§ Lady TweedsmuirI beg to move, in page 11, line 34, after "year" to insert:
or such longer period as may be fixed by agreement between the landlord and the executor or, failing agreement, by the sheriff on summary application by the executor".This, also, is a drafting Amendment. It is intended to enable an executor to obtain an extension of the period during which he may dispose of the deceased's interest in a lease. Subsection (3) of the Clause makes provision under which a lease that is vested in an executor can in certain circumstances be terminated. Paragraph (b) gives the executor a period of one year in which to dispose of the lease according to law. If he has not done so by the end of the year, the landlord becomes entitled to give him notice for terminating the lease.It may be, however, that the executor has been unable to dispose of the lease within the year by reason of circumstances which are outwith his control. For example, there may be a dispute as to whether a lease was or was not part of the deceased person's estate, and a question of this kind may have to be taken to court. The purpose of the Amendment is to give the executor, in circumstances such as these, the right to apply to the sheriff for an extension of time within which to dispose of the lease.
I said that this was a drafting Amendment. Strictly speaking, it gives an extension, but I believe that it is a fair one.
§ Amendment agreed to.