Scotland: section 75 obligations and how they differ
The Scottish planning obligation is registered against the title, can be modified or discharged through a statutory procedure, and carries the whole contribution load because Scotland has no levy.
This article is about Scotland. A section 75 obligation is the Scottish planning obligation, made under section 75 of the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997, and it does the job a section 106 agreement does in England. The important differences are three: it is registered against the title in the property registers rather than kept as a local land charge, the Act gives a statutory route to modify or discharge it with an appeal to Scottish Ministers, and Scotland has no Community Infrastructure Levy sitting alongside it.
That last point changes behaviour. Where an English authority can split its asks between the levy and an obligation, a Scottish authority has one instrument, so the section 75 obligation carries more of the contribution load.
What section 75 covers
An obligation can restrict or regulate the development or use of land, require operations or activities to be carried out, require the land to be used in a specified way, or require payments to the authority, either as a lump sum or periodically. It binds the land and therefore the owner's successors.
In practice the heads of terms look familiar: affordable housing, education contributions, open space and its maintenance, transport and active travel works, healthcare contributions in some areas, and occupancy restrictions on rural or tied housing.
An obligation can be entered into by the owner alone as a unilateral obligation, which matters where an authority is slow to conclude an agreement and a determination date is approaching. A unilateral obligation is not a way of imposing terms the authority has not accepted, and it does remove the drafting delay of a bilateral deed.
Who the parties are
The person with the interest in the land has to be a party, because the obligation runs with the title. A developer with only an option or a missives position cannot bind land it does not own, so the registered proprietor signs, or joins in.
Heritable creditors are the second group to think about. A lender with a standard security over the site will often need to consent, and chasing that consent late is one of the standard causes of a section 75 running past the committee date.
Where land is in multiple ownership across the red line, every owner signs. Phasing can help, by limiting the obligation to the land being developed first, and the authority will want to see how the later phases are captured.
Registration against the title
An obligation becomes enforceable once it is registered in the Land Register of Scotland, or recorded in the Register of Sasines for land not yet in the Land Register. Until registration happens it does not bind successors.
This is a real procedural difference from England, and it has two consequences. Registration takes time, so build it into the programme rather than treating signature as the end. And because the obligation sits on the title, a purchaser's solicitor will find it, read it, and raise observations on anything ambiguous, which is a good discipline for the drafting.
| Feature | Scotland, section 75 | England, section 106 |
|---|---|---|
| Statutory source | Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997 | Town and Country Planning Act 1990 |
| How it binds successors | Registration in the Land Register or Register of Sasines | Local land charge |
| Modification and discharge | Statutory application to the authority, appeal to Scottish Ministers | Agreement, or application under section 106A after five years |
| Levy running alongside | None in force | Community Infrastructure Levy where adopted |
Modification and discharge
The Act provides for an obligation to be modified or discharged by agreement between the parties, and separately for an owner to apply to the planning authority to modify or discharge it. If the authority refuses, or does not determine the application within the period set by the regulations, there is an appeal to Scottish Ministers.
That statutory route is more generous than the English equivalent in one respect. England's section 106A application route is only available after five years have passed, whereas the Scottish procedure is not gated in the same way. Check the current regulations for the applicable periods before you rely on the timing either way.
The grounds are practical rather than technical. An obligation that no longer serves a planning purpose, a contribution tied to infrastructure that has been delivered another way, or an affordable housing tenure split that the registered social landlord sector will no longer take, are the kinds of case that succeed.
The tests an obligation has to meet
Scottish Government policy applies tests very close to the English ones. An obligation should be necessary to make the development acceptable in planning terms, serve a planning purpose, relate to the development proposed, be fairly and reasonably related in scale and kind, and be reasonable in all other respects.
The Scottish Government's circular on planning obligations is the document to read on how those tests are applied, and the current version should be checked on the Scottish Government's website because circulars are revised.
Two arguments recur. The first is pooling: a contribution towards a project many developments will use has to be justified by reference to that project and the development's share of the need, not by reference to a standard charge. The second is scale: a per-unit tariff applied without regard to the actual impact invites the response that it fails the fair and reasonable test.
Good neighbour agreements
Scotland has an instrument England lacks. The 1997 Act allows a good neighbour agreement between a developer and a community body, registered against the title in the same way, through which the developer accepts obligations about how the development will be operated.
They are used sparingly, and they are worth knowing about on a scheme where community concern is about operation rather than principle. Delivery hours for a food store, lighting curfews on a yard, or dust management on a quarry are typical subject matter. The agreement gives the community body a direct right to enforce, which a planning condition does not.
An illustrative example
A 60 home development where the authority seeks affordable housing on site, an education contribution, maintenance of a landscaped buffer in perpetuity, and a contribution towards a path link. The developer owns 55 of the 60 plots and has missives over the rest, and there is a standard security over the whole site. The figures are illustrative.
The sequence that works is heads of terms agreed before committee, the lender's consent requested the same week, the remaining owner joined as a party before the deed is finalised, and the maintenance obligation drafted so that it transfers to a factor or a management company on completion of the last house. The sequence that fails is a deed drafted after the committee resolution with the lender contacted a fortnight before the determination deadline.
Drafting points that cause disputes
- Define the trigger for each payment precisely, by reference to a numbered plot or a measurable event, rather than to "commencement of development"
- Say what happens if the development is not built out, including whether contributions are refunded and on what timescale
- Index contributions to a named published index and state the base date
- Deal with the release of individual plots, because a lender or purchaser will need to know their house is not encumbered by the whole obligation
- Name the standard to which open space must be built before it is handed over
The Scottish development hierarchy shapes which of these you will face, since major applications attract the heavier packages, as the hierarchy of developments in Scotland explains. Where the site includes a listed building, the consent regime runs separately and uses its own categories, covered in listed building consent in Scotland. Community expectations may also be documented in a local place plan, which local place plans in Scotland describes.
A power to introduce an infrastructure levy in Scotland was included in the Planning (Scotland) Act 2019 and has not been brought into force as at October 2026. Check the current position before assuming an obligation is the only route.
PlanScope's drafting is grounded in English policy, so a Scottish submission needs the reviewer to check the draft against National Planning Framework 4 and the local development plan. Browse the 66 report types to see what the supporting pack usually contains.
This is general guidance, not legal advice. Check the position with the planning authority or a qualified professional before relying on it. PlanScope provides AI-assisted draft reports for planning applications. Reports should be reviewed before submission. We do not guarantee planning approval.
Frequently asked questions
Is a section 75 obligation the same as a section 106 agreement?
They do the same job through different machinery. A section 75 obligation is made under the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997 and becomes enforceable against successors once registered in the Land Register or recorded in the Register of Sasines. England uses a local land charge instead, and has a levy running alongside obligations where a council has adopted one.
When does a section 75 obligation start binding the land?
On registration in the Land Register of Scotland, or recording in the Register of Sasines for titles not yet registered. Signature alone does not bind successors, so registration has to sit in the programme rather than being treated as an afterthought. A purchaser's solicitor will find the obligation on the title and will raise observations on loose drafting.
Can a section 75 obligation be changed later?
Yes. The parties can agree a modification, or the owner can apply to the planning authority to modify or discharge the obligation, with an appeal to Scottish Ministers if the authority refuses or fails to decide in time. Grounds that succeed tend to be practical, such as infrastructure delivered another way or an affordable tenure the sector will no longer take.
Who has to sign a section 75 obligation?
Everyone with an interest in the land that the obligation is to bind, which means the registered proprietor rather than a developer holding only an option. A heritable creditor with a standard security will usually need to consent as well, and obtaining that consent late is a common reason for a deal running past the committee date.
What is a good neighbour agreement?
A Scottish instrument with no English equivalent, under which a developer accepts obligations to a community body about how a development will be operated, registered against the title in the same way as a section 75 obligation. Delivery hours, lighting curfews and dust control are typical subject matter, and the community body can enforce directly.
Sources and further reading
This article is general guidance about the planning system in England and, where stated, the rest of the UK. It is not legal or professional advice. Check your local planning authority’s validation requirements and take professional advice for your specific site.