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Meeting of the Parliament 25 April 2012

25 Apr 2012 · S4 · Meeting of the Parliament

Item of business

Long Leases (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1

McDougall, Margaret Lab West Scotland Watch on SPTV

I am afraid that I will repeat much of what has already been said, but I intend to reinforce it.

The bill is similar in nature to the bill that was introduced in November 2010, although it contains some amendments that are based on the Justice Committee’s original findings and recommendations in session 3. Many of the issues in the bill were changed before it came back to the Parliament this session.

The bill aims to convert ultra-long leases to ownerships. The leases are those that are for more than 175 years and have more than 100 years left to run. They will convert to ownership, unless the tenant opts out. The bill will also protect landlords’ rights by providing compensation; clarify the position of lenders; and move away from an unnecessarily complex form of land tenure. As has been said, it is estimated that the bill will affect 9,000 ultra-long leases in Scotland. The committee recommends that the Parliament supports the general principles of the bill, but points out that some issues that were raised in evidence should be considered before stage 2.

Brodies LLP called for clarity on sections 64 and 69, to put beyond doubt what can be included in annual rent. Although the people who gave evidence on that felt that the issue was clear in the explanatory notes, they argued that the same could not be said for the bill.

Another issue is the way in which the bill interacts with the Land Registration etc (Scotland) Bill. There was a call for Registers of Scotland to update the land register to accurately reflect the conversion of ultra-long leases to ownership under the bill. The committee recommends that the land register should be updated to accurately reflect ownership and that the Scottish Government should respond to that concern. I thank the minister for clarifying that individual owners can apply to have the land register updated. The Long Leases (Scotland) Bill might need to be amended at a later date, depending on the way in which it interacts with the Land Registration etc (Scotland) Bill.

Every member who has spoken has raised the issue of common good land, although it is not directly related to the bill. There does not appear to be a comprehensive list of common good assets that local authorities throughout Scotland hold. The committee noted that it would be a complex task to compile a register that is 100 per cent accurate. It would be expensive and time consuming to produce a list of all common good properties, but that should be considered. I hope that officials will work with local authorities on that. During the evidence taking on the bill, the small number of common good properties that we are aware will be affected by the bill more than doubled, from four to nine. As common good leases are in the public interest, the committee calls on the Scottish Government to work with councils to find better ways to collect information so that we better understand the effect that the bill will have on common good properties.

The committee took evidence on the City of Edinburgh Council’s request for the Waverley market site to be exempt. That is a complex case. Based on the information that was provided, the committee decided that the case had not been made and that we could not say whether the Waverley market should be exempt. I am glad to hear that the minister is investigating ways of addressing the issue.

The committee urges the Parliament to support the general principles of the bill and to allow it to progress, but calls on the Scottish Government to investigate further the issues that have been raised in the debate, some of which do not arise directly from the bill.

16:28

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Meeting of the Parliament 25 April 2012

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