Tenements Under Exception

General

This page contains guidance for plans settlers when registering flatted property described as a tenement under exception.

It is not uncommon to encounter conveyances of the last flat sold from a tenement which describe the subjects being sold as being the whole tenement steading under exception of the parts (shops, flats, etc.) previously sold. This style of description is often used, rather than using a positive description of the last flat & its pertinents in the extent deed, because it ensures that the original seller is not inadvertently left with the responsibility for any part of the tenement which may have been overlooked. This style of conveyancing can be found in any type of tenement or sub-divided building, such as traditional or modern tenement blocks, split villas, mixed flat & shop blocks, etc.

Useful links

Mapping Styles & Plans References on the Cadastral Map

Property Section Styles in the Title Sheet

Property Section Information

For the avoidance of doubt, a tenement under exception is where the DIR or breakaway deed describes the property as being a flat comprising the whole tenement and under exception of all other parts within that tenement. It is not for the scenario where a flat is being sold under exception of all or part of its pertinents (for example, a flat being sold that has previously sold off a coal cellar or part of its garden ground).

There is a second. more complex scenario that can also be classed as a tenement under exception - where the title comprises a substantial part of a tenement that is then further described as being under exception (for example, the property is described as being the whole ground & first floors of a 3 storey tenement under exception of 2 ground floor shops and a first floor office).

Mapping

The tenement steading extent will be shown on the primary, ungrouped layer of the cadastral map, normally edged red. This will be co-extensive with the extent of the tenement steading cadastral unit if one has already been set up for this tenement. If there is not already a tenement steading cadastral unit, then the cadastral unit being mapped in the current application will become the tenement steading cadastral unit for future titles.
Any pertinents of the flat being sold that are positively described in the extent deed will be shown on a grouping containing the supplementary data for that flat.
No plans references for the excepted flats and their pertinents should be mapped, unless specifically requested by the legal settler. In tenements, it is generally accepted that no plans references are given when the exception deeds refer to plans, due to the fact that the number of exceptions normally involved would make the cadastral map cluttered and difficult to interpret. Instead, the legal settler will refer to the subjects verbally in a schedule of exceptions.

Classification

Straightforward scenario, you are registering the whole tenement under exception - When the property comprises the whole of the tenement steading under exception of other flats or units, then the red edge (or tint) for the cadastral unit extent will be classified as Ownership-Exclusive. This is because a "tenement under exception" property is different from a normal tenement flat - the owner owns the whole plot of land/cadastral unit under exception of various parts later defined whereas in a normal flat scenario, the owner only owns parts within a tenement steading cadastral unit.

Straightforward scenario, you are registering another flat in the block (i.e. one of the exceptions) - When the property comprises one flat or unit within a block that has previously been registered as a tenement under exception in another title, your flat (one of the exceptions) is registered and classified in the normal manner for tenement properties. The tenement steading cadastral unit will be classified as Tenement Steading, and any references that are being mapped for the flat extent or pertinents will be classified as Ownership of Strata, Ownership - Shared, etc.

More complex scenario, you are registering only part of a tenement that is then further described as being under exception (for example, the property is described as being the whole ground & first floors of a 3 storey tenement under exception of 2 ground floor shops and a first floor office) - When the property comprises only part of the tenement under exception of some of those flats or units, then the owner does not own the whole plot of land/cadastral unit. Therefore the tenement steading cadastral unit will be classified as Tenement Steading, and any references that are being mapped for the extent of the parts owned or their pertinents will be classified as Ownership of Strata, Ownership - Shared, etc.

Hybrid scenario, you are registering the whole tenement under exception but the description in the deed provides a positive description of what is being registered as well as the "under exception" description - When the property comprises the whole of the tenement steading under exception of other flats or units, then the red edge (or tint) for the cadastral unit extent will be classified as Ownership-Exclusive. This is because a "tenement under exception" property is different from a normal tenement flat - the owner owns the whole plot of land/cadastral unit under exception of various parts later defined whereas in a normal flat scenario, the owner only owns parts within a tenement steading cadastral unit. In addition to this, with a hybrid description, if the positive description contains mappable parts (flat, pertinents, etc) these should be mapped and classified as Ownership of Strata, Ownership - Shared, etc.

It is also possible to encounter a complex hybrid scenario where the two examples immediately above are combined - seller owns only part of a tenement that is then further described as being under exception, combined with a positive description of the parts being registered. In such an example, the the tenement steading cadastral unit will be classified as Tenement Steading, and if the positive description contains mappable parts (flat, pertinents, etc) these should be mapped and classified as Ownership of Strata, Ownership - Shared, etc.

Tenement Steading Cadastral Unit Number

A unique feature of tenements under exception is that consideration sometimes needs to be given to which is the most appropriate tenement steading cadastral unit number to use.

In a normal tenement scenario, the tenement steading cadastral unit is established via the first 2012 Act flat title being mapped - so the flat title number and the tenement steading cadastral unit number appear to be the same thing. In fact, they represent two different things (a title and a cadastral unit) and it is just "coincidence" that they are given the same name, e.g. ROX3579. This causes no real problems and the property sections of the current and future titles in the block are readily understood - "Subjects part of cadastral unit ROX3579 edged xxx, being flat X".

In a tenement under exception scenario, the property section can become more complex and less easily understood. We typically come across three situations:

1 The tenement under exception title is the first 2012 Act flat title that we are mapping and registering.

With regards to the numbering, this can be treated in a similar way to a normal tenement scenario. The tenement steading cadastral unit number will be the same as the title number for the tenement under exception title. So the tenement under exception title ROX3579 would be described as being "subjects cadastral unit ROX3579 edged xxx, ..... , under exception of the parts specified in the Schedule of Exceptions below." Future flat titles will refer to being "Subjects part of cadastral unit ROX3579 edged xxx, being flat X"

2 The tenement under exception title is not the first 2012 Act flat title that we are mapping and registering, and a tenement steading cadastral unit has already been set up and numbered in an earlier flat title registration.

If we automatically follow normal practice, with some blocks we could end up with a property section that is confusing on first reading, for example (for tenement under exception title MOR2345 with PR and tenement steading cadastral unit MOR1234) "Subjects cadastral unit MOR1234 edged red, .... under exception of the parts specified in the Schedule of Exceptions below" with one of the entries listed in the schedule being flat title MOR1234.

Therefore, in situations such as those, it may be more helpful to renumber the tenement steading cadastral unit to coincide with the tenement under exception title number. If you feel your particular case would benefit from such a change, this should be discussed and agreed with a Plans HEO before any action is taken. There will be some blocks where the way the exceptions are described means the property descriptions are clear enough without the need to renumber the tenement steading cadastral unit, but if the decision is to renumber then TUs to update all existing 2012 Act registered flats in the block will be required, and clear notes should be added to the LRS for each of these titles to explain the action taken. "TU 21MORxxxx created to update the tenement steading cadastral unit number for block 18-20 Moor Road from MORxxx to MORyyy. No change made to the rights, etc contained in this title. Action agreed with HEO/SEO (add referral officer details)."

3 The tenement under exception title is one of those where the seller doesn't actually own the whole tenement, just a part of it under exception. In these instances, there should be no need to consider changing the tenement steading cadastral unit number as the property being registered (the part under exception) will be described as "part of cadastral unit xxx" in the same way that any normal flat or unit is described.

LRS

Title notes

Ask the legal settler to prepare a schedule of exceptions for the excepted parts of the tenement.
Remember to add the appropriate note to the LRS title notes identifying which cadastral unit is the tenement steading cadastral unit.

Property section

The property description in the title sheet must reflect the terms of the deed(s).
The cadastral unit referred to in the property section will be the tenement steading cadastral unit number.
Commonly, the location of the flatted property is not specified and could only be ascertained by RoS staff by the sometimes lengthy process of elimination by examining other registered titles and sasine deeds. For the avoidance of doubt this is not necessary or desirable, and the title sheet will reflect the intention of the deed. Accordingly the property section should follow the following format:
- Subjects cadastral unit GLA111222 26 LONDON ROAD, GLASGOW G1 5NB edged red on the cadastral map under exception of the parts specified in the schedule of exceptions below.
Sometimes, however, the deed will also identify the location of the last flat (this double style of description is referred to as a hybrid style). If this is the case then this information will be included in the property description but will not be used as the description on its own. For example:
- Subjects cadastral unit GLA111222 26 LONDON ROAD, GLASGOW G1 5NB edged red on the cadastral map under exception of the parts specified in the schedule of exceptions below, being the westmost house on the ground floor of the tenement 26 LONDON ROAD.
- Subjects cadastral unit GLA111222 26 LONDON ROAD, GLASGOW G1 5NB edged red on the cadastral map under exception of the parts specified in the schedule of exceptions below, being the westmost house tinted blue on supplementary data 1 on the ground floor of the tenement 26 LONDON ROAD, with the coal cellar tinted yellow on the said supplementary data.

There are also those scenarios, described above, when the property being registered comprises only part of the tenement under further exception. Again, such titles should reflect the terms of the deed. For example:
- Subjects part of cadastral unit GLA111222 26 LONDON ROAD, GLASGOW G1 5NB edged red on the cadastral map being the ground and first floors of the said tenement under exception of the parts specified in the schedule of exceptions below, being the westmost house on the ground floor of the tenement 26 LONDON ROAD