Hypothec

Hypothec, in the law of Scotland, is a security without possession established by law in certain cases in favour of a creditor over the property of his debtor. In the case of a landlord to whom rent is owing it is restricted, as to the right to agricultural produce, by the Hypothec Amendment (Scotland) Act, 1867 (30 & 31 Vict. c. 42), and abolished by the Hypothec Abolition (Scotland) Act, 1867 (30 & 31 Vict. c. 42), and abolished by the Hypothec Aboli-tion (Scotland) Act, 1880 (42 Vict. c. 12), as to the rent of land, exceeding two acres in extent, let for agriculture or pasture. It is restricted in certain cases by the House-letting and Rating Act, 1911.

A mortgage given to a creditor or property to secure a debt, Black's Law Dictionary, 7th Edn., p. 747.