Termination of Commercial Leases in Scotland - Current Law & Proposed Reforms

Introduction

This virtual classroom seminar will provide a review of the law as it currently applies to the termination of commercial leases in Scotland.

It will consider the application of the common law doctrine of tacit relocation; and the implications of the decision in Rockford Trilogy Ltd v NCR Ltd (2021) on our understanding of how tacit relocation works and what constitutes notice to bring a lease to an end at expiry.

The session will look at the proposals for reform of the common law position in relation to the termination of leases which are set out in the Leases (Automatic Continuation, etc.) (Scotland) Bill published in December 2024 but which has now been withdrawn by the Scottish Government.

The Bill had proposed replacing tacit relocation with a new concept of automatic continuation and introducing a new set of statutory rules on the timing and content of notices served by either a landlord or tenant prior to expiry.

We’ll consider the reasons for the Bill being withdrawn and whether the opportunity to reform tacit relocation has now been lost.

What You Will Learn

This live and interactive course will cover the following:

• How does tacit relocation operate in practice?
• What needs to be done to bring a lease to an end at expiry to avoid the operation of tacit relocation?
• Does tacit relocation have the benefit of certainty or is it simply a trap for the unwary?
• What are the implications of the recent case of Rockford Trilogy Ltd v NCR Ltd?
• How should Rockford Trilogy Ltd v NCR Ltd change the approach of parties in speaking to one another prior to lease expiry, for example in negotiations for lease renewals? Is it just bad law or a decision that was inevitable because of the inherent unfairness of tacit relocation?
• What the concept of automatic continuation would have meant; as well as a summary of the statutory rules which the 2024 Bill had proposed on the timing and content of notices served by either a landlord or tenant prior to expiry, and how it would have been possible to contract out of the new statutory rules or to amend timescales for service notices, etc., within the lease.
• What are the implications of the 2024 Bill being withdrawn? Will we see its likes again?

Recording of live sessions: Soon after the Learn Live session has taken place you will be able to go back and access the recording - should you wish to revisit the material discussed.