Whether the Abolition of Feudal Tenure etc. (Scotland) Act 2000 removed, or the draft Title Conditions (Scotland) Bill is intended to remov…

The Abolition of Feudal Tenure etc. (Scotland) Act 2000 did not make any provision regarding the School Sites Act 1841. The draft Title Conditions (Scotland) Bill, as prepared by the Scottish Law Commission, does contain proposals for reversions created under the 1841 Act. Although the law is unclear, the accepted position appears to be that the reversion holder is entitled to the entire property when the site is no longer used for educational purposes. The Commission propose that where there is a valid claim, the claimant would not be entitled to the value of any improvements that have been carried out on the property. Where the land is still in possession of the local authority, and has ceased to be used as a school, the holder of the reversion could elect to receive either compensation for the value of the site or a conveyance of the land, after paying the authority a sum to reflect improvement value. Where a third party has purchased the property, the education authority, not the third party, would pay the compensation. This would protect third party purchasers.These proposals are subject to the outcome of the consultation exercise for the draft Bill, which was announced in the answer to question S1W-15380 on 1 May 2001.