Commentary on Sections Part 4 – Taking Title to Land
101.This Part deals with the procedures associated with the acquisition of title to land. There are two standard procedures commonly known as “notice to treat” and “general vesting declaration” and provisions for each procedure (see respectively sections 30 to 34 and sections 35 and 36) are contained within the Act
102.The notice to treat procedure involves the serving of a special notice by the person authorised to purchase the land to the landowner offering to correspond with the landowner with a view to agreeing compensation. The special notice is known as a “notice to treat”. The person authorised to acquire the land, in this case the Scottish Ministers, may enter the land before the compensation is agreed and the land has been formally transferred by serving a “notice of entry” on the owner. If the owner is unwilling to sell the land or cannot be traced then the Scottish Ministers can acquire the land by executing a deed, called a “notarial instrument”. This provision is to ensure that the landowner cannot hold up the scheme unreasonably by refusing to sell and that the scheme can go ahead even if the landowner cannot be traced. The level of compensation will be the same whether acquisition is conducted by means of a “notarial instrument” or with the agreement of the owner.
103.The process for assessing compensation is contained within the 1845 Lands Act and the Land Compensation (Scotland) Act 1963 (c.51). If a dispute should arise about the amount of compensation it is referred to the Lands Tribunal for Scotland which is a specialist tribunal for dealing with such disputes.
104.The procedure known as general vesting declaration is discussed at the explanation of section 35.