The law never stands still, and the way it applies to you and your organisation is constantly evolving. Our people are on top of these developments and can keep you up to date with some of the most interesting aspects of these changes. Check out our articles and updates for our perspective on issues that might affect you.
A brand new register is being introduced to answer the question: who really owns Scotland's land? The Register of Persons Holding a Controlled Interest in Land is designed to increase the transparency of land ownership in Scotland.
Registers of Scotland is consulting customers and stakeholders on whether the ability to upload and submit land register applications to the Keeper digitally via the DSS should be made available permanently.
As a result of the increasing prevalence of land in Scotland being registered on the Land Register of Scotland, we are seeing a spike in enquiries relating to prescriptive rights of access; both in terms of the creation and the affects they have on the burdened title. Prescriptive rights are established through 20 years of open, peaceable use, without judicial interruption. Evidence of such use should be obtained by a solicitor and stored.
Registers of Scotland (RoS) is increasing its fees, including the cost of registering property deeds, from Monday 5 October 2020. This means that there will be an increase in outlays incurred in a property transaction which settles on or after that date. We have set out the key price changes, as well as examples of what they mean in practice.
The risk that a title to property that makes no mention of a minerals reservation does not include them (or worse, that one that appears to include them does not) may be very small, but it is nevertheless a real one which can catch out the unwary landowner - or solicitor.