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The property or the project, and what you want from it.
Glasgow · Development, sales and letting
Scotland is
Scotland is
a differentlegal system.
Not a regional variation. A Home Report before a home is marketed. Missives that bind both sides earlier than you expect. Tenancies with no fixed term and no no-fault notice. Better to know all three before dealing with us than after.
- 2024formed in
- SCregistered
- Scotslaw
- Noneno-fault
What we do
Four things, under Scots law
Every one of these runs differently here from how it runs in England, and the differences are stated before anyone commits.
Development
Developing building projects, from site through to completion certificate.
See the programBuying and selling
Buying and selling property on our own account, as principal.
See the programLetting
Letting property we own or lease, under a private residential tenancy.
See the programWhat we are not
The limits of a company formed in 2024, stated rather than dressed up.
See the program
How it works
How we work
Get the consent before the work rather than during it, make the Home Report available before marketing, let people know that missives bind them once concluded, and explain that a Scottish tenancy has no end date. Then agree dates that do not depend on something nobody has yet.
Consents before work
Planning, then a building warrant, then site.
Documents up front
Home Report before marketing, terms before payment.
Dates that mean something
Fixed in missives, or stated in writing.
Working together
What things cost
Quoted per property or per project in pounds sterling. Your own solicitor's fees, and any public fees for warrants and consents, are separate and paid to them.
A property to buy
Priced per property, with the Home Report available.
- Home Report before marketing
- Price stated, not negotiated blind
- Missives through your solicitor
- Settlement date in the missives
- No agency fee to us
A property to rent
Private residential tenancy, open ended, let by the landlord.
- Open-ended tenancy explained
- Deposit in an approved scheme
- Repairing standard maintained
- Landlord registered
- No letting agent fees
A development
Quoted per project once the consents are understood.
- Building warrant before work
- Timescale in writing
- Completion certificate accepted
- Variations priced before they happen
- No date based on a pending consent
Every engagement is quoted after a free consultation. No subscription.
How we work
A Scottish company, under Scots law
TERRACAS LTD was incorporated in Scotland on 4 July 2024 under company number SC815539, with its registered office at 1 Cambuslang Court in Cambuslang, Glasgow. The registered activities are the development of building projects, the buying and selling of our own property, and the letting and operation of property we own or lease.
The company is new, formed in the middle of 2024, and we would rather say that than imply a history we have not got. What we can do from the start is be clear about the rules, because Scotland has its own legal system and the differences from England are not cosmetic. Most homes cannot be marketed for sale without a Home Report, so the survey, the energy report and the property questionnaire are in front of a buyer before they offer, rather than commissioned by them afterwards. A sale becomes binding when missives are concluded, which arrives earlier than people expect and is the reason gazumping is far less common here. A private residential tenancy is open ended, with no fixed term and no end date, and because there is no no-fault notice in Scotland, recovering a property needs a statutory ground and an order from the housing tribunal. On the building side, a warrant has to be granted before work starts and a completion certificate accepted before anyone moves in. We sell and let as principal, not as an agent, and we forecast nothing.
Frequently asked
The questions we get most
What is a Home Report and who pays for it?
It is a pack that has to be available before most homes are marketed for sale in Scotland, containing a single survey with a valuation, an energy report and a property questionnaire completed by the seller. The seller pays for it. It means a buyer sees a professional survey before deciding whether to offer, rather than paying for their own afterwards as they would in England. There is no English equivalent.
When does a Scottish sale actually become binding?
When missives are concluded. That is earlier than people moving from England expect, because there is no separate exchange of contracts stage here, and once concluded both sides are committed. It is why gazumping is far rarer in Scotland. It is also why you want a Scottish solicitor involved before any offer is made or accepted on your behalf, not afterwards. We are not solicitors and we do not give legal advice.
Can you give me a tenancy for twelve months?
Not as a fixed term that ends automatically, no. A private residential tenancy in Scotland is open ended with no expiry date. There is no no-fault notice here, which means a landlord cannot simply give notice at the end of a period, and recovering a property requires a statutory ground plus an order from the First-tier Tribunal. That is a better deal for a tenant than an English assured shorthold tenancy, and it is worth understanding from both sides before signing.
How is your deposit protection different?
The deposit goes into an approved Scottish tenancy deposit scheme and the deadline is counted in working days rather than calendar days, which catches out landlords who have read English guidance. The prescribed information goes to the tenant as well. Separately, a landlord letting in Scotland must be registered with the local authority, and letting without registration is an offence rather than an oversight.
Do I need a building warrant, or is it like building regulations?
It is not the same. In Scotland a building warrant has to be granted before the work begins, and a completion certificate has to be submitted and accepted before a finished building can be occupied. The consent sits at the front of the programme rather than running alongside it. We do not start warrantable work without a warrant, and we will not give you a completion date that depends on a consent nobody has applied for yet.
You were formed in 2024. Why should we deal with you?
That is a fair question and the honest answer is that we have a short history, which we are not going to dress up. What we can offer is being straight about what applies, what we are and what we are not. We sell and let as principal rather than as an agent, we hold no client money, we do not forecast value or yield, and where a property has no structural warranty we will tell you that rather than let you assume there is one.
Got a property or a project in Scotland?
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