Enfranchisement Cost
Landlord and Tenant (Ground Rents) Act 1967
General right to apportionment of rent.
11.—(1) Where land demised by a lease (being either a building lease or a proprietary lease) is held by more than one person each of whom is a lessee under a building lease or a proprietary lease, an assignee from any such lessee of part of such land or a successor in title of any such assignee and the rent reserved by the first-mentioned lease is being paid to the lessor by one only of the persons, that person shall be entitled to have the rent apportioned between the part of the land held by him and the part of the land held by each such other person who is liable for the payment of part of the rent to the person so entitled.
(2) Where a rent reserved by a lease is apportioned under this Act between different parts of the land demised by the lease—
(a) any such part shall be subject to the payment to the lessor only of the portion of the rent apportioned in respect thereof and shall not be subject to the payment to any other person of any portion of the rent, and
(b) any such part shall be subject only to the performance and observance of the covenants and conditions contained in the lease in so far as they are applicable to that part, in the same manner as if that part only were demisedby the lease subject to the apportioned rent and subject to the performance and observance of the covenants and conditions aforesaid.
(3) Where a rent reserved by a lease is apportioned under this Act—
(a) a fine, or payment in the nature of a fine, shall not be charged or payable for or in respect of the apportionment,
(b) the total of the rents payable as a result of the apportionment shall not exceed the amount of the rent reserved by the lease together with the estimated additional cost (if any), attributable to the apportionment, of collecting the apportioned rents,
(c) the estimated additional cost (if any), attributable to the apportionment, of collecting the apportioned rents shall be determined at the time of the apportionment and shall be included in the apportioned rent payable by the person by whom the notice under section 12 of this Act relating to the lease was served.
Notice of intention to have rent apportioned.
12.—A person who proposes to have a rent reserved by a lease apportioned under this Act shall serve a notice in the prescribed form upon each of the following persons who can be found and ascertained, that is to say, the person to whom the rent is payable and any other person who holds any of the land demised by the lease as lessee under a building lease or a proprietary lease, as assignee from any such lessee or as successor in title of any such assignee.
Apportionment of rent.
13.—Where, in relation to a rent which is proposed to be apportioned under this Act, notices under section 12 of this Act are served, the person by whom they are served and the persons upon whom they are served shall, without unreasonable delay, take all necessary steps to effect an apportionment of the rent to which the notices relate.
Provisions in relation to parties to apportionment of rent.
14.—(1) Where a person who is required by this Act to join in the apportionment of a rent is, by reason of having a fiduciary capacity or a limited estate or by reason of restrictive covenantsin the lease under which he holds, incapable in law of joining in the apportionment, the county registrar for the area in which the land as respects which the rent is payable is situate may, on the application of any person concerned, empower the person so required to join in the apportionment.
(2) Where a person who is required by this Act to join in the apportionment of a rent is an infant or a person of unsound mind, or cannot be found or refuses or fails to execute any relevant document, the county registrar for the area in which the land as respects which the rent is payable is situate may, on the application of any person concerned, appoint an officer of the Court to execute such document for and in the name of the person so required and thereupon the execution of such document 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.
(3) Where any person who is required by this Act to join in the apportionment of a rent is unknown or unascertained, the county registrar for the area in which the land as respects which the rent is payable is situate may, on the application of the person seeking the apportionment, appoint any person who is receiving the rent in respect of the interest in the land of the person making the application, or such other person as the county registrar may think fit to appoint, to represent such unknown or unascertained person in all proceedings in connection with the apportionment, and may, at the same time or subsequently, appoint an officer of the Court to execute any relevant document for and on behalf of the person so required and unknown or unascertained, and thereupon the execution of such document by such officer for and on behalf of such person shall for all purposes be as effectual as the execution thereof by such unknown or unascertained person.
(4) Where a person upon whom a notice under section 12 of this Act in relation to rent is required to be served cannot be found or ascertained, the person shall be deemed, for the purposes of this section, to be a person who is required by this Act to join in the apportionment of the rent.
Liability for costs in relation to apportionment of rent.
15.—A person (in this section referred to as the applicant) who proposes to have a rent apportioned under this Act shall be liable for the payment of the reasonable costs and expenses actuallyand necessarily incurred in complying with the provisions of this Act by a person upon whom a notice under section 12 of this Act in relation to the rent has been served, but if a notice under section 16 of this Act in relation to the rent is served upon the person, the applicant shall not be liable for any such costs or expenses incurred by the person after the service of the latter notice.
Power to discontinue apportionment of rent.
16.—Where a notice under section 12 of this Act in relation to a rent is served by a person, the person may, at any time before the apportionment of the rent, discontinue the apportionment by serving a notice in the prescribed form upon each person upon whom a notice under the said section 12 was served stating that he is withdrawing the said notice and does not intend to have the rent apportioned.
Determination of certain matters by arbitration
17 (1) If any dispute, question or difficulty arises in regard to the acquisition of the fee simple or any other interest in land under this Act the purchase price thereof, the apportionment of such purchase money4 payable in respect of such acquisition or of a rent under or for the purposes of this Act costs or expenses incurred under this Act compliance by a person with a provision of this Act or any other matter arising under this Act (other than sections 25 to 30 of this Act), any person concerned may apply to the county registrar for the area6 in which the land to which the application relates is situate to have the matter determined by his arbitration7 and the county registrar shall make such award as justice shall require.
(2) without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1) of this section, a county registrar may, in an arbitration under this Act make an award in relation to land —
(a)determining the person (if any) entitled to acquire the fee simple therein under this Act,
(b)determining the purchase price to be paid in respect of the acquisition,
(c)determining the person or persons entitled to receive the purchase money in respect of the acquisition and the amount which each person is entitled to receive,
(d)determining if a person is entitled to have a rent apportioned under section 5 or 11 of this Act and apportioning (whether under the said section 5 or 11 or otherwise for the purposes of this Act) any rent payable in respect of land part of which is land the fee simple in which is being acquired under this Act.
(e)apportioning (whether under the said section 5 or 11 or otherwise for the purposes of this Act) any rent payable in respect of land part of which is land the fee simple103 in which is being acquired under this Act.
(3)14 A county registrar shall have, for the purpose of and in relation to an arbitration under this Act the same power of making orders in respect of —
(a)security for costs,
(b)discovery and inspection of documents and interrogatories,
(c)the giving of evidence by affidavit,
(d)examination on oath of any witness,
as the Court has for the purpose of and in relation to any action or matter in that court.
(4) Whenever it appears to a county registrar for any county that he cannot properly deal with a matter falling to be determined by his arbitration under this Act by reason of the fact that he has a personal interest therein or such personal knowledge of the facts or of the parties as might prejudice his determination of the matter, he shall nominate the county registrar for an adjoining county to hear and determine the matter and, upon such nomination, the matter may be heard and determined accordingly.
(5) [Sections 21 and 23 of the Arbitration Act 2010 (and Articles 13 and 14 of the Model Law (within the meaning of the Arbitration Act 2010) as given the force of law in the State by that Act)],20 shall not apply in relation to an arbitration under this Act.
Provisions in relation to costs of arbitration
19(1) Where an award or order is made in an arbitration under this Act the county registrar conducting the arbitration shall direct to and by whom and in what manner the costs of the arbitration shall be paid and shall tax or settle the amount of costs to be so paid.
(2) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, where, in the opinion of a county registrar, a party to an arbitration under this Act conducted by him has behaved (whether by act or omission) unreasonably or has, without reasonable cause —
(a)refused or failed to comply with a provision of this Act or delayed in so complying, or
(b)refused or failed to reach agreement or delayed in reaching agreement in relation to the acquisition of the fee simple in land under this Act or the apportionment of a rent under this Act or the costs of such acquisition or apportionment,
and such behaviour, refusal, failure or delay occasioned the incurring of the whole or part of the costs of the arbitration, the county registrar may direct that, as he may consider reasonable, the whole, or such part as he may specify, of the costs of the arbitration shall be paid by the party aforesaid.
(3) A county registrar shall not direct fees of counsel retained on behalf of a party to an arbitration under this Act to be paid by another party to the arbitration unless a question of law was involved in the arbitration of such kind as, in the opinion of the county registrar, rendered it necessary to retain counsel.
(4) References in this section to the costs of an arbitration are references to party and party costs.
Assistance of Commissioner of Valuation in relation to arbitrations.
20.—(1) A county registrar conducting an arbitration under this Act 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 the determination of the purchase price of the fee simple in land being acquired under this Act or to the apportionment of a rent under this Act and may for the purpose adjourn the arbitration.
(2) Upon receipt of a request under this section, the Commissioner of Valuation shall cause such valuation, estimate orstatement as is mentioned in the request to be prepared and sent to the county registrar concerned 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 concerned a copy of a valuation, estimate or statement furnished by the Commissioner of Valuation to him 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 a Circuit Court Office.
(4) The fee payable under this section for a valuation, estimate or statement sent by the Commissioner of Valuation to a county registrar in pursuance of this section shall be borne and paid to the county registrar by such party or parties and in such proportion as he 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 in relation to land to the Commissioner of Valuation at the request of a party, the county registrar concerned shall, in determining the purchase price of the fee simple in the land or in apportioning a rent payable in respect thereof, as the case may be, have regard to the valuation, estimate or statement furnished by the said Commissioner.
Registers of arbitration awards.
21.—(1) A county registrar shall keep—
(a) a register in the prescribed form of all awards made by him in arbitrations under this Act in relation to the price of the fee simple in land being acquired under this Act, and
(b) a register in the prescribed form of all other awards made by him in arbitrations under this Act.
(2) Registers kept under this section shall be made available for public inspection and copies of entries in the registers shall be made available to the public and the Minister may prescribe the places at which and the times during which the registers shall be so made available and, with the concurrence of the Minister for Finance, the fees to be charged for such inspection and for such copies.
(3) A copy of an entry in a register kept under this section by a county registrar purporting to be signed by the county registrar shall, without proof of the signature of the person purporting to sign the copy or that he was the county registrar, be evidence until the contrary is proved of the matters stated in the entry.
Powers of Court in relation to arbitrations
22(1) An appeal shall lie to the Court against an award, order or other decision of a county registrar in an arbitration under this Act.
(2) The Court may remit, before giving its decision, any matter the subject of an appeal to it under this section to the reconsideration of the county registrar who conducted the arbitration in question or remit the matter to the rehearing of another county registrar.
(3) An award or order of a county registrar in an arbitration under this Act may, by leave of the Court, be enforced as a judgment or order to the same effect and, where leave is so given, judgment may be entered in terms of the award.
Service of notices.
23.—(1) Service of a notice under this Act may be effected by post and, if so effected, shall be by registered post.
(2) Service of a notice under this Act on behalf of a person shall be deemed, for the purposes of this Act, to be service of the notice by the person.
Provisions in relation to mortgages.
24.—(1) For the purposes of the application of section 3 or 11 of this Act or section 11 or 12 of the Act of 1958 to a person in relation to any land, the existence of a mortgage on the interest of the person in that land shall be disregarded.
(2) Where—
(a) either before or after the commencement of this Act, 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) either before or after such commencement, 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.
Amendment of sections 11 and 12 of Act of 1958.
25.—(1) Sections 11 and 12 of the Act of 1958 are hereby amended by the substitution in subsection (2) of each section of “three months” for “fifteen years”.
(2) Subsection (1) of this section shall not have effect in relation to a case where a valid notice under subsection (1) of the said section 11 or the said section 12, as the case may be, was served before the commencement of this Act.
Amendment of section 18 of Act of 1958.
26.—(1) Section 18 of the Act of 1958 is hereby amended by the substitution of “one-eighth” for “one-sixth” in subsection (4).
(2) The Minister may from time to time by order amend the said subsection (4) by substituting for the fraction standing specified for the time being therein another fraction.
(3) An order under this section shall not come into force unless approved by resolution of each House of the Oireachtas but, upon being so approved, shall come into force forthwith.
Amendment of section 57 of Act of 1931.
27.—Section 57 of the Act of 1931 is hereby amended by the deletion in paragraph (b) of subsection (2) of “if the alteration does not involve any structural alteration of the tenement,” and the insertion of “if the alteration does not involve the erection, provision or reconstruction (not being an improvement within the meaning of the Landlord and Tenant (Reversionary Leases) Act, 1958 ) of any building or structure.”
Improvements
28.—Section 58 of the Act of 1931 is hereby amended by the insertion after subsection (2) of the following subsections:
“(3) In every lease (whether made before or after the passing of this Act) of a tenement in which there is contained a covenant, condition or agreement prohibiting, either expressly or by virtue of subsection (1) of this section, the making thereon of any improvement without the licence or consent of the lessor, such covenant, condition or agreement shall, notwithstanding any express provision to the contrary, be subject to a proviso that no fine or sum of money in the nature of a fine (other than a reasonable sum in respect of legal or other expenses incurred by him in connection with such licence or consent) nor any increase of rent shall be payable for or in respect of such licence or consent.
(4) In this section ‘improvement’ has the meaning assigned to it by the Landlord and Tenant (Reversionary Leases) Act, 1958 .”
Costs of leases.
32.—(1) Notwithstanding any rule of law, a party to a lease shall not be under an obligation to pay the solicitor’s costs of the lease of any other party to the lease and so much of any contract made after the commencement of this Act as provides for the payment of all or any of the solicitor’s costs of the lease of any party to the lease by any other party thereto shall be void.
(2) In this section “lease” includes an agreement for a lease or for a tenancy but does not include a mortgage by subdemise.
Certain contracts to be void.
33.—(1) Subject to subsection (2) of this section, so much of any contract made 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.
(2) Nothing in this Act shall prevent a person from giving or accepting, for the purpose of the acquisition of the fee simple or other interest in land under this Act, or the apportionment of a rent under this Act, a shorter title to a fee simple or any other interest in land than the title which a purchaser is, in the absence of special contract, entitled to require.
Regulations.
34.—(1) The Minister may make regulations in relation to any matter referred to in this Act as prescribed.
(2) Every regulation made by the Minister under this Act shall be laid before each House of the Oireachtas as soon as may be after it is made and if a resolution annulling the regulation is passed by either such House within the next subsequent twenty-one days on which that House has sat after the regulation is laid before it, the regulation shall be annulled accordingly, but without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done under the regulation.