either the Land Register or the General Register of Sasines (or the Particular Registers and Burgh Registers);

  • have an initial term of more than 175 years;

  • have more than 100 years to run at 28 November 2015 where the property is mainly used as a residential dwelling house or 175 years in other cases*; and

  • have an annual rent of not more than £100 (note: if there is Value Added Tax included in the rental and this takes the rental over the £100 threshold, then the application should be referred).

*where a lease includes provision (however expressed) requiring the landlord to renew the lease, the period for which any such renewed lease would be granted, were that provision complied with, must be added to the period for which the original lease is granted, as per s71(1)(b) of the Act.

In some circumstances the conversion/conversion date of these ultra-long leases can be affected by the recording/registration of a notice of recall of exemption. Further information on these notices is available under Notices/Agreements under the Long Leases (Scotland) Act 2012 below.


How to identify if the application is affected by the Long Leases (Scotland) Act 2012

Check: 

  • if the application form or any correspondence contains a request to convert a tenant's right in a lease to ownership;
  • if the application contains any terminology that makes reference to the Long Leases (Scotland) Act 2012;
  • if the application is to register a disposition and the prior title deeds indicate the interest was formerly 'tenant';
  • if the application is to register a notice or agreement in terms of the Long Leases (Scotland) Act 2012 (or if the deed inducing registration refers to a notice or agreement under the said Act for burdens).

Only one lease qualifies for conversion to ownership ("a qualifying lease"):

Where subjects are held under two or more potential qualifying leases only the lowest level of qualifying lease will convert to ownership. For example, if a tenant under a long lease sub-lets individual parts of the land to 10 sub tenants, under 10 new (sub) long leases, then only the 10 sub tenants interests would convert to ownership (assuming that each of the sub leases qualify for conversion as noted in the Introduction above).

If the sub-lease affects only part of the land originally leased, conversion of the sub-lease would apply to this part and the head lease would be the qualifying lease for the remaining part. For example, if A, the owner of land, leases 10 hectares to B for 999 years and B in turn sub-lets 4 of these hectares to C for 920 years, C is the qualifying tenant in relation to the four hectares and B is the qualifying tenant in relation to the remaining six hectares. 

In the above scenarios, where the sub-tenant's interest converted to ownership, the head tenant's interest in those subjects is extinguished.

This only happens where both leases are qualifying leases - there may be subjects which are held under a long lease where parts have been subsequently sub-let under new leases which are not affected by the Act. In such a scenario where the long lease converts to ownership, the sub-leases will still require to be shown in a schedule of leases on the converted title sheet as the sub-tenants interest subsists.

Title Sheet Entries for Converted Lease 

Guidance for dealing with DW applications following the potential conversion of a tenant's interest to ownership can be found at Conversion of Tenant's Right to Ownership under the Long Leases (Scotland) Act 2012 - DW Settle

Guidance for dealing with rectification requests following the conversion of a tenant's interest to ownership can be found at Conversion of Long Lease - rectifying title sheet

If dealing with an FR, VR  or TP application, the usual process steps should be followed. However the following additional points should be considered.

Application in respect of assignation:

Scenario 1: No indication in the application form or supporting information that the tenant's interest has converted to ownership: 

Process the application(s) as per current guidelines - no conversion to ownership has taken place. 

Scenario 2: The applicant has informed the Keeper that the tenant's interest has converted to ownership in either the application form or in the supporting information: 

(a) If the deed was executed after 28th November 2015, refer application to senior caseworker.

In some cases, the application should be rejected - the deed used to transfer the subjects should have been a disposition if the former tenant's right converted to one of ownership on 28th November 2015 - the Keepers advice regarding transfer deeds after conversion is noted on the RoS website.

In other cases, if the lease was exempt from conversion and a notice of recall under the Act has been recorded/registered, it may be possible for the application to proceed.

(b) if the deed was executed prior to 28th November 2015 and the deed is presented for registration after that date, the application should be processed as a Disposition and conversion to ownership given effect to, following the guidance below.

If there is any doubt as to how an application for an assignation should be processed, refer application to senior caseworker for further advice.


Application in respect of disposition:

Where there is an application for registration of a Disposition granted by the tenant under a long lease, the Keeper will rely on that deed being certified as valid in the application and the register will disclose that conversion has occurred, unless the application contains information demonstrating that the lease did not qualify for conversion (for example, a relevant Notice under Long Leases (Scotland) Act 2012).

If the application has been identified as being affected by the Act and the lease has converted, then all of the usual Legal Settle process steps set out in the manual should be followed, however particular attention should be paid to the further guidance set out below.

In all cases where the tenant's interest has converted to ownership the former landlord's title must be checked to ascertain whether it is registered. In some cases the landlord's title may be registered under more than one title number.

If the former landlord's title is registered it must be updated to reflect the conversion. In order to avoid any competing titles, the application(s) used to update the former landlord's title must be completed on the same day as the current application. Guidance for updating the former landlord's title sheet(s) is set out here: Amending Landlord's Title Sheet after the Conversion to Ownership of the Tenant's Interest.


Property Section

As the tenant's interest has converted to ownership, a schedule showing the short particulars of the original long lease is not required.

Check the interest shown in the "Real Right" field is "Ownership"; amend if necessary.

Rights should be included in the title sheet using the information supplied in the application and following the Complete Property Section guidance for the appropriate application type, as with any other application. 

Where the former landlord’s title is benefited with the right to enforce real burdens created in terms of the Title Conditions (Scotland) Act 2003, the application should be referred to a senior caseworker for further consideration as it may be that there has been a sub-division of the benefited and burdened properties.  

If there are any sub-leases and/or interposed leases disclosed in the application, refer application to senior caseworker for further consideration.


Minerals

Section 1(4)(d) of the Act provides that a lease will not qualify for conversion to ownership where it is either a) a lease of minerals or b) a lease which includes minerals and in respect of which a royalty/payment of rent determined by reference to the exploitation of those minerals is or may be payable. Where a lease includes minerals but does not include details of a royalty/payment of rent determined by reference to the exploitation of those minerals being payable, then such a lease can convert, provided it conforms to the requirements specified in Section 1 of the Act.

Unless specifically provided for, a lease of land does not include those minerals beneath it - the lack of an express inclusion of minerals therefore has the effect of separating entitlement to the surface of the land from entitlement to the minerals beneath it. In practice, rather than an express inclusion, an express reservation of minerals is almost always contained in ultra-long leases of land. This has an important impact on the conversion process as conversion cannot bestow on the former tenant a greater interest than that which was contained in the lease itself. Accordingly, where minerals were excluded from a converted lease, then they are also excluded from the property acquired by the former tenant on conversion. 

  • If minerals are reserved in either the lease itself or any of the prior title/burdens deeds then then a mineral reservation note should be added.
  • If the lease and the prior title/burdens deeds are silent as regards minerals then the following note should be added: "Note: The minerals are excepted". 
  • These notes can be amended to suit the circumstance of the particular application, for example, if the existing minerals reservation note affects only part of the converted subjects.


All instances where a ultra-long lease contains an express inclusion of minerals and purports to qualify for conversion should be referred to a senior caseworker.


Burdens Section

Rent

As the tenant's interest has converted to ownership, the obligation to pay rent should be removed from all burdens section entries (where possible). This includes any applications where deeds such as minutes of agreement or variation have amended the amount of rent payable.

However, there may be instances where the rent is intermingled with other burdens and it would not be practical to remove the reference. In such cases, the rent should be left in the burdens section entry and a note following the style below should be added to the end of that entry, amended as appropriate:

Note: The rent payable under the above Lease is extinguished by virtue of Section 5(1) of the Long Leases (Scotland) Act 2012 and is shown only insofar as it affects/assists with the interpretation of other real burdens contained in this Title Sheet (in respect of maintenance obligations, liability for common repairs etc).

In the event that the lease is Incorporated in the Title Sheet by Reference, a note following the style below should be added to the end of that entry:

Note: The Keeper has been informed that the said lease is a qualifying lease in terms of the Long Leases (Scotland) Act 2012. Any obligation to pay rent under the said lease has been extinguished.

Burdens

Section 6(3)(b) of the Act states that a converted lease title is subject to any encumbrances to which the former landlord’s (ownership) title was subject immediately before the appointed day. (This is subject to section 6(4) which states that any heritable security or proper liferent that burdened the former landlord’s (ownership) interest will be extinguished in respect of the converted lease subjects on the appointed day. Any such security or liferent should not be brought forward to the converted tenant's title sheet).

The application should contain details of which burdens affect the subjects being registered - this includes those contained in both the former tenant's and former landlord's titles.

Where the former landlord's (ownership) title is registered, all burdens affecting the converted subjects should be brought forward to the converted lease title sheet (as well as the lease and any other deeds that affected the original leasehold interest), unless the agent has stated that they do not affect the subjects.

Where the former landlord's (ownership) title is unregistered, burdens deeds should be edited and entries added using the information provided in the DIR and application form following the Complete Burdens Section guidance for the appropriate application type, as with any other application.

Unless the agent has noted in the application that they consider that some of the former leasehold conditions are no longer enforceable, then all of the conditions (except rent as noted above) in the leasehold deeds should be included in the title sheet. If the agent has noted in the application that they consider that some of the former leasehold conditions are no longer enforceable, these conditions should be removed from the burdens section entry. 

If there is an entry for the leasehold deed(s) in the CDI, the deed(s) may need to be cloned on the LRS. The new version should contain an LRS Element Note which states "Amended for Conversion under the Long Leases (Scotland) Act 2012". The preamble of the deed may also require editing as, for example, it may include "Lease referred to in the Property Section"; as there will not be a schedule of short particulars in the property section, the words "referred to in the Property Section" should be deleted and the preamble amended as appropriate.

The deeds affecting the former tenant's interest should use the styles of preamble shown below.

Burdens Section Entries for deeds affecting the former tenants interest - Styles of Preambles:

  • Lease (Sub-lease) (for ------ years from -------) by A to B and his heirs and assignees, recorded (or registered) --------, of ------------, of which the subjects (or part/that part of the subjects) in this title form part, contains the following leasehold conditions and rights: [ ]
     
  • Assignation of the (Lease ) in Entry ----- [but only to extent of ---------, of which the subjects in this title form part] by A to B and his heirs and assignees, recorded (or registered) -------------, contains the following leasehold conditions and rights: [ ]
     

Where only part of the subjects are affected by a long lease (for example where there is Disposition/Assignation in the prior titles), then the application should be processed as per any other title transfer with multiple routes of title.

The reference to the deed containing "conditions and rights" should be amended to reflect the specifics of the application being processed.

Burdens Section Entry regarding conversion under the Long Leases (Scotland) Act 2012 

A "Long lease conversion note" should be added as the last entry in the burdens section:

The subjects in this title formerly comprised the right of a tenant in a long lease. The right converted into ownership in terms of the Long Leases (Scotland) Act 2012.

This is available on the LRS Deeds Pick-list: Deed Code "424" Type "T".

If the property was previously held on a mixed ownership/leasehold title then the note should be amended accordingly, e.g.

The subjects in this title formerly partially comprised the right of a tenant in a long lease. That right converted into ownership in terms of the Long Leases (Scotland) Act 2012.

Notices or agreements preserving various rights/burdens may have been recorded/registered. Further information on these is at Notices/Agreements under the Long Leases (Scotland) Act 2012 below.


Sub-Tenants registered interest subsists

As stated above at Only one lease qualifies for conversion to ownership, only the lowest level of qualifying lease will convert to ownership. There may be occasions however where a registered sub-tenant’s interest subsists as it is not affected by the Act, for example a 25 year sub-lease of a sub-station site. In this scenario consideration should be given as to whether the title sheet for that sub-lease should be updated to reflect the conversion to ownership of the head-lease.

Where the burdens section includes an entry for the now converted head lease an entry in the following style should be added to the burdens section:

 The real right of ownership in the subjects in this title is registered under [title number of converted lease, now ownership]. This right of ownership formerly comprised the right of a tenant in a long lease. The right converted into ownership in terms of the Long Leases (Scotland) Act 2012.


Notices/Agreements under the Long Leases (Scotland) Act 2012

The Act makes provision for registration of notices or agreements to preserve various rights and burdens and to allow the tenant to opt out of converting their interest to ownership. There is also provision to allow the landlord to claim an exemption from conversion in some cases.

The forms of the notices and agreements are prescribed under the Long Leases (Prescribed Form of Notices etc.) (Scotland) Regulations 2014 and examples can be found at Notices under Long Leases (Scotland) Act 2012 - Example Deeds. 

Where leasehold conditions ("qualifying conditions") have converted into real burdens, those burdens will be subject to the Title Conditions (Scotland) Act 2003. Exclusions apply such as obligations which operate solely between landlord and tenant e.g. an obligation to pay rent and restrictions on assignation and sub-letting, rights of irritancy and penalty clauses.


Registration Requirements

Land Register

Notices should be submitted with a land register application form and attract a Miscellaneous Fee of £60.00.

As all notices (and agreements under s. 64(2)(a) of the Act (exemption of qualifying lease by registration of agreement)) are in a prescribed form, no deviation from the styles provided for in the Long Leases (Prescribed Form of Notices etc.) (Scotland) Regulations 2014 is allowed.

Legal settlers are required to ensure that each part of each notice/agreement has been correctly completed and that each deed is correctly signed (where appropriate, by all parties) and correctly witnessed (where required).

In terms of section 76 of the Act, the Keeper does not have any duty to verify certain matters which the Keeper could not reasonably be expected to check. These include whether a notice has been correctly served or sent, whether any statement contained in a notice is true, whether any qualifying condition is actually enforceable by the person submitting the notice and whether a sporting right or qualifying condition is still enforceable and whom it is that can enforce it.

All other details will require to be checked for errors by legal settlers. If in doubt, please refer to a senior caseworker.

Notices recorded in the General Register of Sasines

Where a notice must be both registered and recorded it must be submitted with both land register and sasine application forms.

Certain documents registrable despite initial rejection

Section 78 of the Act provides that certain notices and agreements are registrable in the Land Register or the Sasines Register despite having been rejected by the Keeper. From 6 March 2014 these notices and agreements can be registered following a determination by the Court of Session, the Sheriff Court or the Lands Tribunal for Scotland that they are registrable. Where a court or the Lands Tribunal determines the notice or agreement is registrable, it may be registered not later than the day falling 2 months after the day on which the court or the Lands Tribunal made the determination.

Specific Notices and Entry Styles

 Notice for conversion of reserved sporting rights

Where a right of game or fishing ("sporting rights") is reserved expressly or by implication from a qualifying lease or superior (head) lease, a notice may be registered by the landlord converting reserved sporting rights into a separate tenement.

This notice may be recorded/registered against either the interest of the owner of the land or the tenant under the qualifying lease.

Where the notice has only been registered over either the tenant's or the owner's interest in the Land Register and the other interest is also registered in the Land Register, a Title Update (TU) application must be created to amend the other Title Sheet (unless a pending application against that Title Sheet can be used). 

Where the notice has only been registered over either the tenant's or the owner's interest in the Land Register and the other interest is still recorded in the Sasine Register, a Sasine TL should be contacted and asked to add a note to the search sheet for the other interest.

The following is an example of the style of note to be used on the search sheet:

Note: Notice (in terms of Section 8(2) of the Long Leases (Scotland) Act 2012) by xxx (ie the landlord) affecting Lease by xxx to xxx, recorded xxx of subjects xxx, registered xxx, converting the right to sporting right(s) contained in said Lease. 

Example Title sheet entries

Example burdens section entry for tenant's title sheet:

Notice in terms of Section 8(2) of the Long Leases (Scotland) Act 2012, recorded G.R.S.(XXX)/registered dd mmm yyyy by YY, Landlord of [describe subjects] under the Lease in Entry [no] of this Section/Lease by BB to CC, recorded G.R.S.(XXX) dd mmm yyyy, converting into a separate tenement of land the [e.g. reserved sporting rights], enforceable by said YY, contained in said Lease into a separate tenement in land.

Example burdens section entry for landlord's title sheet:

Notice in terms of Section 8(2) of the Long Leases (Scotland) Act 2012, recorded G.R.S.(XXX)/registered dd mmm yyyy by YY, Landlord of [describe subjects] under the Lease by BB to CC, recorded G.R.S.(XXX) dd mmm yyyy, converting into a separate tenement of land the [e.g. reserved sporting rights], enforceable by said YY, contained in said Lease into a separate tenement in land.

 Notice for conversion of qualifying condition by nomination of benefited property

A person with a right to enforce a qualifying condition can convert the condition into a real burden in favour of neighbouring land by registering a notice. This person will normally be the owner of the land but can also be a neighbour if they are entitled to enforce the condition in the lease.

The notice must be recorded/registered against both the burdened and the benefited properties. The deed cannot be accepted for either recording or registration if the dual registration requirement is not complied with.

Example burdens section entry for burdened (tenant's) tile sheet:

Notice in terms of Section 14(2) of the Long Leases (Scotland) Act 2012, recorded G.R.S.(XXX)/registered dd mmm yyyy by YY [describe capacity e.g. Landlord/proprietor of XYZ], prospectively converting the condition(s) [describe as necessary] contained in the Lease in entry {no} into real burdens and nominating [describe subjects] as the benefited subjects for said real burdens, in respect of which real burdens the subjects in this Title shall be the burdened subjects.

Example burdens section entry for benefited title sheet:

Notice in terms of Section 14(2) of the Long Leases (Scotland) Act 2012, recorded G.R.S.(XXX)/registered dd mmm yyyy, by YY, prospectively converting the condition(s) [describe as necessary] contained in the Lease in Entry AA of this Section into real burdens and nominating [describe subjects] as the benefited subjects for said real burdens, in respect of which real burdens [description of leased subjects] shall be the burdened subjects.

Or:

Notice in terms of Section 14(2) of the Long Leases (Scotland) Act 2012, recorded G.R.S.(XXX)/registered dd mmm yyyy, by YY, prospectively converting the condition(s) [describe as necessary] contained in the Lease by BB to CC, recorded G.R.S.(XXX) dd mmm yyyy into real burdens and nominating [describe subjects] as the benefited subjects for said real burdens, in respect of which real burdens [description of leased subjects] shall be the burdened subjects.

Note: It may be necessary to create an entry for the Lease itself in the benefitted title sheet so that the terms of the notice make sense.

 Notice for conversion of qualifying condition by agreement

A person with a right to enforce a qualifying condition can serve a notice on the tenant of the qualifying lease seeking to enter into an agreement for the purpose of converting the condition into a real burden in favour of neighbouring land. This person will normally be the owner of the land but can also be a neighbour if they are entitled to enforce the condition in the lease.

The agreement between the parties must be recorded/registered against both the burdened and the benefited properties. The deed cannot be accepted for either recording or registration if the dual registration requirement is not complied with.

Example burdens section entry for burdened (tenant's) title sheet:

Agreement in terms of Section 17(1)(c) of the Long Leases (Scotland) Act 2012, recorded G.R.S. (XXX)/registered dd mmm yyyy by YY and ZZ, Tenant under the Lease in Entry [no] of this Section, prospectively converting the [specify conditions as necessary] contained in said Lease into real burdens and nominating [describe subjects] as the benefited subjects for said real burdens, in respect of which real burdens the subjects in this Title shall be the burdened subjects.

Example burdens section entry for benefited title sheet:

Agreement in terms of Section 17(1)(c) of the Long Leases (Scotland) Act 2012, recorded G.R.S. (XXX)/registered dd mmm yyyy, by YY and ZZ, Tenant under the Lease by BB to CC, recorded G.R.S. (XXX) dd mmm yyyy , prospectively converting [specify conditions as necessary] in said Lease into real burdens and nominating [describe subjects] as the benefited subjects for said real burdens, in respect of which real burdens [describe subjects] shall be the burdened subjects.

Note: It may be necessary to create an entry for the Lease itself in the benefitted title sheet so that the terms of the notice make sense.

 Notice for conversion of qualifying condition into personal pre-emption burden or personal redemption burden

A person with the right to enforce a qualifying condition which conferred a right of pre-emption or redemption may register a notice to convert that condition into a real burden to be known as a personal pre-emption burden or a personal redemption burden. This person is likely to be the owner of the land but can also be a neighbour if they are entitled to enforce the condition.

This notice may be recorded/registered against the title of the owner of the land or of the tenant under the qualifying lease.

Example burdens section entry for burdened title sheet:

Notice in terms of Section 23(1) of the Long Leases (Scotland) Act 2012, recorded G.R.S. (XXX)/registered dd mmm yyyy, by YY, prospectively converting the right of pre-emption/right of redemption contained in the Lease in Entry [no] of this Section into a personal pre-emption/personal redemption burden, in respect of which converted burden the subjects in this Title shall be the burdened subjects.


 Notice for conversion of qualifying condition into economic development burden

Registration of this notice allows a local authority, or the Scottish Ministers, with the right to enforce a qualifying condition which was imposed for the purpose of promoting economic development to convert that condition into an economic development burden in their favour. An economic development burden may specify how the property should be used or may require money to be paid to the local authority or the Scottish Ministers.

This notice may be recorded/registered against the title of the owner of the land or of the tenant under the qualifying lease.

Example burdens section entry for burdened title sheet:

Notice in terms of Section 24(1) of the Long Leases (Scotland) Act 2012, recorded G.R.S. (XXX)/registered dd mmm yyyy, by YY Local Authority or Scottish Ministers, prospectively converting the condition [specify as necessary] contained in the Lease in Entry [no] of this Section into an economic development burden, in respect of which converted burden the subjects in this Title shall be the burdened subjects.


 Notice for conversion of qualifying condition into health care burden

Registration of this notice allows the Scottish Ministers, when they have the right to enforce a qualifying condition which was imposed for the purpose of promoting the provision of facilities for health care, to convert that condition into a health care burden in their favour.

This notice may be recorded/registered against the title of the owner of the land or of the tenant under the qualifying lease.

Example burdens section entry for burdened title sheet:

Notice in terms of Section 25(1) of the Long Leases (Scotland) Act 2012, recorded G.R.S. (XXX)/registered dd mmm yyyy, by Scottish Ministers, prospectively converting the condition [specify as necessary] contained in the Lease in Entry [no] of this Section into a health care burden, in respect of which converted burden the subjects in this Title shall be the burdened subjects.


 Notice for conversion of qualifying condition into climate change burden

Registration of this notice allows a public body or trust or the Scottish Ministers, when they have the right to enforce a qualifying condition which was imposed for the purpose of reducing greenhouse gas emissions to convert that condition into a climate change burden in their favour.

This notice may be recorded/registered against the title of the owner of the land or of the tenant under the qualifying lease.

Example burdens section entry for burdened title sheet:

Notice in terms of Section 26(1) of the Long Leases (Scotland) Act 2012, recorded G.R.S.(XXX)/registered dd mmm yyyy, by YY Public Body/Trust/Scottish Ministers, prospectively converting the condition [specify details] contained in the Lease in Entry [no] of this Section into a climate change burden, in respect of which converted burden the subjects in this Title shall be the burdened subjects.

 Notice for conversion of qualifying condition into conservation burden (by conservation body or Scottish Ministers)

Registration of this notice allows a conservation body, or the Scottish Ministers, when they have the right to enforce a qualifying condition which promotes conservation to convert that condition into a conservation burden in their favour.

This notice may be recorded/registered against the title of the owner of the land or of the tenant under the qualifying lease.

Example burdens section entry for burdened title sheet:

Notice in terms of Section 27(1) of the Long Leases (Scotland) Act 2012, recorded G.R.S.(XXX) /registered dd mmm yyyy, by YY Conservation Body/Scottish Ministers, prospectively converting the condition [specify details] contained in the Lease in Entry [no] of this Section into a conservation burden, in respect of which converted burden the subjects in this Title shall be the burdened subjects.


 Notice for conversion of qualifying condition into conservation burden (by someone other than a conservation body or Scottish Ministers)

Registration of this notice allows a person with the right to enforce a qualifying condition which promotes conservation to convert that condition into a conservation burden in favour of a conservation body or the Scottish Ministers. This person is likely to be the owner of the land but can also be a neighbour if they are entitled to enforce the condition.

This notice may be recorded/registered against the title of the owner of the land or of the tenant under the qualifying lease.

Example burdens section entry for burdened title sheet:

Notice in terms of Section 28(1) of the Long Leases (Scotland) Act 2012, recorded G.R.S.(XXX)/registered dd mmm yyyy, by YY prospectively converting the condition [specify details] contained in said Lease into a conservation burden in favour of Conservation Body/Scottish Ministers, in respect of which converted burden the subjects in this Title shall be the burdened subjects.

 Notice seeking exemption from conversion of a qualifying lease

The tenant of a qualifying lease (which includes sub-leases) can opt out of conversion so that it becomes an “exempt lease” by registering a notice of exemption at least two months before the appointed day. 

This notice must be recorded/registered against the title of the tenant. 

Where the notice has only been registered over the tenant's interest in the Land Register and the landlord's interest is also registered in the Land Register, a Title Update (TU) application must be created to amend the landlord's title sheet (unless a pending application against that title sheet can be used). 

Where the notice has only been registered over the tenant's interest in the Land Register and the landlord's interest is still recorded in the Sasine Register, a sasine TL should be contacted and asked to add a note to the search sheet for the landlord's interest.

The following is an example of the style of note to be used on the search sheet:

Note: Notice (in terms of Section 63(b) of the Long Leases (Scotland) Act 2012) by xxx, Tenant under the Lease by xxx to xxx, recorded xxx of subjects xxx, registered xxx, seeking exemption from automatic conversion of said Lease under said Act. 

Example Title sheet entries

Example burdens section entry for tenant's title sheet. The details in the entry should follow the details as narrated in the notice itself:

Notice in terms of Section 63(b) of the Long Leases (Scotland) Act 2012, recorded G.R.S.(XXX)/registered dd mmm yyyy, by YY, Tenant of [describe subjects] under the Lease in Entry [no] of this Section, seeking exemption from automatic conversion of said Lease under said Act, affects the subjects in this Title. 

Example burdens section entry for landlord's title sheet:

Notice in terms of Section 63(b) of the Long Leases (Scotland) Act 2012, recorded G.R.S.(XXX)/registered dd mmm yyyy, by YY, Tenant of [describe subjects] under the Lease by AA to BB, recorded G.R.S.(XXX) dd mmm yyyy, seeking exemption from automatic conversion of said Lease under said Act. 

No other noting on the title sheet is required.

 Agreement for exemption for leases with an annual rent of over £100

Where a cumulo rent is payable in relation to two or more leases, the annual rent payable under each lease is deemed to be nil for the purposes of the Act.

A landlord can allocate cumulo rent before the appointed day which allows him to claim an exemption from the Act, if the annual rental for an individual lease after the cumulo rent has been allocated is over £100. The term lease includes sub-leases.

The landlord must register an agreement entered into with the tenant or an order made by the Lands Tribunal (under section 69 of the Act) no later than 2 months before the appointed day.

This notice must be recorded/registered against the title of the tenant.

Where the deed has only been registered over the tenant's interest in the Land Register and the landlord's interest is also registered in the Land Register, a Title Update (TU) application must be created to amend the landlord's title sheet (unless a pending application against that title sheet can be used). 

Where the notice has only been registered over the tenant's interest in the Land Register and the landlord's interest is still recorded in the Sasine Register, a sasine TL should be contacted and asked to add a note to the search sheet for the landlord's interest.

The following is an example of the style of note to be used on the search sheet:

 Note: Agreement (in terms of Section 64(2)(a) of the Long Leases (Scotland) Act 2012) between AA, Landlord under the Lease by xxx to xxx, recorded G.R.S.(XXX)xxx, of subjects xxxx, and BB, Tenant under said Lease, registered xxx, seeking exemption from automatic conversion of said Lease under said Act.

Example Title sheet entries

Example burdens section entry for tenant's title sheet.

Agreement in terms of Section 64(2)(a) of the Long Leases (Scotland) Act 2012, recorded G.R.S.(XXX)/registered dd mmm yyyy, by YY, Landlord of [describe subjects] under the Lease in Entry [no] of this Section and BB, Tenant under said Lease, seeking exemption from automatic conversion of said Lease under said Act, affects the subjects in this Title.  

Example burdens section entry for landlord's title sheet:

Agreement in terms of Section 64(2)(a) of the Long Leases (Scotland) Act 2012, recorded G.R.S.(XXX)/registered dd mmm yyyy, by YY, Landlord of [describe subjects] under the Lease by AA to BB, recorded G.R.S.(XXX)/registered dd mmm yyyy and DD, Tenant under said Lease, seeking exemption from automatic conversion of said Lease under said Act. 

 Notice of Recall of exemption notice (without limit of time)

The tenant under an exempt lease (including a sub-lease) can register a recall notice, so long as the lease is not exempted under section 64 of the Act by the landlord. The tenant may register a recall notice before, on, or after the appointed day. The lease then becomes eligible for conversion so long as it complies with the conditions required to be a qualifying lease (the general terms of which are set out in the Introduction above).

Where the notice of recall is registered in the six months before, or on, or at any time after, the standard appointed day of 28 November 2015, a new appointed day comes into effect - being the first Whitsunday (28 May) or Martinmas (28 November) occurring 6 months or more after the notice of recall is registered. The effect of deferring the appointed day is to give a landlord of the qualifying lease or any superior/head lease a period of six months in which to consider whether to register notices converting leasehold conditions into real burdens.

The notice of recall must be recorded/registered against the tenant's interest.

Where the notice has only been registered over the tenant's interest in the Land Register and the landlord's interest is also registered in the Land Register, a Title Update (TU) application must be created to amend the landlord's Title Sheet (unless a pending application against that Title Sheet can be used). 

Where the deed has only been registered over the tenant's interest in the Land Register and the landlord's interest is still recorded in the Sasine Register, a Sasine TL should be contacted and asked to add a note to the search sheet for the landlord's interest.

The following is an example of the style of note to be used (where a notice of exemption under section 63(b) was recorded/registered prior to the appointed day):

Note: Notice (in terms of Section 67(1)(b) of the Long Leases (Scotland) Act 2012) by xxx, Tenant under the Lease by xxx to xxx, recorded G.R.S.(XXX)xxx of subjects xxx, registered xxx, recalling the Notice made under Section 63(b) of said Act registered xxx.

Example Title sheet entries

In this example a notice of exemption under section 63(b) was recorded/registered prior to the appointed day. A recall notice was then registered. 

Example burdens section entry for tenant's title sheet:

Notice in terms of Section 67(1)(b) of the Long Leases (Scotland) Act 2012, registered dd mmm yyyy, by YY, Tenant of [describe subjects] under the Lease in Entry [no] of this Section, recalling the Notice made under Section 63(b) of said Act, recorded G.R.S.(XXX)/registered dd mmm yyyy, affects the subjects in this Title.

Example burdens section entry for landlord's title sheet:

Notice in terms of Section 67(1)(b) of the Long Leases (Scotland) Act 2012, registered dd mmm yyyy, by YY, Tenant of [describe subjects] under the Lease by AA to BB, recorded G.R.S.(XXX)xxx, recalling the Notice made under Section 63(b) of said Act, recorded G.R.S.(XXX)/registered dd mmm yyyy.

Registers of Scotland (RoS) seeks to ensure that the information published in the 2012 Act Registration Manual is up to date and accurate but it may be amended from time to time.
The Manual is an internal document intended for RoS staff only. The information in the Manual does not constitute legal or professional advice and RoS cannot accept any liability for actions arising from its use.
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