Have you sometimes wondered how to tell whether a deal you wish to document, or a document which you are examining, amounts to a ‘Lease’ or not? Usually it is clear but not always. There are examples of contracts safely in the Land Register that say ‘Lease’ ‘on the tin’, but in reality are not leases at all.
We the profession, and the Registers, need to clearly distinguish what does, and does not, amount to a Lease. There may be some agents out there who imagine that because it broadly looks like a Lease, and describes itself as such, it is. That is not always so. There will be potential for quite a lot of professional risk associated with this subject.
At the link below Mike Blair has prepared an online paper to address this question – What makes a Contract into a Lease? The paper provides an in-depth analysis and interesting insight on the topic for individuals involved in leasing, whether in a rural or an urban setting as well as, being beneficial for CPD purposes.
Click here to view – The Scots Law of Leases by Mike Blair – online version
Click here to view – The Scots Law of Leases by Mike Blair – print version
If you have any questions on this matter, please contact Mike Blair to discuss further.
This article featured in the October edition of the Law Society of Scotland – Journal.