Peers have backed legislation allowing housebuyers in Scotland to sue the vendor for damages for breach of contract without first having to cancel the contract.
The Contract (Scotland) Bill repeals a current legal requirement for the buyer to reject the property and rescind the contract before obtaining damages.
The change would apply to sales of land, buildings and shares, but not to items bought in shops, which are covered by the Sale of Goods Act.
The Lord Advocate, Lord Mackay of Drumadoon, told the Lords this was one of “three bad rules” in contract law which the Scottish Law Commission had identified last January and which the Bill aimed to repeal.
The Bill, which has already cleared the Commons with cross-party support, would “clarify and simplify the law”, he added.
It was given a second reading without a vote, according to the custom of the Lords.
PA News (Parliament) 13/03/97
