Even from the time of the union between England and Scotland in 1707, there have been significant differences between some of the laws of the two countries, not least those relating to land and real estate property.

Since Scottish devolution (in 1999), the areas of difference have increased. The pace of change is now being accelerated with the transfer from Westminster to the Scottish Parliament, under the Scotland Act 2012, of greater powers, including relative to separate 'Scottish' SDLT, landfill tax and a proportion of income tax.

Couple this increased volume and nature of changes between the two jurisdictions, with the issues raised in the ongoing debates and discussions about the possibility of Scottish independence following the referendum (in September 2014), and changes being made to property law issues in England but which do not apply to Scotland, and you have a very fluid situation.