Adverse Possession
Statute of Limitations
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PART I.
Preliminary and General.
Short title and commencement.
1.—(1) This Act may be cited as the Statute of Limitations, 1957.
(2) This Act shall come into operation on the 1st day of January, 1959.
General provisions as to interpretation.
2.—(1) In this Act—
“the Act of 1891” means the Registration of Title Act, 1891;
“action” includes any proceeding (other than a criminal proceeding) in a Court established by law;
“action to recover land” includes—
(a) an action claiming a declaration of title to land,
(b) proceedings by a mortgagee for the delivery of possession of land by a mortgagor,
(c) proceedings under section 13 of the Registration of Title Act, 1942 (No. 26 of 1942), by a person who is registered under the Act of 1891 as the owner of a charge on registered land for possession of the land;
“arbitration”, “arbitration agreement” and “award” have the same meanings as in the Arbitration Act, 1954 (No. 26 of 1954);
“conventional rent” means a rent payable under a lease or other contract of tenancy (whether in writing or not and whether express or implied) and includes the rent payable by a statutory tenant within the meaning of the Rent Restrictions Act, 1946 (No. 4 of 1946), but does not include a fee-farm rent payable under a grant which creates the relationship of landlord and tenant;
“foreshore” means the bed and shore, below the line of high water of ordinary or medium tides, of the sea and of every tidal river and tidal estuary and of every channel, creek, and bay of the sea or of any such river or estuary;
F1[‘judgment mortgage’ means a mortgage registered by a judgment creditor under section 116 of the Land and Conveyancing Law Reform Act 2009;]
“land” includes corporeal hereditaments and rentcharges, and an interest in the proceeds of the sale of land held upon trust for sale, but save as aforesaid does not include any incorporeal hereditament;
“mortgage” includes an equitable mortgage and a judgment mortgage and “mortgagor”, “mortgagee” and cognate words shall be construed accordingly;
“the operative date” means the 1st day of January, 1959;
“other limitation enactment” means any enactment (other than this Act) relating to the limitation of actions;
“personal estate” does not include chattels real;
“personal injuries” includes any disease and any impairment of a person’s physical or mental condition;
“personal property” does not include chattels real;
“personal representative” means the executor, original or by representation, or the administrator of a deceased person and includes, in relation to land to which the Land Purchase Acts apply, a person who, under those Acts, is, for the purposes of proceedings under those Acts, appointed to be the administrator of the personal estate of a deceased person or nominated to represent a person dead, absent or under a disability;
“registered land” means land the title to which is registered under the Act of 1891;
“rentcharge” means any annuity or periodic sum of money charged upon or payable out of land, and includes—
(a) any annual or periodic payment to the Irish Land Commission, including an annuity in repayment of an instalment mortgage payable into the Church Temporalities Fund, and
(b) any periodic payment which was immediately before the 6th day of December, 1922, collectable under the Crown Lands Acts, 1829 to 1913, being—
(i) a crown rent, or
(ii) a quit rent, or
(iii) a composition rent, or
(iv) any other rentcharge, and
(c) a fee-farm rent, whether the grant under which it arises does or does not create the relationship of landlord and tenant,
but does not include—
(d) a conventional rent, or
(e) interest on a mortgage or charge on land, or
(f) a terminable annuity payable in respect of a loan under the Housing (Gaeltacht) Acts, 1929 and 1934;
“ship” includes every description of vessel used in navigation not propelled by oars;
“State authority” means any authority being—
(a) a Minister of State, or
(b) the Commissioners of Public Works in Ireland, or
(c) the Irish Land Commission, or
(d) the Revenue Commissioners, or
(e) the Attorney General.
“Trustee.”
(2) (a) In this Act, “trustee” does not include—
(i) a person whose fiduciary relationship arises merely by construction or implication of law and whose fiduciary relationship is not deemed by any rule of law to be that of an express trustee, or
(ii) a personal representative in the capacity of personal representative.
(b) Where—
(i) an interest (in this paragraph referred to as the new interest) in land, which is conveyed to or vested in a purchaser under the Land Purchase Acts, is, under any provision of those Acts or otherwise, a graft or deemed to be a graft on any previous interest in that land or any other land, and
(ii) the new interest is subject to any rights or equities arising from its being such a graft,
then, neither the purchaser nor any person claiming through him shall, by reason only of the matters mentioned in subparagraphs (i) and (ii) of this paragraph, be, in respect of the new interest, a trustee for the purposes of this Act.
(c) F2[Where a person is registered as owner of land with a title which is or is deemed to be a possessory title, neither he nor any person claiming through him shall, by reason only of the registration, be, in respect of that land, a trustee for the purposes of the Statute of Limitations, 1957.]
(d) F3[A personal representative in the capacity of personal representative shall not, by reason only of section 10, be a trustee for the purposes of the Statute of Limitations, 1957.]
(3) F4[…]
Application of Act to charges for principal sums on registered land.
(4) In the application of this Act to registered land in respect of which a charge for the payment of a principal sum has been created under section 40 of the Act of 1891—
(a) references to a mortgagor shall be construed as references to the registered owner who charged the land,
(b) references to a mortgagee shall be construed as references to the registered owner of the charge,
(c) references to a mortgage shall be construed as references to the instrument of charge,
and cognate words shall be construed accordingly.
Claiming through a person.
(5) (a) For the purposes of this Act—
(i) a person shall be deemed to claim through another person, if he became entitled by, through, under or by the act of that other person to the right claimed;
(ii) a person whose estate or interest might have been barred by a person entitled to an entailed interest in possession shall be deemed to claim through the person so entitled.
(b) A person becoming entitled to any estate or interest by virtue of a special power of appointment shall not, for the purposes of this Act, be deemed to claim through the appointor.
Right of action to recover land to include right to enter into possession, distrain, etc.
(6) In this Act—
(a) references to a right of action to recover land shall include references to a right to enter into possession of the land or, in the case of a rentcharge, to distrain for arrears of the rentcharge;
(b) references to the bringing of an action to recover land shall include references to the making of an entry into possession of the land or, in the case of a rentcharge, to making a distress for arrears of the rentcharge.
Possession and dispossession in the case of rentcharges.
(7) In this Act—
(a) references to the possession of land shall, in the case of a rentcharge, be construed as references to the receipt of the rentcharge, and
(b) references to the date of dispossession or discontinuance of possession of land shall, in the case of a rentcharge, be construed as references to the date of the last receipt of the rentcharge.
(8) In this Act, references to any enactment shall be construed as references to that enactment as amended or extended by any subsequent enactment.
Annotations:
Application to the State.
3.—(1) Save as in this Act otherwise expressly provided and without prejudice to section 7 of this Act, this Act shall apply to proceedings by or against a State authority in like manner as if that State authority were a private individual.
(2) This Act shall not apply to—
(a) any proceedings for the recovery of any sum due in respect of a tax or duty which is for the time being under the care and management of the Revenue Commissioners, or interest thereon, or
(b) any proceedings for the recovery of any fine, penalty or forfeiture incurred in connection with any such tax or duty, or
(c) any forfeiture proceedings under the Customs Acts or the Acts which relate to the duties of excise and the management of those duties.
(3) Nothing in this Act shall affect the right of the State to any gold or silver mine.
Non-application to proceedings in respect of the forfeiture of a ship.
4.—This Act shall not apply to any proceedings in respect of the forfeiture of a ship or of an interest in a ship under the Mercantile Marine Act, 1955 (No. 29 of 1955).
Saving for equitable jurisdiction to refuse relief for acquiescence or otherwise.
5.—Nothing in this Act shall affect any equitable jurisdiction to refuse relief on the ground of acquiescence or otherwise.
Provisions as to set-off and counterclaim.
6.—For the purposes of this Act, any claim by way of set-off or counterclaim shall be deemed to be a separate action and to have been commenced on the same date as the action in which the set-off or counterclaim is pleaded.
Saving for other limitation enactments in respect of actions.
7.—This Act shall not apply to—
(a) any action for which a period of limitation is fixed by any other limitation enactment, or
(b) any action to which a State authority is a party and for which, if that State authority were a private individual, a period of limitation would be fixed by any other limitation enactment.
PART II.
Periods of Limitation for Different Classes of Action.
Part II to be subject to provisions of Part III relating to disability, acknowledgment, part payment, fraud and mistake.
10.—The subsequent provisions of this Part of this Act shall have effect subject to the provisions of Part III of this Act which provide for the extension of the periods of limitation in the case of disability, acknowledgment, part payment, fraud and mistake.
Actions of contract and tort and certain other actions.
Actions to recover land.
Limitation of actions to recover land.
13.—(1) (a) Subject to paragraphs (b) and (c) of this subsection, no action shall be brought by a State authority to recover any land after the expiration of thirty years from the date on which the right of action accrued to a State authority or, if it first accrued to some person through whom a State authority claims, to that person.
(b) An action to recover foreshore may be brought by a State authority at any time before the expiration of sixty years from the date on which the right of action accrued to a State authority.
(c) Where any right of action to recover land, which has ceased to be foreshore but remains in the ownership of the State, accrued when the land was foreshore, the action may be brought at any time before the expiration of sixty years from the date of the accrual of the right of action, or of forty years from the date on which the land ceased to be foreshore, whichever period first expires.
(2) The following provisions shall apply to an action by a person (other than a State authority) to recover land—
(a) subject to paragraph (b) of this subsection, no such action shall be brought after the expiration of twelve years from the date on which the right of action accrued to the person bringing it or, if it first accrued to some person through whom he claims, to that person;
(b) if the right of action first accrued to a State authority, the action may be brought at any time before the expiration of the period during which the action could have been brought by a State authority, or of twelve years from the date on which the right of action accrued to some person other than a State authority, whichever period first expires.
(3) For the purposes of this Act—
(a) where a right of action to recover any land accrued to the Crown before the 6th day of December, 1922, the right of action shall be deemed to have accrued to a State authority on the date on which the right of action first accrued to the Crown;
(b) where a right of action to recover any land accrued to Saorstát Éireann before the 29th day of December, 1937, the right of action shall be deemed to have accrued to a State authority on the date on which the right of action first accrued to Saorstát Éireann;
(c) where a right of action to recover any land accrued to the State before the operative date, the right of action shall be deemed to have accrued to a State authority on the date on which the right of action first accrued to the State.
Accrual of right of action
(present interests in land). (i) on dispossession or discontinuance.
14.—(1) Where the person bringing an action to recover land, or some person through whom he claims, has been in possession thereof and has while entitled thereto been dispossessed or discontinued his possession, the right of action shall be deemed to have accrued on the date of the dispossession or discontinuance.
(2) Where—
(a) any person brings an action to recover any land of a deceased person, whether under a will or on intestacy, and
(ii) on failure to take possession on a death.
(b) the deceased person—
(i) was on the date of his death in possession of the land or, in the case of a rentcharge created by will or taking effect upon his death, in possession of the land charged, and
(ii) was the last person entitled to the land to be in possession thereof,
the right of action shall be deemed to have accrued on the date of his death.
(iii) on failure to take possession under an assurance.
(3) Where—
(a) any person brings an action to recover land, being an estate or interest in possession assured, otherwise than by will, to him or to some person through whom he claims, by a person who, at the date when the assurance took effect—
(i) was in possession of the land, or
(ii) was, in the case of a rentcharge created by the assurance, in possession of the land charged, and
(b) no person has been in possession of the land by virtue of the assurance,
the right of action shall be deemed to have accrued on the date when the assurance took effect.
Accrual of right of action (future interests in land).
15.—(1) Subject as hereinafter in this section provided, the right of action to recover any land shall, in a case where—
(i) on falling into possession of future interest.
(a) the estate or interest claimed was an estate or interest in reversion or remainder or any future estate or interest, and
(b) no person has taken possession of the land by virtue of the estate or interest claimed,
be deemed to have accrued on the date on which the estate or interest fell into possession by the determination of the preceding estate or interest.
(ii) where previous owner out of possession.
(2) (a) If the person entitled to the preceding estate or interest, not being a term of years absolute, was not in possession of the land on the date of the determination thereof, no action shall be brought by the person entitled to the succeeding estate or interest after the expiration of twelve years from the date on which the right of action accrued to the person entitled to the preceding estate or interest, or of six years from the date on which the right of action accrued to the person entitled to the succeeding estate or interest, whichever period last expires.
(b) Where the State is entitled to the succeeding estate or interest, paragraph (a) of this subsection shall have effect with the substitution for the reference to twelve years of a reference to thirty years and for the reference to six years of a reference to twelve years.
(iii) saving for entailed interests.
(3) The foregoing provisions of this section shall not apply to any estate or interest which falls into possession on the determination of an entailed interest and which might have been barred by the person entitled to the entailed interest.
(iv) alienation while time is running.
(4) No person shall bring an action to recover any estate or interest in land under an assurance taking effect after the right of action had accrued to the person by whom the assurance was made or some person through whom he claimed or some person entitled to a preceding estate or interest, unless the person by whom the assurance was made could have brought such an action.
(v) future interest barred where present interest of same person barred.
(5) Where—
(a) any person is entitled to any estate or interest in land in possession, and
(b) such person is, while so entitled, also entitled to any future estate or interest in that land, and
(c) his right to recover the estate or interest in possession is barred under this Act,
no action shall be brought by that person or by any person claiming through him in respect of the future estate or interest, unless in the meantime possession of the land has been recovered by a person entitled to an intermediate estate or interest.
Accrual of right of action (forfeiture or breach of condition).
16.—(1) A right to recover land by virtue of a forfeiture or breach of condition shall be deemed to have accrued on the date on which the forfeiture was incurred or the condition broken.
(2) Where—
(a) a right of action to recover land by virtue of a forfeiture or breach of condition has accrued to a person entitled to an estate or interest in reversion or remainder, and
(b) the land was not recovered by virtue thereof, the right of action to recover the land shall not be deemed to have accrued to that person until his estate or interest fell into possession, as if no such forfeiture or breach of condition had occurred.
Accrual of right of action (certain tenancies).
(i) tenancy at will.
17.—(1) (a) A tenancy at will shall, for the purposes of this Act, be deemed to be determined at the expiration of one year from the commencement thereof, unless it has previously been determined.
(b) The right of action of a person entitled to land subject to a tenancy at will shall be deemed to have accrued on the date on which the tenancy is determined.
(c) No mortgagor or beneficiary shall, for the purposes of this subsection, be deemed to be a tenant at will to his mortgagee or trustee.
(ii) tenancy, without lease in writing, from year to year or other period.
(2) (a) A tenancy from year to year or other period, without a lease in writing, shall, for the purposes of this Act, be deemed to be determined at the expiration of the first year or other period.
(b) The right of action of a person entitled to land subject to a tenancy from year to year or other period, without a lease in writing, shall be deemed to have accrued at the date of the determination of the tenancy, unless any rent or other periodic payment has subsequently been received in respect of the tenancy, in which case the right of action shall be deemed to have accrued on the date of the last receipt of rent or other periodic payment.
(iii) wrongful receipt of conventional rent under a lease in writing.
(3) Where—
(a) any person is in possession of land by virtue of a lease in writing by which a yearly conventional rent of not less than twenty shillings is reserved, and
(b) the rent is received by some person (in this subsection referred to as the wrongful recipient) wrongfully claiming to be entitled to the land in reversion immediately expectant on the determination of the lease, and
(c) no rent is subsequently received by the person rightfully so entitled,
the right of action of the last-named person to recover the land shall be deemed to have accrued at the date when the rent was first received by the wrongful recipient and not at the date of the determination of the lease.
(4) Subsection (1) of this section shall not apply to a tenancy at will granted by a State authority, and subsection (3) of this section shall not apply to a lease granted by a State authority or a lease the lessor’s interest under which is vested in a State authority.
Right of action not to accrue unless there is adverse possession.
18.—(1) No right of action to recover land shall be deemed to accrue unless the land is in the possession (in this section referred to as adverse possession) of some person in whose favour the period of limitation can run.
(2) Where—
(a) under the foregoing provisions of this Act a right of action to recover land is deemed to accrue on a certain date, and
(b) no person is in adverse possession of the land on that date,
the right of action shall not be deemed to accrue unless and until adverse possession is taken of the land.
(3) Where a right of action to recover land has accrued and thereafter, before the right of action is barred, the land ceases to be in adverse possession, the right of action shall no longer be deemed to have accrued and no fresh right of action shall be deemed to accrue unless and until the land is again taken into adverse possession.
(4) For the purposes of this section—
(a) possession of any land subject to a rentcharge by a person (other than the person entitled to the rentcharge) who does not pay the rentcharge shall be deemed to be adverse possession of the rentcharge, and
(b) receipt of the conventional rent under a lease by a person wrongfully claiming to be entitled to the land in reversion immediately expectant on the determination of the lease shall be deemed to be adverse possession of the land.
Cure of defective disentailing assurance.
19.—Where—
(a) a person entitled in remainder under a settlement to an estate tail in any land has made an assurance thereof which fails to bar the issue in tail or the estates taking effect on the determination of the estate tail or fails to bar the said estates only, and
(b) any person (other than some person entitled to possession by virtue of the settlement) is in possession of the land for a period of twelve years from the commencement of the time at which the assurance, if it had then been executed by the person entitled to the estate tail, would have operated, without the consent of any other person, to bar the issue in tail and the said estates,
then, at the expiration of that period, the assurance shall operate, and be deemed always to have operated, to bar the issue in tail and the said estates.
No right of action to be preserved by formal entry or continual claim.
20.—For the purposes of this Act—
(a) no person shall be deemed to have been in possession of any land by reason only of having made a formal entry thereon,
(b) no continual or other claim upon or near any land shall preserve any right of action to recover the land.
Administration to date back to death.
23.—For the purposes of the provisions of this Act relating to actions for the recovery of land, an administrator of the estate of a deceased person shall be deemed to claim as if there had been no interval of time between the date of the death of the deceased person and the grant of letters of administration.
Extinction of title to land
after expiration of period limited for actions to recover land.
24.—Subject to section 25 of this Act and to F14[section 49 of the Registration of Title Act, 1964], at the expiration of the period fixed by this Act for any person to bring an action to recover land, the title of that person to the land shall be extinguished.
Equitable estates in land, and land held on trust.
25.—(1) Subject to section 44 of this Act, the provisions of this Act shall apply to equitable estates in land, including interests in the proceeds of the sale of land held upon trust for sale, in like manner as they apply to legal estates in land, and accordingly a right of action to recover the land shall, for the purposes of this Act but not otherwise, be deemed to accrue to a person entitled in possession to an equitable estate in land in the like manner and like circumstances and on the same date as it would accrue if his estate were a legal estate in the land.
(2) Where any land is held upon trust, including a trust for sale, and the period fixed by this Act has expired for the bringing of an action to recover the land by the trustees, the estate of the trustees shall not be extinguished if and so long as the right of action to recover the land of any person entitled to a beneficial interest in the land or in the proceeds of sale either has not accrued or has not been barred by this Act, but, if and when every such right of action has been so barred, the estate of the trustees shall be extinguished.
(3) Where any land is held upon trust, including a trust for sale, an action to recover the land may be brought by the trustees on behalf of any person entitled to a beneficial interest in possession in the land or in the proceeds of sale whose right of action has not been barred by this Act, notwithstanding that the right of action of the trustees would apart from this provision have been barred by this Act.
(4) Where F15[…] any land held on trust for sale is in the possession of a person entitled to a beneficial interest in the land or in the proceeds of sale, not being a person solely and absolutely entitled thereto, no right of action to recover the land shall be deemed for the purposes of this Act to accrue during such possession to any person in whom the land is vested as trustee or to any other person entitled to a beneficial interest in the land or the proceeds of sale.
Title under Statute of Limitations
Registration of Title Act
Effect of previous registration with qualified or possessory title.
43.—Where, immediately before the commencement of this Act, the registration of ownership of a leasehold interest was with a qualified or possessory title, the title to the land shall be deemed to be a qualified or possessory title, as the case may be, within the meaning of this Act.
Effect of registration with possessory title.
46.—The registration of a person as first registered F58[…] owner of a leasehold interest with a possessory title shall not affect or prejudice the enforcement of any right (whether in respect of the lessor’s title or otherwise) adverse to or in derogation of the title of that person and subsisting or capable of arising at the time of registration but, save as aforesaid, shall have the same effect as registration with an absolute title.
Registration of title acquired by possession.
49.—(1) Subject to the provisions of this section, the Statute of Limitations, 1957, shall apply to registered land as it applies to unregistered land.
(2) Where any person claims to have acquired a title by possession to registered land, he may apply to F63[the Authority] to be registered as owner of the land and F63[the Authority], if satisfied that the applicant has acquired the title, may cause the applicant to be registered as owner of the land with an absolute, good leasehold, possessory or qualified title, as the case may require, but without prejudice to any right not extinguished by such possession.
(3) Upon such registration, the title of the person whose right of action to recover the land has expired shall be extinguished.
(4) Section 24 of the Statute of Limitations, 1957, is hereby amended by the substitution, for “section 52 of the Act of 1891”, of “section 49 of the Registration of Title Act, 1964”.
Annotations:
Amendments:
F63
Substituted (4.11.2006) by Registration of Deeds and Title Act 2006 (12/2006), s. 4(2), S.I. No. 511 of 2006.
Owner of land with possessory title not a trustee under Statute of Limitations, 1957.
122.—(1) Where a person is registered as owner of land with a title which is or is deemed to be a possessory title, neither he nor any person claiming through him shall, by reason only of the registration, be, in respect of that land, a trustee for the purposes of the Statute of Limitations, 1957.
(2) Subsection (1) is in substitution for paragraph (c) of subsection (2) of section 2 of the Statute of Limitations 1957, repealed by this Act.