Arrears of Rent (Ireland) Act, 1882

Arrears of rent how dealt with.

16. [Power of Land Commission to make advances to landlord in respect of arrears of rent and by order to declare the holding charged with the repayment of the advance by a rentcharge, rep. 61 and 62 Vict. c. 22 (S.L.R.)] The charge declared by the order as aforesaid shall have priority over all charges affecting the holding, except quit-rent and crown rent, and sums payable to the Commissioners of Public Works, and shall be payable by the tenant of the holding for the time being, and shall be levied and collected in manner herein-after provided; and in the event of the tenant failing to pay any half-yearly instalment of the said charge for the space of twelve months after the same shall have accrued due, then and in every such case the amount of such instalments, together with the entire of the unpaid residue of such charge, with interest as ascertained by the Land Commission, shall forthwith be payable by the tenant, and the amount thereof shall be raised by sale of the tenancy in the prescribed manner.

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In the event of such default by the tenant for the space of twelve months as aforesaid, it shall be lawful for the county court of the county in which the holding is situate, on the application of the Land Commission, to order a sale of such tenancy, which shall be sold, and the proceeds of such sale dealt with by the said county court in the prescribed manner.

If the proceeds of any such sale fail to realise the amount ascertained by the Land Commission [1] as aforesaid, together with the cost of sale, the amount of the deficiency shall be paid by the landlord of the said holding, and shall be a charge upon his estate and interest therein, and shall be collected and levied in the prescribed manner: Provided, that on any transfer of the tenant's interest in the holding by sale, the principal sum and interest, if any, remaining due to the Land Commission, shall be paid out of the purchase money to the Land Commission.

On the order of the Land Commission being made as aforesaid in relation to any holding such antecedent arrears shall be deemed to be absolutely released.

The landlord and tenant may agree that any rent paid by the tenant in or subsequent to the year expiring as aforesaid shall be deemed, for the purposes of this section, to have been paid in respect of the rent due for that year, and not in respect of arrears of rent.

Where arrears of rent in respect of a holding are due to some person or persons besides the landlord the advance made under this section shall be rateably distributed amongst the persons entitled thereto.

[1 The repealed part of the section empowered the Land Commission in each half year to transmit to the clerk of every union, a warrant setting forth the names of the tenants within the union, liable to pay the charges or instalments, and the amount due and the warrant was to be judicially noticed and be conclusive evidence of the arrears due.]