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Irritancy of Commercial Leases – validity of pre-irritancy warning notices
20th December 2011
The Sheriff Principal of Lothian & Borders has just issued her judgment in the case of Scott v Muir, a case which concerned the validity of pre-irritancy warning notices which had been served by the landlord pursuant to section 4 of The Law Reform (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Scotland) Act 1985.
The decision considers what is required for an irritancy warning letter to comply with the mandatory requirements of section 4 of the 1985 Act in particular (a) how the notices should specify the period in which payment had to be made and (b) what constitutes real notice to the tenant of what he had to do in order to avoid irritancy of the lease.
The case provides an interesting discussion of an underdeveloped area of the law in respect of commercial leases. It is an important decision for anyone involved in the drafting of irritancy notices.
The Sheriff Principal’s judgment may be found here.
Isla Davie and David Thomson, both of Ampersand, appeared respectively for the landlord and the tenant
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