Book reviews

Commercial Leases in Scotland: A Practitioner’s Guide

3rd edition

Kenneth Gerber

PUBLISHER: W GREEN
ISBN: 978-0414054264
PRICE: £71.40

It only seems like yesterday when I wrote the foreword to the second edition of this book. Indeed, in “book terms” it was, as it was only in April 2013! While I acknowledge the increasing desire of publishers to produce new editions of books, I am left wondering if this is really necessary. Now this may simply be the rantings of someone who can remember what it was like at university with a copy of Gloag & Henderson’s Introduction to the Law of Scotland (1969) and Walker’s Principles, and I do not wish to go back to these days, but do we really need new editions published with such frequency? Is there not something to be said for independent research of core materials when checking that the law as outlined in a textbook is still current?

These comments aside, I turn my attention to this new edition of this very useful textbook. There are four new chapters – see below. All are worthwhile additions. As one might expect, the text has also been updated to reflect changes in the law and practice of commercial leasing since the second edition was published. A good example of that is the new para 31-07 regarding the proposed restriction on leasing a building with a poor EPC rating. This is overdue as, without it, what is the point of having EPCs?

The new chapter 34 is a useful complement to the form of multi-occupancy lease reproduced in the CD which accompanies the book. The commentary in para 34-02 about TPI based rent reviews is very worthwhile – especially the advice to “sense check” the calculations which are produced.

Chapter 35 deals with options. The commentary on confidentiality in paras 35-03 et seq is good, albeit that the English case law referred to in paras 35-05 to 35-06 is not considered from a Scots law perspective.

Chapter 36 considers the leasing of licensed premises. It is a short chapter but the key information is covered.

Chapter 37 is a useful review of leases for renewables, minerals and boreholes, although the subject of mineral leases is, in some respects, a topic in itself. The list of requirements in each type of lease is helpful, as it can be so easy for an inappropriate lease style to be used for the wrong purpose.

Was a third edition required? In this reviewer’s opinion, no, although it is, of course, helpful to have an up-to-date textbook of this quality to hand. That should not be at the cost of individual research of a particular topic, however.