Church of Scotland (Property and Endowments) Act 1925

Section 16.

SIXTH SCHEDULE Provisions relating to the Valuation of Teinds and the Surrender of Valued Teinds

1 Any heritor whose teinds in any parish are wholly or partly unvalued, or the titular of any such teinds, or any minister whose stipend is wholly or partly exigible from unvalued teinds or where the benefice is vacant the General Trustees may at any time not later than the expiry of twelve months after the date of issue of the teind roll for the parish apply to the sheriff to appoint a valuer for the purpose of fixing the annual agricultural value of the lands the teinds of which have not been valued, and in estimating that value the valuer (who shall be appointed by the sheriff at his own hand) shall have regard to the following directions, that is to say : Where the lands are bona fide let for a term of years, the rent payable under the lease (so far as it represents agricultural rental) and where the lands are not so let the agricultural rent at which the lands might, in the opinion of the valuer, be reasonably expected to be let shall be deemed to be the annual agricultural value :

Provided that in either case there shall be deducted from the rent—

(a) interest on expenditure by the heritor or his predecessors, upon permanent improvements within twenty years prior to the date of valuation, where such expenditure is shown to the satisfaction of the valuer to have increased the annual agricultural letting value of the land; and

(b) interest on any other improvement expenditure made by the heritor or his predecessors which, in the opinion of the valuer, has increased such letting value as at the date of valuation.

2 (a) Any heritor or titular who applies to the sheriff as aforesaid shall so soon as the appointment of a valuer has been made give written notice thereof to the minister of the parish in which the lands are situate, or if the benefice is vacant to the General Trustees, and any minister or the General Trustees so applying shall in like manner give notice to the heritor of the lands.

(b) The minister, or the General Trustees or the heritor, as the case may be, receiving such notice may within fifteen days after the date of the notice intimate in writing to the valuer that he or they desires or desire to be heard.

3 The valuer shall after such inquiry as he may think necessary, including the hearing of the parties where a desire to be heard has been intimated as aforesaid, issue a certificate of valuation showing the annual agricultural value of the lands.

4 The provisions set out in the Second Schedule to the Agricultural Holdings (Scotland) Act, 1923, relating to the removal of arbiter, evidence, statement of case and expenses shall, with the necessary modifications, apply to any inquiry by a valuer appointed by the sheriff under this Schedule. The Court of Session shall from time to time by Act of Sederunt make such regulations as they may think necessary for regulating the fees of valuers so appointed.

5 (a) Where the annual agricultural value of the lands, as shown by the certificate issued by the valuer, does not exceed fifty pounds the certificate shall be final. Where the said value exceeds fifty pounds—

(i) The applicant for the appointment of the valuer, or the heritor, or the minister, or the General Trustees, as the case may be, interested in the valuation, if not satisfied with the said valuation, may within fifteen days after the issue of the certificate by the valuer, appeal to the Lord Ordinary, who after such inquiry as he thinks necessary (including if the Lord Ordinary so directs, a remit to a skilled valuer) may either approve or modify the certificate, and the certificate so approved or modified shall thereupon become final. In estimating the annual agricultural value of the land the Lord Ordinary shall have regard to the provisions in that behalf contained in paragraph 1 of this Schedule, which for this purpose shall apply with the substitution of the Lord Ordinary for the valuer.

(ii) If no such appeal has been intimated before the expiry of fifteen days from the issue of the certificate by" the valuer, the certificate shall upon such expiry become final.

6 (a) Where the annual agricultural value of the lands as shown in the certificate issued by the valuer does not exceed fifty pounds the applicant for the appointment of the valuer shall within ten days after the issue of the certificate lodge the same at the Teind Office for registration.

(b) Where the said value exceeds fifty pounds the certificate issued by the valuer shall be so lodged within ten days of the date when the same becomes final—

(i) by the applicant if the certificate has not been modified by the Lord Ordinary; and

(ii) by the appellant if the certificate has been so modified.

(c) When a certificate has been lodged as aforesaid the Clerk of Teinds shall issue a certificate of the amount of the valued teind and such certificate shall be recorded in the Teind Office, and when so recorded shall be evidence of the valuation to the same effect as an extract decree of valuation of the Court of Teinds issued in accordance with the present practice.

7 (a) Any heritor or titular whose teinds have been valued either in accordance with the present practice or in accordance with the provisions of this Schedule, and whether there is or is not a depending process of locality may, so soon as the decree of valuation has been extracted or the certificate of the amount of the valued teinds has been recorded, as the case may be, and within the period hereinafter limited in that behalf, surrender the amount of such valued teind to the minister or the General Trustees, as the case may be. Such surrender shall be as nearly as may be in the form presently in use in the Court of Teinds, and if there is a process of locality pending may be embodied in a minute of surrender lodged in that process, and if there is no depending process of locality the surrender may be signed by the heritor or his agent or the titular or his agent (as the case may be) and lodged at the Teind Office. Any heritor whose teinds have been valued in accordance with the present practice may exercise the powers of this paragraph, notwithstanding that such valuation comprises the teinds of a heritor other than the heritor named in the surrender, but only where there has been an agreement between the parties interested with respect to the division of the cumulo valuation.

(b) Surrender of valued teinds shall not be competent unless the minute of surrender is lodged in a process of locality or the surrender is lodged at the Teind Office as aforesaid before the date hereinafter mentioned (that is to say) :—

(i) In cases where the teinds are valued before the date of issue of the teind roll for the parish in which the lands are situate, before the expiry of six months after the date of the said issue; and

(ii) In cases where the teinds are valued after the date of issue of the teind roll for the parish in which the lands are situate, before the expiry of two months after the issue by the Clerk of Teinds of a certificate of the amount of the valued teinds; and

(iii) In cases where the value of teinds specified in the teind roll for the parish in which the lands are situate is deemed to be accepted by acquiescence as hereinbefore in this Act provided, before the expiry of fifteen months after the date of issue of the teind roll for that parish.

(c) The heritor or the titular shall at the same time as the minute of surrender or the surrender, as the case may be, is lodged as aforesaid send a copy thereof to the minister of the parish, or if the benefice is vacant to the General Trustees, and the Clerk of Teinds shall, as soon as may be after the lodging of the minute or of the surrender, examine the state of the teinds in the parish and calculate what deficiency of stipend (if any) would ensue if the surrender took effect, and shall notify the result of his examination and calculation to the minister or to the General Trustees, as the case may be. Within twenty-one days after the date of such notification the minister or the General Trustees, as the case may be, may lodge objections to the surrender, which shall be finally disposed of by the Lord Ordinary; but if no such objection shall be so lodged the surrender shall have effect at the expiry of the said period of twenty-one days.

(d) It shall not be a valid objection to a surrender made under the provisions of this Schedule that the decree of locality on which the stipend has been paid up to the date of the surrender has not been made final.

8 Where a surrender made under the provisions of this Schedule has become effectual, whether no objection has been lodged or any objection lodged has been disposed of, and a deficiency of stipend amounting to not less than ten pounds per annum is caused thereby, the minister of the parish, or if the benefice is vacant the General Trustees may within thirty days after the date when the surrender has become effectual, intimate in writing to the Clerk of Teinds that he or they claims or claim that the deficiency of stipend shall be re-allocated among those heritors in the parish (if any) who have unexhausted teinds not yet allocated for stipend. The Clerk of Teinds on receiving intimation of the claim shall notify the same to the common agent of the heritors, and if any heritor within thirty days after the date of such notification lodges with the Clerk of Teinds a written objection to the claim the matter shall be finally disposed of by the Lord Ordinary. But if no such objection be lodged, the re-allocation shall be made by the Clerk of Teinds, who shall issue to the minister or to the General Trustees, as the case may be, a certificate specifying the amounts of stipend payable by the heritors whose teinds are affected by the re-allocation.

9 Any calculation as to the amount of any deficiency of stipend caused by a surrender in accordance with the provisions of this Schedule or as to the amounts of unexhausted teinds available to meet such deficiency shall be made—

(a) so far as the stipend is concerned, on the basis of the standard value thereof ; and

(b) so far as the value of the teind is concerned, in accordance with paragraph 3 of the Fifth Schedule to this Act.

10 A heritor may have his unvalued teinds valued or surrender valued teinds in accordance with the provisions of this Schedule, whether he has or has not a heritable right to such teinds :

Provided that—

(a) Where the heritor proposes to have valued or to surrender any teinds to which he has no heritable right, he shall at the time when he gives notice of the appointment of a valuer or lodges a minute of surrender or a surrender as aforesaid intimate the appointment or the surrender in writing to the titular of the teinds who shall have the same rights of objection and appeal as are by the provisions of this Schedule conferred upon the minister of the parish or the General Trustees;

(b) When a heritor receives from a minister or the General Trustees notice of the appointment of a valuer with respect to lands to the teinds of which he has no heritable right, he shall forthwith intimate the appointment in writing to the titular of the teinds, who shall in such case have the same rights of objection and appeal as are by the provisions of this Schedule conferred upon the heritor.