Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2025

Small Landholders and Agricultural Holdings (Scotland) Act 1931

80 (1) The Small Landholders and Agricultural Holdings (Scotland) Act 1931 is modified as follows.

(2) For section 14 substitute—

“14 Option to statutory small tenant to become small landholder

(1) The lease which gives rise to a statutory small tenancy becomes a lease of a small landholding if—

(a) not later than one month before the end of the period of the tenancy, the statutory small tenant gives the landlord written notice that the tenant wishes the lease to become a lease of a small landholding, and

(b) the landlord does not, before the expiry of the period of one month beginning with the day on which the notice is given, give the tenant a counter-notice stating that paragraph 27 of that schedule (in relation to rights to compensation for permanent improvements) is to apply as if the lease were a lease of a small landholding.

(2) Where a lease becomes a lease of a small landholding by virtue of subsection (1), it does so on the expiry of the period of the tenancy current when the notice mentioned in subsection (1)(a) is given.

(3) Where the landlord gives the tenant a counter-notice referred to in subsection (1)(b), paragraph 40 of schedule 2 of the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2025 (in relation to rights to compensation for permanent improvements) applies to the lease of the statutory small tenancy as if the lease were a lease of a small landholding.

(4) For the purposes of this section, a lease of a small landholding is a lease to which schedule 2 of the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2025 (small landholdings) applies.”.