Rent (Scotland) Act 1984

115 Interpretation. S

(1) In this Act, except where the context otherwise requires,—

• “agricultural land” means land used only for agricultural or pastoral purposes or used as woodlands, market gardens, orchards, allotments or allotment gardens and any lands exceeding one-quarter of an acre used for the purpose of poultry farming, but does not include any lands occupied together with a house as a park, garden or pleasure ground or any land kept or preserved mainly or exclusively for sporting purposes;

• “the appropriate day” has the meaning assigned to it by section 7(3) above;

• “converted tenancy” means a tenancy which became a regulated tenancy by virtue of Part VI of, or paragraph 5 of Schedule 2 to, the M1 Rent (Scotland) Act 1971, section 34 of the M2 Housing (Financial Provisions) (Scotland) Act 1972 or section 46(1) of the M3 Tenants’ Rights, Etc. (Scotland) Act 1980; and “the conversion” means the time when the tenancy became a regulated tenancy;

• “heritable security” has the same meaning as in the M4 Conveyancing (Scotland) Act 1924 except that it includes a security consituted by ex facie absolute disposition or assignation and a standard security within the meaning of Part II of the M5 Conveyancing and Feudal Reform (Scotland) Act 1970;

• “landlord” includes any person from time to time deriving title under the original landlord and also includes, in relation to any dwelling-house, any person other than the tenant who is, or but for Part II of this Act would be, entitled to possession of the dwelling-house;

• “let” includes “sub-let”;

• “local authority” means an islands council or district council;

• “order for possession” means decree of removing or warrant of ejection or other like order; and “action for possession” and “proceedings for possession” shall be construed accordingly;

• “Part VII contract” has the meaning assigned to it in section 63(7) above;

• “premium” includes any fine or other like sum and any other pecuniary consideration in addition to rent;

• “prescribed” means prescribed by regulations made by the Scretary of State by statutory instrument;

• “protected furnished tenancy”, “regulated furnished tenancy” and “statutory furnished tenancy” mean a protected or, as the case may be, regulated or statutory tenancy—

(a) under which the dwelling-house concerned is bona fide let at a rent which includes payments in respect of the use of furniture, and

(b) in respect of which the amount of rent which is fairly attributable to such use, having regard to the value of that use to the tenant, forms a substantial part of the whole rent;

• “protected tenant” and “protected tenancy” shall be construed in accordance with section 1 above;

• “rateable value” shall be construed in accordance with section 7 above;

• “rates” means any charges payable in respect of a rate as defined in the M6 Local Government (Scotland) Act 1947;

• “regulated tenancy” shall be construed in accordance with section 8 above;

• “rent assessment committee” has the meaning assigned to it by section 44 above;

• “the standard scale” means the standard scale of fines set out in section 298G of the M7 Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1975;

• “the statutory maximum” means the prescribed sum as defined in section 289B(6) of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1975;

• “statutory tenant” and “statutory tenancy” shall be construed in accordance with section 3 above;

• “tenancy” includes “sub-tenancy”;

• “tenancy at a low rent” has the meaning assigned to it by section 2(3) above;

• “tenant” includes statutory tenant and also includes a sub-tenant and any person deriving title under the original tenant or sub-tenant.

(2) Any reference in any enactment to a rent tribunal shall have effect as if it were a reference to a rent assessment committee within the meaning of section 44 above.

(3) Except in so far as the context otherwise requires, any reference in this Act to, or to anything done or omitted under, any provision of this Act shall be construed as including a reference to, or to anything done or omitted under, any enactment which (being repealed) is substantially re-enacted in the said provision.

Marginal Citations

M1 1971 c. 28.

M2 1972 c. 46.

M3 1980 c. 52.

M4 1924 c. 27.

M5 1970 c. 35.

M6 1947 c. 43.

M7 1975 c. 21.