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ARTICLE · 06 NOVEMBER 2023

Developers' Casting Vote As Good As Gold

Shepherd and Wedderburn
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Many property developers set up an over-riding vote in their favour within the documentation that regulates management and maintenance of the common parts of a development, to retain flexibility...

United KingdomReal Estate and Construction
Gillian Wood
Gillian Wood
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Many property developers set up an over-riding vote in their favour within the documentation that regulates management and maintenance of the common parts of a development, to retain flexibility during the development process. A recent Lands Tribunal case considered the competence of such a right of veto.

In this article, we're going to explore the "golden vote" held by developers during the construction phase of property development. But first, it's important to understand a key factor of this landscape – the Development Management Scheme (DMS).

What is the DMS?

The DMS is a scheme of rules for the management of land introduced by Section 71 of the Title Conditions (Scotland) Act 2003. It's usually brought into effect as part of a deed of conditions registered against the title to the development site, before any plots are sold to homeowners.

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