The
Abolition of Feudal Tenure etc. (Scotland) Act 2000 was an
act of the Scottish Parliament that was passed by the
Scottish Parliament on 3 May 2000, and received Royal Assent on 9 June 2000. The Act officially brought to an end annual
feu duties, a vestige of
feudal land tenure, on 28 November 2004 (that is,
Martinmas, as the Act required the "appointed day" to be one of the
Scottish term days).
Tommy Sheridan was one of a number of MSPs who drove this change through the Scottish Parliament. After that date, the former
vassal of an estate was the sole owner of the land, and the former
superior's rights were extinguished. For a further two years, the superior had the option of claiming compensation; this was fixed at a single payment of a size that, when invested at an annual rate of 2.5%, it would yield interest equal to the former feu duty. Because
inflation had eroded the value of duties, which had been fixed many years before, this payment was in most cases extremely small compared to the current value of the land.