Law Reform (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Scotland) Act 1985

2 Power of sheriff to grant renewals of certain long leases

—After section 22 of the [1979 c. 33.] Land Registration (Scotland) Act 1979 there shall be inserted the following section—

“22A Power of sheriff to grant renewals of certain long leases.

(1) Where a landlord has failed to renew a long lease in implement of an obligation in or under it, the sheriff may, on summary application by the tenant, make an order directing the sheriff clerk to execute a renewal of the lease instead of the landlord.

(2) On making an order under subsection (1) above, the sheriff may require the tenant to consign ill court such amount (whether by way of rent or expenses or otherwise) in respect of the lease and its renewal as appears to the sheriff to be lawfully due and payable or appears to him would have been so due and payable had the landlord duly renewed the lease.

(3) A renewal executed under this section shall have the like force and effect as if it were executed by the landlord.

(4) Without prejudice to subsection (7) (a) below, a landlord shall be regarded, for the purposes of subsection (1) above, as having failed to renew a lease in implement of an obligation in or under it if, having been given written notice in accordance with subsection (5) below by the tenant that he requires the landlord, in implement of the obligation, to renew the lease, the landlord has failed to do so when he was obliged to and continues so to fail.

(5) Notice is in accordance with this subsection if it is given not less than 3 months before the lodging of the summary application.

(6) Subsection (4) above is subject to subsection (7)(b) below and to any provision in or under the lease for earlier, or a longer period of, notice requiring renewal of the lease than that mentioned in subsection (5) above.

(7) If the sheriff is satisfied that a landlord is unknown or cannot be found, he may—

(a) in a case where the tenant is thereby prevented from bringing the landlord, in accordance with the lease, under an obligation to renew it, order that the landlord shall be regarded, for the purposes of subsection (1) above, as having failed to renew the lease in implement of an obligation under it; and

(b) in any other case, dispense with notice under subsection (4) above.

(8) The sheriff may, on the application of any party, order the investment, payment or distribution of any sums consigned in court under subsection (2) above, and in so doing the sheriff shall have regard to the respective interests of any parties appearing to have a claim on such sums.

(9) The sheriff's power under subsection (8) above extends to ordering that any award of expenses of the application under this section be paid out of any sums consigned in court under subsection (2) above.”.