The Tenements (Scotland) Act 2004 is an Act of the Scottish Parliament which is the main source of the law of the tenement, which regulates tenement flats. The Act is part of a package of land reforms together with the Abolition of Feudal Tenure etc. (Scotland) Act 2000 and the Title Conditions (Scotland) Act 2003, all of which commenced on 28 November 2004.

Passage in Parliament

The Bill was introduced to the Scottish Parliament on 30 January 2004 by then Communities Minister Margaret Curran, and supported by Justice Minister Cathy Jamieson and Deputy Communities Minister Mary Mulligan.

Substantive Provisions

Section 26 of the Act defines a tenement as two or more related but separate flats divided from each other horizontally. The definition is framed broadly in order to include not only traditional tenement properties, but also four-in-a-block houses and larger houses which have been subdivided.

Ownership

The Act contains a number of provisions affecting ownership of various parts of a tenement building:

Duties

The Act restates in statute the common law of common interest in its application to tenement properties. Owners are obliged under s.8 to maintain any part of their property which provides support or shelter to another part of the building, and are forbidden under s.9 from doing anything to their property which would impair the support or shelter provided to, or the natural light enjoyed by, any part of the building.

Demolition

The Act contains a number of provision to protect owners' interest in the event of demolition.