Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

Related legal acts

Key definition

Irritancy definition

What does Irritancy mean? In Scottish leasing practice, irritancy is the landlord’s right to end a lease (forfeiture) when the tenant is in default, typically for non-payment of rent or breach/contravention of lease obligations (for example, user, repair, alienation or insolvency provisions). It may arise as legal irritancy (implied by law, historically for non‑payment) or conventional irritancy (set out in the lease). Enforcement normally requires (i) service of a pre‑irritancy warning notice and (ii) a court decree (declarator and decree of removing) if possession is not yielded. The Law Reform (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Scotland) Act 1985 regulates enforcement: it restricts termination for monetary breaches...

Scottish agricultural tenancies: statutory and contractual irritancy—grounds, statutory exceptions, procedure, defences and compensation under the Agricultural Holdings (Scotland) Acts 1991 and 2003 (SLDTs, LDTs, MLDTs)

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Practice notes

This Practice Note outlines the grounds and scope of Irritancy in 1991 Act Tenancies (regulated by the Agricultural Holdings (Scotland) Act 1991 (AH(S)A 1991)) and 2003 Act Tenancies (regulated by the Agricultural Holdings (Scotland) Act 2003 (AH(S)A 2003)), namely the following:

short limited Duration tenancies (‘SLDTs’)
limited duration tenancies (‘LDTs’), and
modern limited duration tenancies (‘MLDTs’)

Legal and conventional irritancy in 1991 Act Tenancies

A 1991 Act Tenancy can be terminated prematurely on the ground of legal irritancy or conventional irritancy, where legally relevant.

‘Legal’ or statutory irritancy provisions

AH(S)A 1991, s 20 makes provision for legal (statutory) irritancy in 1991 Act Tenancies. It permits an action to remove the Tenant at the next Whitsunday or Martinmas (28 May or 28 November) after the action is duly raised in the sheriff court where six months’ rent of an agricultural holding is owed and unpaid. The sheriff must grant decree against the tenant unless the tenant can pay the rent outstanding and a further year’s rent, or offer sufficient security, to the sheriff’s satisfaction, for that sum. As this irritancy can be purged by paying the arrears or finding caution before a decree of removing is extracted, it is very rarely...

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Emma Robertson

Shepherd and Wedderburn

Emma Robertson is accredited by the Law Society of Scotland as a Specialist in Agricultural Law. She has experience across the board in respect of all aspects of rural legal work from the purchase and sale of farms and estates to onshore renewables. Emma has a particular interest in agricultural law and acts for both landlords and tenants across Scotland. Her experience includes the preparation of new agricultural leases including 1991 Act tenancies and fixed duration tenancies, advising on aspects of tenancies including rent reviews, tenant’s improvements, the relinquishment procedure, succession and waygo....

Web page updated on 22/05/2026

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