Section 198 | Date of sale or purchase.

(1)Subject to the following subsections, the date on which an interest in land is sold or purchased by the appropriate person shall for the purposes of this Chapter be taken to be the date on which he enters into a contract to sell or purchase it.

(2)If the sale or purchase of any interest by the appropriate person results from the exercise (whether by him or by any other person) of an option granted not more than six months earlier, the date on which the interest is sold or purchased shall be taken to be the date on which the option was granted.

(3)If an interest is acquired from the appropriate person in pursuance of a notice to treat served by an authority possessing powers of compulsory acquisition, the date on which the interest is sold shall, subject to subsection (4) below, be taken to be the date on which compensation for the acquisition is agreed or otherwise determined (variations on appeal being disregarded for this purpose) or, if earlier, the date when the authority enter on the land in pursuance of their powers.

(4)If an interest in land is acquired from the appropriate person—

(a)in England, Scotland or Wales by virtue of a general vesting declaration within the meaning of the Compulsory Purchase (Vesting Declarations) Act 1981 or, in Scotland, Schedule 24 to the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1972, or

(b)in Northern Ireland, by way of a vesting order,

the date on which it is sold by the appropriate person shall be taken to be the last day of the period specified in the declaration or, in Northern Ireland, the date on which the vesting order becomes operative.