Agricultural Tenant’s Right to Buy
The Agricultural Holdings (Scotland) Act 2003 made it possible for agricultural tenants to register the right to purchase their holding in the event of a sale by their landlord. The provisions came into force in 2005, and tenants will have registered their interest by completing and lodging the relevant form with Registers of Scotland, and copying the application to their landlord.
Registrations are only valid for 5 years, which means that some notices of interest may be due to expire shortly – if you registered from 2008 onwards, your notice may have to be re-registered in 2013.
Re-registration involves completing and submitting the relevant form to Registers of Scotland along with the fee, which is currently £25.
Although Registers of Scotland’s practice is to issue a notice to a tenant 3 months prior to the expiry of his original notice, this should not be relied upon – the onus is on tenants to ensure their notice remains valid by re-registering on the expiry of the 5 year term.
This Briefing has been produced for information purposes only and is based on the law and other information available at the time of writing. We cannot be held responsible for any losses incurred through acting or failing to act on the basis of anything contained in this Briefing.
If you require advice on any of the matters referred to, please contact us so that we can advise you, taking account of your own particular circumstances and requirements.
