Out-Law News

Land registration law introduced to Scottish Parliament


A proposed new law which could modernise the process of registering land and property rights in Scotland has been introduced to the Scottish Parliament.

If passed, the law would bring registration law more into line with property law. When there is competition in title, for example, a person can recover their property rather than only get compensation under the proposed law.

The Land Registration (Scotland) Bill was introduced on 1 December by John Swinney, Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth in the Scottish Government.

It provides mechanisms to increase the speed at which the Land Register will be completed; introduces a system of ‘advance notices’ for conveyancing transactions, which will remove the risk of losing title to a property between completion and registration, a risk which is currently underwritten by insurance, and makes provision for electronic conveyancing.

Property law expert Fiona Alexander of Pinsent Masons, the law firm behind Out-Law.com, previously said that the Bill would introduce welcome changes but did not provide a complete solution to current problems.

"[The Bill] proposes aligning the law on conveying common property with the practicalities of registration," she said. "How this is done will be of great importance not only to developers but also to prospective owners, investors and lenders. The current proposals still leave a lot of questions unanswered."

The Bill incorporates changes proposed by the Scottish Law Commission. It will make changes to the land registration system and will constitute a step towards making electronic conveyancing a reality, Alexander said.

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