Commentary on Sections Part 10 – Agricultural Holdings Modern limited duration tenancies Section 85 – Modern limited duration tenancies: creation
414.Section 85 of the Act amends the Agricultural Holdings (Scotland) Act 2003 (“the 2003 Act”), repealing section 5 which provided for the creation of limited duration tenancies (“LDTs”). Subsection (3) inserts section 5A into the 2003 Act, which provides for the creation of modern limited duration tenancies (“MLDTs”) for a length of 10 years or more, and enabling short limited duration tenancies (“SLDTs”) to be converted into MLDTs where the lease has expired and the tenant has remained in place with the consent of the landlord, or where the lease purports to be for a length of more than five years.
415.Section 85 also inserts section 5B into the 2003 Act, permitting a break clause after five years of an MLDT where the tenant farmer is a new entrant. However, section 5A(5) prohibits such break clauses in leases converted under section 5A(2) to (4). Section 5B, subsection (3) provides a regulation-making power for the Scottish Ministers to make further provision on who new entrants are for the purposes of section 5B.