Agriculture (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976

13 Agricultural holdings in Scotland: power to enable demand to remedy a breach to be modified on arbitration

(1) Where a question or difference required by section 74 of the [1949 c. 75.] Agricultural Holdings (Scotland) Act 1949 to be determined by arbitration relates to a demand in writing served on a tenant by a landlord requiring the tenant to remedy a breach of any term or condition of his tenancy by the doing of any work of provision, repair, maintenance or replacement of fixed equipment, the arbiter may—

(a) in relation to all or any of the items specified in the demand substitute for any period so specified as the period within which the breach should be remedied such period as appears in all the circumstances to the arbiter to be a reasonable period ;

(b) where no such period is specified in the demand, specify in relation to all or any of the items so specified such period as appears in all the circumstances to the arbiter to be a reasonable period ;

(c) delete from the demand any item or part of an item as to which, having due regard to the interests of good husbandry as respects the agricultural holding to which the demand relates and of sound management of the estate of which that holding forms part or which that holding constitutes, the arbiter is satisfied that it is unnecessary or unjustified ;

(d) substitute, in the case of any item or part of an item specified in the demand, a different method or material for the method or material which the demand would otherwise require to be followed or used where, having regard to the purpose which that item or part is intended to achieve, the arbiter is satisfied that the last-mentioned method or material would involve undue difficulty or expense, that the first-mentioned method or material would be substantially as effective for that purpose, and that in all the circumstances the substitution is justified.

(2) Where under paragraph (a) or (b) of subsection (1) above an arbiter specifies a period within which a breach should be remedied or the time for remedying a breach is extended by virtue of subsection (4) below, the Land Court may, on the application of the arbiter or the landlord, specify a date for the termination of the tenancy by notice to quit in the event of the tenant's failure to remedy the breach within the period specified by the arbiter or the extended time, being a date not earlier than whichever of the two following dates is the later, that is to say—

(a) the date on which the tenancy could have been terminated by notice to quit served on the expiration of the time originally specified in the demand, or if no such time is so specified, on the date of the giving of the demand, or

(b) six months after the expiration of the period specified by the arbiter or the extended time.

(3) A notice to quit on a date specified in accordance with subsection (2) above shall be served on the tenant within one month after the expiration of the period specified by the arbiter or the extended time, and shall be valid notwithstanding that it is served less than twelve months before the date on which the tenancy is to be terminated or that that date is not the end of a year of the tenancy.

(4) Where—

(a) notice to quit given in accordance with section 25(2)(e) of the said Act of 1949 is stated to be given by reason of the tenant's failure to remedy within the time specified in the demand a breach of any term or condition of his tenancy by the doing of any work of provision, repair, maintenance or replacement of fixed equipment, or within that time as extended by the landlord or the arbiter; and

(b) it appears to the arbiter on an arbitration required by notice under section 27(2) of the said Act of 1949 that, notwithstanding that the time originally specified or extended was reasonable, it would, in consequence of any happening before the expiration of that time, have been unreasonable to require the tenant to remedy the breach within that time,

the arbiter may treat the time as having been extended or further extended and make his award as if the time had not expired; and where the breach has not been remedied at the date of the award, the arbiter may extend the time by such period as he considers reasonable, having regard to the length of time which has elapsed since the service of the demand.

(5) Section 86 of the said Act of 1949 (Crown land) shall have effect as if references to that Act included references to this section.