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Commercial lease (Scotland)

Under a commercial lease, business premises such as a shop, office, workshop or unit are let to a tenant for a set term at a rent. It deals with rent and its review, repairs, insurance, the permitted use, alterations, subletting and assignment, break rights and how the lease ends. The formal requirements in Scotland are markedly different from those in England and Wales.

Prepared by a retired English qualified solicitor (LLB, LLM) · reviewed 24 September 2026 · Scots law · how we draft · recent changes

When you need one

You need one whenever a business is to occupy premises for a period with exclusive possession. Where occupation is short and flexible, a licence may be an option, provided it does not give exclusive possession.

What it should contain

Premises and term

What is let and for how long.

Rent and review

The rent, when it is due, and the timing and method of any review.

Repair and insurance

Repair responsibilities, and who insures the building.

Use and alterations

Permitted use, and consent needed for any alterations.

Alienation

Whether the tenant can assign or sublet.

Break and termination

Rights to leave early, and irritancy or forfeiture on breach.

Points specific to Scotland

Scotland has no equivalent of the 1954 Act, so a commercial tenant has no general right to renew (shop tenants have a narrow right under the Tenancy of Shops (Scotland) Act 1949).
A lease for more than a year must be in writing under the Requirements of Writing (Scotland) Act 1995, and one for more than 20 years is registered in the Land Register of Scotland. Land and Buildings Transaction Tax may be payable. Irritancy, not forfeiture, is the landlord's remedy for serious breach.
Be Contract Wise (Scotland) prepares heads of terms for a commercial lease, for your solicitor to turn into the lease: preparing the lease itself for a fee, gain or reward is restricted to solicitors and other qualified persons by section 32 of the Solicitors (Scotland) Act 1980.

Different rules can apply elsewhere in the UK: see the England and Wales version of this guide.

Common mistakes

Accepting a full repairing obligation for an old building with no schedule of condition in place.
Break clauses with conditions the tenant has no realistic prospect of meeting.
Overlooking legal formalities that must be completed before the lease is signed.

View a specimen commercial lease, a brief example in the layout the app uses, showing the structure and main clauses.

Quick answers

Can a landlord refuse to renew a commercial lease in Scotland?

Generally yes. Scots law gives a commercial tenant no general right to renew, unlike the 1954 Act in England and Wales, so the landlord does not need statutory grounds to end the lease at its expiry (apart from the narrow right of a shop tenant under the Tenancy of Shops (Scotland) Act 1949), but the lease must be ended properly, with the notice the lease and the law require, or it may continue automatically by tacit relocation.

Who pays for repairs under a commercial lease in Scotland?

Whichever party the lease makes responsible. Tenants often take on full repairing and insuring obligations, so inspect the condition of the building beforehand.

Prepare heads of terms for your lease

Be Contract Wise (Scotland) turns a few plain-English questions into professionally laid-out heads of terms for a commercial lease, ready for your solicitor to turn into the lease.

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Reviewed 2026-11-09. General legal information about Scots law, not legal advice.