The Property Standardisation Group (Model Lease Language for use in Scotland)

The PSG was formed in 2001 to produce agreed forms of documents and procedures for Scottish commercial property transactions.

The PSG was formed by four law firms, CMS (formerly known as Dundas & Wilson), Dentons (formerly known as Maclay Murray & Spens), Pinsent Masons (formerly known as McGrigors), and Shepherd and Wedderburn because we were concerned that too much time was being spent negotiating forms of documentation and trying to agree procedures which were not contentious but each firm had its own way of doing things to achieve the same end.

The PSG see the benefits of standardising documents and procedures as:

avoiding wasting time on minutiae, allowing solicitors to concentrate on the things that really matter in the transaction

speeding up the whole process for the benefit of the clients and also making transactions more profitable, and

managing risk.

The PSG has been assisted by other firms carrying out commercial property work in reviewing the documents produced. The PSG are grateful for the input received from Addleshaw Goddard, Anderson Strathern, Burness Paull, Church of Scotland Legal Department, DLA, DWF, Ennova Law, Gillespie Macandrew, Harper Macleod, Ledingham Chalmers, Morton Fraser, Property Litigation Association, Shoosmiths, Thorntons, TLT, Urquharts, and Wright Johnston & Mackenzie. The clear aim is however to agree forms of documentation and procedure which can be used by all firms engaged in commercial property work, not merely restricted to the firms involved in the PSG to date.