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10 1980

LANDLORD AND TENANT (AMENDMENT) ACT, 1980

PART VI

Miscellaneous

Application of Landlord and Tenant (Ground Rents)(No. 2) Act, 1978, to certain public authorities.

[New]

70. —A person who, but for section 4 of the Landlord and Tenant (Ground Rents) (No. 2) Act, 1978 , or section 16 (2) (d) or 16 (2) (e) of that Act, would be entitled to acquire the fee simple of a dwelling-house shall, notwithstanding those provisions, be entitled to acquire that fee simple save where—

(a) in a case to which section 4 of that Act applies—the appropriate State authority, or

(b) in a case to which section 16 (2) (d) or 16 (2) (e) of that Act applies—the Minister for Transport,

is satisfied that such acquisition would not be in the public interest and so certifies.

Amendment of section 10, condition 5 of Landlord and Tenant (Ground Rents) (No. 2) Act, 1978.

[New]

71. —Condition 5 in section 10 of the Landlord and Tenant (Ground Rents) (No. 2) Act, 1978 , is hereby amended by the deletion of “expired or was surrendered before the 31st day of March, 1931 and that it”, and the said condition 5 as so amended is set out in the Table to this section.

TABLE

5. that the lease was granted, either at the time of the expiration or surrender of a previous lease or subsequent to such expiration or surrender—

(a) at a rent less than the rateable valuation of the property at the date of the grant of the lease, or

(b) to the person entitled to the lessee's interest under the previous lease,

provided that the previous lease would have been a lease to which this Part would have applied had this Act then been in force and provided that it shall be presumed, until the contrary is proved, that the person to whom the lease was granted was so entitled;

Extension of sections 10 and 12 of Landlord and Tenant (Ground Rents) (No. 2) Act, 1978, to certain subleases for less than 50 years.

[New]

72. —Condition 7 in section 10 of the Landlord and Tenant (Ground Rents) (No. 2) Act, 1978 , and section 12 of that Act shall extend to a lease made for a term of less than fifty years if

(a) the lease is a sublease (whether mediate or immediate) under a lease (in this section referred to as the superior lease) to which Part II of that Act applies,

(b) the land demised by the lease is the whole or part of the land comprised in the superior lease, and

(c) the lease is made for a term which equals or exceeds the lesser of the following periods, namely twenty years or two-thirds of the term of the superior lease, and in any case expires at the same time as or not more than fifteen years before the expiration of the superior lease,

and the other requirements of the condition are fulfilled.

Preservation of pre-existing rights.

[New]

73. —Where, immediately before the commencement of the Landlord and Tenant (Ground Rents) (No. 2) Act, 1978 , a person was, as respects any land, a person to whom section 3 of the Act of 1967 applied or would have been such a person if he had served a notice under section 4 of that Act, he shall as from such commencement be a person to whom Part II of the Landlord and Tenant (Ground Rents) (No. 2) Act, 1978 , applies.

Conversion of leases for lives into fee simple.

[New]

74. —A person entitled to an interest in land the title to which interest originated under a lease for lives renewable forever which was created prior to the 1st day of August, 1849, and was not converted into a fee farm grant under the Renewable Leasehold Conversion Act, 1849, shall from the commencement of this Act hold the land for an estate in fee simple. The said estate shall be deemed to be a graft upon the previous interest and shall be subject to any rights or equities arising from its being such graft.

Sale of houses for which letting grants were paid to public utility societies.

[New]

75. —(1) This section applies to a house which was erected by a public utility society within the meaning of section 2 (1) of the Housing Act, 1966 , and in relation to which erection a grant was made under the Housing (Financial and Miscellaneous Provisions) Acts, 1932 to 1962, and there is a subsisting undertaking, given by the public utility society in consideration of the grant, that the house would not be sold.

(2) The Minister for the Environment (in this section referred to as the Minister) may grant his consent to the sale of a house to which this section applies.

(3) Where the Minister grants his consent to the sale of a house to which this section applies, then, notwithstanding any undertaking of the kind described in subsection (1) or any limitation which may apply by virtue of section 121 of the Housing Act, 1966 , the house may be sold and the sale shall operate to vest the premises in the purchaser freed and discharged from any such undertaking.

(4) The Minister may, in relation to the sale of a house to which this section applies which was effected prior to the commencement of this section, grant his consent to such sale and where the Minister so grants his consent the fact that the sale was effected prior to the commencement of this section shall not affect and shall be deemed never to have affected the validity of the sale and such sale shall be deemed for all purposes to have been effected in accordance with subsection (3).

(5) In this section, “grant”, in relation to a house, means a grant of land as a site for such house or a grant of money in respect of such house or a grant made partly in one such way and partly in the other such way.

Necessary party to deed, etc., under disability or failing to act.

[1931, s. 27 (e); 1958, s. 24 (3)-(6)]

76. —(1) In this section “necessary party” means a person who is required under this Act to grant or join in the grant of a lease or tenancy and “requirement” refers to anything so required.

(2) Where a necessary party is, by reason of having a fiduciary capacity or a limited estate or by reason of restrictive covenants in a lease or tenancy under which he holds, unable to comply with a requirement the Court may, on the application of any person concerned, empower him to do so.

(3) Where a necessary party is an infant or a person of unsound mind or cannot be found or refuses or fails to execute or join in the execution of a lease or tenancy, the Court may, on the application of any person concerned, appoint and empower an officer of the Court to execute it or join in the execution thereof on behalf of the necessary party.

(4) Where, in relation to a lease or tenancy, a necessary party is unknown or unascertained, the Court may, on the application of any person concerned, appoint any person who is receiving the rent in respect of the applicant's interest in the premises, or such other person as the Court may think fit, to represent such unknown or unascertained person in all proceedings in connection therewith and may appoint and empower an officer of the Court to execute the lease or tenancy on behalf of the necessary party.

(5) Where an officer of the Court is appointed under subsection (3) or (4) to execute or join in the execution of a lease or tenancy the Court may order the rent payable under the lease or tenancy to be paid into Court or may make such order or give such direction in regard to the payment of the rent as it thinks proper.

(6) Where a person upon whom a notice under any provision of this Act is required to be served cannot be found or ascertained, that person shall be deemed to be a necessary party for the purposes of this section and the provisions of this section shall apply accordingly with the necessary modifications.

(7) A power conferred on the Court by this section shall be exercised in relation to a ward of court only by leave of the court of which he is a ward.

Survival of rights on death.

[New]

77. —On the death of a person who has claimed any right under this Act his personal representative or successor in title may act in his place for the purposes of all matters consequential upon the claim.

Lease terminating by ejectment or re-entry.

[New in pt. 1958, ss. 20, 21; cf. 1931, s. 34]

78. —(1) Where a lease or other contract of tenancy (in this section referred to as the terminated lease or contract) is terminated before its normal expiration—

(a) a lease or other contract of tenancy or any premises comprised in the terminated lease or contract shall not, if it is a lease or contract, to which any Part of this Act applies, inferior to the terminated lease or contract, be terminated by the termination;

(b) the person who would, but for this subsection, become entitled by virtue of the termination of the terminated lease or contract to the possession of the premises shall become entitled to the reversion on the inferior lease or contract;

(c) that person shall, subject to subsection (2), become entitled to the benefit of the rent reserved by and the covenants contained in the inferior lease or contract and shall be regarded for the purposes of this Act as having become the immediate lessor of the premises.

(2) The person holding premises under an inferior lease or other contract of tenancy to which subsection (1) (a) applies shall, from the date of the termination of the terminated lease or contract, hold the premises at whichever of the following rents is the greater—

(a) the rent reserved by the inferior lease or contract,

(b) such portion of the rent reserved by the terminated lease or contract as is fairly attributable to the premises.

Application of Settled Land Acts.

[1931, s. 43; 1958, s. 17]

79. —(1) The powers of granting leases conferred on a tenant for life by section 6 of the Settled Land Act, 1882, apply to the grant of any lease or tenancy which is required to be granted under this Act.

(2) Capital money arising under the Settled Land Acts, 1882 to 1890, may be applied—

(a) in payment of any sum payable to a person for compensation or damages awarded under this Act and any related costs, charges and expenses, or

(b) in payment, as for an improvement authorised by the said Acts, of any money expended or costs incurred under this Act in or about the execution of an improvement, or

(c) in payment of any costs, charges and expenses incurred in relation to an application under this Act.

(3) The payment of compensation or damages awarded under this Act shall be included among the purposes for which a tenant for life may raise money under section 18 of the Settled Land Act, 1882.

(4) (a) Where a person liable to pay compensation under this Act is a tenant for life or in a fiduciary position, he may require the sum payable for compensation and any related damages, costs, charges and expenses to be paid out of capital money held on the same trusts as the settled land.

(b) In this subsection “capital money” includes personal estate held on the same trusts as the land, and “settled land” includes land held on trust for sale.

Mortgages.

[New in pt. cf. 1958, s. 8; 1967, s. 24 (1)]

80. —(1) For the purposes of the application to any person of the provisions of this Act relating to the grant to him of any estate or interest in land, the existence of a mortgage on the interest of that person shall be disregarded.

(2) Where, either before or after the commencement of this Act—

(a) a lessee executes a mortgage by subdemise of the whole or part of the land comprised in his lease, retaining a nominal reversion therein, and

(b) the land comprised in the subdemise is sold for the enforcement of the mortgage,

the purchaser shall, for the purposes of this Act, be deemed to have acquired the interest of the lessee in the demised land for the entire of the unexpired term of the lease, including the period of the nominal reversion.

Valuation by Commissioner of Valuation.

[1931, ss. 26 in pt., 30; 1958, s. 22]

81. —(1) The Court may, and if so requested by any party concerned shall, cause to be sent to the Commissioner of Valuation a request for a valuation, estimate or statement in respect of any particular matter relevant to proceedings under this Act and may for that purpose adjourn the proceedings.

(2) The Commissioner shall thereupon cause such valuation, estimate or statement to be prepared and sent to the Court and may charge therefor a fee calculated in accordance with regulations made by the Minister for Finance.

(3) Where a request is sent to the Commissioner under this section, the Court shall have regard to the valuation, estimate or statement furnished by the Commissioner.

(4) Any party concerned shall be entitled to obtain from the Circuit Court Office a copy of a valuation, estimate or statement furnished by the Commissioner under this section, subject to payment therefor at the rate for the time being chargeable by law for copies of documents obtained from the office.

(5) A fee payable under this section shall be borne and paid to the county registrar by such party or by such parties in such proportions as the Court directs, and shall be paid by the county registrar into or disposed of by him for the benefit of the Exchequer in such manner as the Minister for Finance directs.

Evidence and apportionment of rateable valuation.

[1958, s. 4 (3) (b), (d)]

82. —(1) The inclusion in the certificate signed by or on behalf of the Commissioner of Valuation on an extract from the valuation list issued under section 9 of the Annual Revision of Rateable Property (Ireland) Amendment Act, 1860, of a statement that a valuation shown in the extract is the rateable valuation obtaining on a date specified in the certificate shall for the purposes of this Act be evidence of that fact.

(2) Where land does not on a particular date bear a separate rateable valuation, the Commissioner of Valuation may for the purposes of this Act apportion the rateable valuation or valuations of the properties in which the land was comprised on that date and may charge a fee for the apportionment.

(3) Every fee charged by the Commissioner of Valuation under this section shall be determined, accounted for and applied in the same manner as the fees charged by the Commissioner under section 9 of the Annual Revision of Rateable Property (Ireland) Amendment Act, 1860.

Extension of times limited by this Act.

[1931, s. 45; 1958, ss. 13 (4), 18 (7) (a) in pt.]

83. —Where a person fails to do any act or thing in the time provided for by or under this Act, the Court may, on such terms as it thinks proper (and shall unless satisfied that injustice would be caused) extend the time where it is shown that the failure was occasioned by disability, mistake, absence from the State, inability to obtain requisite information or any other reasonable cause.

Notices requiring information.

[1931, s. 40; 1958, s. 13 in pt.]

84. —(1) A person seeking any estate or interest in any premises under this Act may, in order to secure the joinder of all necessary parties in the grant, serve a notice in the prescribed form upon his immediate lessor requiring information as to the nature and duration of the reversion of that lessor, and the name and address of the person for the time being entitled to the next superior interest and may also serve a similar notice on each other person holding a superior interest.

(2) Where a person upon whom a notice is to be served under subsection (1) cannot be found or ascertained, a notice in the prescribed form may be served upon the person receiving the rent for the premises requiring the name and address of the person to whom the rent is paid by the person upon whom the notice is served and any other information reasonably necessary for the purpose specified in subsection (1).

(3) It shall be the duty of a person on whom a notice is served under this section to give or send in writing, within one month of service, such required information as is within his possession or procurement.

(4) Where a person has served a notice under this section and the person on whom it is served refuses or fails to provide the information as required by this section, the person who served the notice may apply to the Court which may make such order as justice may require to compel the person on whom the notice was served to provide the information.

Void contracts.

[1931, s. 42]

85. —So much of any contract, whether made before or after the commencement of this Act, as provides that any provision of this Act shall not apply in relation to a person or that the application of any such provision shall be varied, modified or restricted in any way in relation to a person shall be void.

Rights of entry and inspection.

[1931, s. 41]

86. —Where an improvement notice or a notice of intention to claim relief under Part II or IV has been served, the landlord and every superior landlord on whom the notice or a copy thereof has been served under this Act, and every person authorised by the landlord or any such superior landlord, shall be entitled to enter at all reasonable times on the premises and there to make such inspection and examination and take such measurements as are necessary or proper for the determination by the landlord or superior landlord (as the case may be) of the course he will adopt in relation to the notice.

Set-off against rent for cost of repairs.

[1931, s. 61]

87. —(1) Where a landlord refuses or fails to execute repairs to a tenement which he is bound by covenant or otherwise by law to execute and has been called upon by the tenant to execute, and the tenant executes the repairs at his own expense, the tenant may set off the expenditure against any subsequent gale or gales of rent until it is recouped.

(2) Where a set-off is made under this section against the whole or part of a gale of rent, the landlord entitled to receive the rent shall on receiving evidence of the expenditure of the amount so set off, be bound to give the like receipt for the gale of rent as he would be bound to give if the gale or part of the gale had been paid in money.

Service of notices.

[1931, s. 63; 1967, s. 23]

88. —(1) Service of a notice or other document under this Act may be effected by post and, if so effected, shall be by registered post.

(2) Any notice or other document required or authorised by this Act to be served by a lessee on his lessor may be so served by sending it by registered post addressed to the person to whom the lessee pays the rent of the premises to which the notice or document relates at the place at or to which he pays or sends the rent.

(3) Any notice or other document required or authorised by this Act to be served on a lessee may be so served by sending it by registered post addressed to him at the premises to which the notice or document relates.

(4) Service of a notice or other document under this Act on behalf of a person shall be deemed, for the purposes of this Act, to be service of the notice or document by the person.