Agricultural Holdings (Scotland) Act 1949

35 Right to, and measure of, compensation for disturbance

(1) Where the tenancy of an agricultural holding terminates by reason either—

(a) of a notice to quit the holding given by the landlord ; or

(b) of a counter-notice given by the tenant under section thirty-three of this Act after the giving to him of such a notice to quit as is mentioned in that section ;

and in consequence of the notice or counter-notice, as the case may be, the tenant quits the holding, then, subject to the provisions of this section, compensation for the disturbance shall be payable by the landlord to the tenant in accordance with the provisions of this section:

Provided that compensation shall not be payable under this subsection where the operation of subsection (1) of section twenty-five of this Act in relation to the notice to quit the holding or part, as the case may be, is excluded by virtue of paragraph (b), (d), (e), (f) or (g) of subsection (2) of that section or of subsection (3) thereof.

(2) The amount of the compensation payable under this section shall be the amount of the loss or expense directly attributable to the quitting of the holding which is unavoidably incurred by the tenant upon or in connection with the sale or removal of his household goods, implements of husbandry, fixtures, farm produce or farm stock on or used in connection with the holding, and shall include any expenses reasonably incurred by him in the preparation of his claim for compensation (not being expenses of an arbitration to determine any question arising under this section):

Provided that—

(a) the compensation payable under this section shall be an amount equal to one year's rent of the holding at the rate at which rent was payable immediately before the termination of the tenancy without proof by the tenant of any such loss or expense as aforesaid;

(b) the tenant shall not be entitled to claim any greater amount than one year's rent of the holding unless he has given to the landlord not less than one month's notice of the sale of any such goods, implements, fixtures, produce or stock as aforesaid and has afforded him a reasonable opportunity of making a valuation thereof;

(c) the tenant shall not in any case be entitled to compensation in excess of two years' rent of the holding.

In this subsection the expression " rent" means the rent after deduction of such an amount as, failing agreement, the arbiter may find to be equivalent to the aggregate of the following amounts, that is to say—

(i) the amount payable by the landlord in respect of the holding for the year in which the tenancy was terminated by way of owners' rates or of any other public rates, taxes or assessments or other public burdens, the charging of which on the landlord would entitle him to relief in respect of tax under Rule 4 of No. V of Schedule A to the Income Tax Act, 1918; and

(ii) the amount (if any) recovered in respect of that year from the landlord in pursuance of subsection (1) of section forty-seven of the Local Government (Scotland) Act, 1929.

(3) Where the tenant of an agricultural holding has lawfully sub-let the whole or part of the holding, and in consequence of a notice to quit given by his landlord becomes liable to pay compensation under this section to the sub-tenant, the tenant shall not be debarred from recovering compensation under this section by reason only that, owing to not being in occupation of the holding or of part of the holding, on the termination of his tenancy he does not quit the holding or that part.

(4) Where the tenancy of an agricultural holding terminates by virtue of such a counter-notice as is mentioned in paragraph (b) of subsection (1) of this section and—

(a) the part of the holding affected by the notice given by the landlord, together with any part of the holding affected by any such previous notice given by the landlord as is rendered valid by section thirty-two of this Act, is either less than one fourth part of the area of the original holding or of a rental value less than one fourth part of the rental value of the original holding, and

(b) the holding as proposed to be diminished is reasonably capable of being farmed as a separate holding,

compensation shall not be payable under this section except in respect of the part of the holding to which the notice to quit relates.

(5) Compensation payable under this section shall be in addition to any compensation to which the tenant may be entitled apart from this section.