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55 1931

LANDLORD AND TENANT ACT, 1931

PART V.

Special Provisions in Relation to Building Leases.

Building leases and proprietary leases.

46. —(1) In this Part of this Act the expression “building lease” means a lease in respect of which all the following conditions are complied with, that is to say:—

(a) the land demised by such lease is situate wholly in an urban area;

(b) there are permanent buildings on such land and the portion of such land not covered by such buildings is subsidiary and ancillary to such buildings;

(c) such permanent buildings are not an improvement within the meaning of this Act;

(d) such permanent buildings were erected by the person who, at the time of such erection, was entitled to the lessee's interest under such lease;

(e) such permanent buildings were not erected in contravention of a covenant, condition, or agreement contained in such lease.

(2) In this Part of this Act the expression “proprietary lease” means a lease complying with all the following conditions, that is to say:—

(a) such lease is a sub-lease (whether mediate or immediate) under a building lease; and

(b) the land demised by such lease is the whole or part of land comprised in such building lease; and

(c) such lease is made for a term which equals or exceeds whichever of the following periods is the lesser, that is to say, twenty years or two-thirds of the term of such building lease, and which in any case expires at the same time as or not more than five years before the expiration of such building lease; and

(d) such lease was made partly in consideration of the payment of a sum of money (other than rent) by the lessee to the lessor at or immediately before the grant of such lease or partly in consideration of the expenditure of a sum of money by the lessee on the premises demised by such lease or partly in consideration of both such payment and such expenditure; and

(e) the said sum of money so paid or expended or the total of the said sums of money so respectively paid and expended (as the case may be) was not less than fifteen times the yearly amount of the rent or the greatest rent reserved by such lease.

Right to reversionary lease.

47. —(1) At any time within seven years before the expiration of a building lease, any person in possession of the land or any part of the land comprised in such lease and holding the same under such building lease or under a proprietary lease shall, subject to the provisions of this Part of this Act and on obtaining the consent (if any) required by this section, be entitled to obtain from the person in receipt (otherwise than as agent for another) of the rent reserved by such building lease a reversionary lease on the terms fixed by or under this Part of this Act of the said land so possessed and held by him as aforesaid.

(2) It shall not be necessary for a person claiming to be entitled under this section to a reversionary lease of land to obtain any consent for the purposes of the foregoing sub-section of this section where either such person is in occupation of the whole of such land or no tenant of such person on such land or any part thereof holds under a proprietary lease.

(3) Where a person claiming to be entitled under this section to a reversionary lease of land is not exempted by the foregoing sub-section of this section from obtaining any consent for the purposes of the first sub-section of this section, it shall be necessary for such person to obtain for the purposes of the said first sub-section the consent of every tenant and sub-tenant (if any) of such person holding such land or any part thereof under a proprietary lease to the granting of such reversionary lease to such person.

(4) Where a building lease has expired within five years before the passing of this Act and the lessee thereunder is at the passing of this Act in possession of the land comprised in such building lease either under a yearly tenancy arising by implication from the acts of the parties or as a tenant at will or without obtaining any new tenancy, such lessee and every person in possession of such land or any part thereof under a yearly tenancy which arose on the expiration of a proprietary lease by implication from the acts of the parties shall, during six months after the passing of this Act, severally have the same rights in relation to obtaining a reversionary lease under this Part of this Act as they would respectively have had within seven years before the expiration of such building lease if this Act had then been in force.

Terms of reversionary lease.

48. —(1) Where the terms on which a reversionary lease under this Part of this Act is to be granted are settled by the Court, the following provisions shall have effect, that is to say:—

(a) the duration of such reversionary lease shall be a term of ninety-nine years from the expiration of the building lease to which it is reversionary;

(b) the rent reserved by such reversionary lease shall not in any case be less than the rent reserved by the said building lease or, where the land comprised in such reversionary lease is part only of the land comprised in the said building lease, such proportion of the said rent reserved by the said building lease as is fairly apportionable to the said land comprised in the said reversionary lease;

(c) subject to the foregoing paragraph of this sub-section the rent reserved by the said reversionary lease shall be one quarter of the gross rent as hereinafter defined;

(d) the gross rent shall be the rent which in the opinion of the Court a willing lessee not already in occupation would give and a willing lessor would take for the land comprised in such reversionary lease in each case on the basis of vacant possession being given, and in such circumstances that the supply of similar lands is sufficient to meet the demand and the competition therefor is normal, and having regard to the other terms of such reversionary lease and to the letting values of land of a similar character to and situate in the vicinity of the said land comprised in the said reversionary lease but without having regard to any goodwill which may exist in respect of the said land comprised in the said reversionary lease;

(e) such reversionary lease shall contain all usual covenants, conditions, and agreements;

(f) the Court may require the intended lessee to expend a specified sum of money in the execution of repairs to the buildings to be comprised in such reversionary lease and may authorise the postponement of the execution of such reversionary lease until such sum of money has been so expended.

(2) A reversionary lease granted under this Part of this Act shall be deemed to be a graft on the building lease or the proprietary lease (as the case may be) under which the person to whom such reversionary lease is granted previously held the land comprised in such reversionary lease, and the lessee's interest under such reversionary lease shall be subject to any rights or equities arising from such reversionary lease being such graft.

Assistance of the Court by the Commissioner of Valuation under Part V.

49. —(1) Where the Court fixes under this Part of this Act the terms of a reversionary lease the Court may and, if so requested by any party concerned, shall cause to be sent to the Commissioner of Valuation and Boundary Surveyor a request for a valuation, estimate, or statement in respect of any particular matter relevant to the fixing of such terms and may for that purpose adjourn the fixing of such terms.

(2) Upon receipt of a request under this section, the said Commissioner shall cause such valuation, estimate, or statement as is mentioned in the said request to be prepared and sent to the Court together with a statement of the fee, calculated in accordance with regulations made by the Minister for Finance, payable therefor.

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

(4) The fee payable under this section for a valuation, estimate, or statement sent by the said Commissioner to the Court in pursuance of this section shall be borne and paid to the county registrar by such party or by such parties in such proportions as the Court shall direct 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 shall direct.

(5) Where a request is sent under this section to the said Commissioner at the request of a party the Court shall in fixing the terms of a reversionary lease have regard to the valuation, estimate or statement furnished by the said Commissioner.

Restrictions on the right to a reversionary lease.

50. —(1) Where the person in receipt of the rent reserved by a building lease has, before the 31st day of March, 1931, made a reversionary lease of the land or any part of the land comprised in such building lease, or has on or after the 31st day of March, 1931, made, in pursuance of an enforceable agreement entered into before the 31st day of March, 1931, a reversionary lease of the land or any part of the land comprised in such building lease, no person shall be entitled to obtain under this Part of this Act a reversionary lease of the land or any part of the land comprised in the said reversionary lease so made.

(2) Where, after the passing of this Act, a lease (in this section referred to as the statutory reversionary lease) of any land is made by way of reversionary lease to a building lease by a person who is bound to make and to a person who is entitled (either with or without obtaining the consent of another person) to obtain under this Part of this Act a lease of such land by way of reversionary lease to such building lease, the following leases shall be void and of no effect, that is to say, every lease which—

(a) is made after the passing of this Act and either before or after the making of the statutory reversionary lease, and

(b) comprises the land or any part of the land comprised in the statutory reversionary lease, and

(c) is made by way of reversionary lease to the said building lease, and

(d) is made by a person who is bound under this Part of this Act to grant a reversionary lease of the land comprised in such building lease, and

(e) is made to a person who either is not entitled to obtain under this Part of this Act a reversionary lease of the land or any part of the land comprised in the statutory reversionary lease or (being entitled so to obtain such reversionary lease only on obtaining the consent of the person to whom the statutory reversionary lease is made) did not obtain such consent.

(3) No person shall be entitled to obtain a reversionary lease under this Part of this Act of the land or any part of the land comprised in a building lease where the person in receipt of the rent reserved by such building lease satisfies the Court either—

(a) that he bona fide intends, or has agreed to pull down and rebuild or to reconstruct the whole or a substantial portion of the building on the land comprised in such building lease; or

(b) that he requires vacant possession of such land for the purpose of carrying out a scheme of development of property which includes such land; or

(c) that for any reason the grant of such reversionary lease would not be consistent with good estate management.

(4) Where an application for a reversionary lease under this Part of this Act is refused on one of the grounds mentioned in paragraph (a) or paragraph (b) of the next foregoing sub-section of this section and the person objecting to such application on such ground does not within a reasonable time carry out the intention, agreement, or purpose (as the case may be) on account of which such application was refused, such person shall be guilty of contempt of court and be punishable accordingly.

Rights of sub-lessees where building lease is terminated by ejectment or re-entry.

51. —Where a building lease is terminated (before the expiration thereof by effluxion of time) by ejectment for non-payment of rent, breach of covenant or otherwise or by the exercise by the lessor of a power of re-entry for breach of a covenant or a condition contained in such building lease, the following provisions shall have effect, that is to say:—

(a) no sub-lease of the land or any part of the land comprised in such building lease which is an immediate sub-lease under such building lease and is a proprietary lease shall be terminated by such ejectment or re-entry;

(b) the person who would but for this section become entitled by virtue of such ejectment or re-entry to the possession of the land comprised in such sub-lease shall become and be entitled to the reversion on such sub-lease and to the benefit of the rent reserved by and the covenants and conditions contained in such sub-lease;

(c) such sub-lease shall become and be a building lease within the meaning of this Part of this Act and this Part of this Act shall apply in relation thereto accordingly.

Applications to the Court.

52. —If any dispute, question, or difficulty shall arise in regard to the right of any person to a reversionary lease under this Part of this Act, the terms on which such lease is to be granted, or otherwise in relation to the grant of such lease, any party concerned may apply to the Court and the Court may make such order as justice shall require and, in particular, may fix the terms on which such lease is to be granted.

Right of reversionary lessee to continue in occupation.

53. —Where a reversionary lease under this Part of this Act is granted before the expiration of the building lease to which it is reversionary and to a person who is in occupation of the land comprised in such reversionary lease as a sub-tenant (mediately or immediately) of the lessee under such building lease, such person shall be entitled to continue in occupation of such land from the expiration of his said sub-tenancy until the expiration of the said building lease and shall during such occupation be deemed to be tenant on the terms of the said sub-tenancy (so far as applicable) of the person who but for this section would for the time being be entitled to possession and occupation of the said land.

Persons bound to grant reversionary lease.

54. —(1) Where a person is entitled under this Part of this Act to obtain a reversionary lease from the person (in this section referred to as the building lessor) in receipt of the rent reserved by a building lease, the building lessor shall be bound to grant such reversionary lease to such person.

(2) Where a building lessor holds the land of which he is required by this Part of this Act to grant a reversionary lease under a lease for a term which is less than the term for which such reversionary lease is to be granted, the immediate landlord of the building lessor and such (if any) superior landlords as may be necessary shall be bound to join in the granting of such reversionary lease.

(3) Where a person who is bound by this section to grant or join in granting a reversionary lease is, by reason of his being a trustee, personal representative, or other person having a fiduciary capacity or by reason of his being an infant or by reason of his having only an estate for his life or in tail or other limited estate or by reason of restrictive covenants in the lease under which he holds, incapable in law of granting or joining in granting (as the case may be) such reversionary lease, the Court may, on the application of any party concerned, by order empower such person to grant or join in granting (as the case may be) such reversionary lease.

(4) Where a person who is bound by this section to grant or join in granting a reversionary lease is an infant, or a person of unsound mind, or cannot be found, or refuses or fails to execute such lease, the Court may, on the application of any person concerned, appoint an officer of the Court to execute such lease for and in the name of the person so bound and thereupon the execution of such reversionary lease by such officer for and in the name of such person shall for all purposes be as effectual as the execution thereof by such person.