CHAPTER VII. THE AGRICULTURAL HOLDINGS (Scotland) act. CONTEMPORANEOUSLY with the passing of the English Act through Parliament an Act nearly identical was passed for Scotland. It is, as has been stated above, the first legislative measure on the subject that has ever been passed for that country. 46 & 47 Vict. c. 62. Sect. 1. General right of tenant to compensation. 46 & 47 VICT. c. 62. An Act for amending the Law relating to Agricul tural Holdings in Scotland. [25th August 1883. BE it enacted by the Queen's most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows: Compensation for Improvements. 1. Subject as in this Act mentioned, a tenant who has made on his holding any improvement specified in the schedule hereto, shall, from and after the commencement of this Act, be entitled on quitting his holding at the determination of a tenancy to obtain from the landlord as compensation under this Act for such improvement such sum as fairly represents the value of the improve- Sect. 1. ment to an incoming tenant: provided always, that in estimating the value of any improvement in the schedule hereto there shall not be taken into account as part of the improvement made by the tenant what is justly due to the inherent capabilities of the soil. This section, with an important verbal alteration, is the same as the first section of the English Act. As to Improvements executed before the Commence ment of Act. 2. Compensation under this Act shall not be Sect. 2. payable in respect of improvements executed be- Restriction fore the commencement of this Act, with these proveexceptions, namely, (1.) Where a tenant has within ten years before (2.) Where a tenant has executed an improve- as to im ments before Act. Sect. 2. Sect. 3. landlord as to improve ments in schedule. his consent to the making of the improvement. In either of these cases the tenant, on quitting his holding at the determination of the tenancy after the commencement of this Act, may claim compensation under this Act in respect of the improvement which he has executed in the same manner as if this Act had been in force at the time of the execution of such improvement. This is substantially the same as sect. 2 of the English Act. As to Improvements executed after the Commencement of Act. 3. Compensation under this Act shall not be Consent of payable in respect of any improvement specified in the first part of the schedule hereto, and executed after the commencement of this Act, unless first part of the landlord, or his agent duly authorized on that behalf, has previously to the execution of the improvement, and after the passing of this Act, consented in writing to the execution of such improvement, and any such consent may be given by the landlord unconditionally, or upon such terms as to compensation, or otherwise, as may be agreed upon between the landlord and the tenant, and in the event of any agreement being made between the landlord and the tenant, the compensation payable thereunder shall be deemed to be substituted for compensation under this Act. Sect. 4. landlord as This also is substantially the same as the third section of the English Act. 4. Compensation under this Act shall not be Act, Sect. 4. prove ments in second part of sche dule. payable in respect of any improvement specified in the second part of the schedule hereto, and to imexecuted after the commencement of this unless the tenant has, not more than three months and not less than two months before beginning to execute such improvement, given to the landlord, or his duly authorized agent, notice in writing of his intention so to do, and of the manner in which he proposes to do the intended work, and upon such notice being given, the landlord and tenant may agree on the terms as to compensation or otherwise on which the improvement is to be executed, and in the event of an agreement being made, that the improvement is to be executed, by the tenant, the compensation payable thereunder shall be deemed to be substituted for compensation under this Act, or the landlord may undertake to execute the improvement himself, and unless the notice is previously withdrawn, proceed to do so in any reasonable and proper manner which he thinks fit, and charge the tenant with a sum not exceeding five pounds per centum per annum on the outlay incurred in executing the improvement, or not exceeding such annual sum, payable for a period of twenty-five years, as will repay such outlay in the said period, with interest at the rate of three per centum per annum, such annual sums to be recoverable as rent. In default of any such agreement or undertaking, and also in the event of the landlord failing to comply with his undertaking within a reasonable time, the tenant may execute the im Sect. 4. Difference from English clause. provement himself, and shall, in respect thereof, be entitled to compensation under this Act. Where in the case of a tenancy under a lease current at the passing of this Act there is in such lease, or in any relative writing made prior to the passing hereof, an express stipulation limiting the outlay on any improvement specified in the second part of the schedule hereto, the tenant shall have no claim to compensation under this Act for any such improvement in excess of the sum provided for in such stipulation. The landlord and tenant may, if they think fit, dispense with any notice under this section, and come to an agreement in terms of the lease or otherwise between themselves in the same manner and of the same validity as if such notice had been given. This clause, although mainly the same as the English clause, has a very important difference. The provision that if there is a current lease, limiting the outlay as to drainage, the tenant cannot claim in excess of that sum, is wanting in the English Act. Here existing contracts are upheld, but the absence of the provision in the English Act strengthens the contention that the valuer can interfere with existing contracts. Sect. 5. Reservation as to existing and future leases. 5. Where, in the case of a tenancy under a lease current at the commencement of this Act, any agreement in writing or custom provides specific compensation for any improvement specified in the schedule hereto, compensation in respect of such improvement, although executed after the commencement of this Act, shall be payable in pursuance of such agreement or custom, and shall |