Land Law (Ireland) Act, 1887

Power of surrender by middleman.

45 & 46 Vict. c. 38.

8.—(1) Where a person (in this Act referred to as a middleman) pays rent for a holding which is wholly sublet, and the rent received by the middleman has been reduced by the court, or with the sanction of the court to a sum less than the rent which he pays, he may surrender his estate in such holding, without prejudice, however, to any liability incurred by him before such surrender, whether for rent or for any other matter.

(2) Where only part of the holding is sublet, and the rent received by the middleman for the part so sublet has been reduced by the court, or with the sanction of the court, so that when added to the fair rent of the part of the holding which is not sublet, to be ascertained and determined by the court as herein-after mentioned, it is of less amount than the rent paid by the middleman, then also he may surrender his estate in the manner aforesaid.

(3) In computing the amount of rent received by a person entitled to surrender under this section, twenty per centum deduction from the gross rent shall be allowed for cost of collection and other outgoings.

(4) A person shall not be entitled to make a surrender under this section of an estate in land until he has first offered to the persons entitled to incumbrances on that estate, successively according to their priorities, to assign his estate to them.

(5) When any estate in land is surrendered under this section, incumbrances on that estate shall not affect the land; but the persons entitled to such incumbrances may enforce payment thereof by any proceedings other than proceedings affecting the land, which they might have taken if such surrender had not taken place.

(6) A person who is tenant for life of an estate capable of being surrendered under this section, or has, as respects such estate, the powers of a tenant for life within the meaning of the Settled Land Act, 1882, may surrender such estate in the like manner and subject to the like conditions as if such surrender were a sale within the meaning of the Settled Land Act, 1882.

(7) A surrender under this section shall be by deed or note in writing.

(8) The person to whom a surrender is proposed to be made shall not be bound thereby unless written notice of the intention to surrender be served . . . . within nine months after the making of the reduction of rent, upon which the right to surrender is founded. . . . .

The person to whom a surrender is proposed to be made may apply to the court to restrain the surrender, upon the ground that the order of the court reducing the rent has been procured by collusion or other undue means, or that for any other reason the surrender is inequitable.

(9) Where any person claims to be entitled under this section to surrender his estate in any holding, part whereof only is sublet, the court shall have jurisdiction for the purpose of a surrender, to ascertain and determine the fair rent of the part not sublet, as if such part constituted a holding, and the person claiming to be entitled to surrender were the tenant, and the person to whom the surrender is proposed to be made were the landlord of such holding.

(10) Where any estate in land is surrendered under this section all sub-tenants of the person surrendering such estate shall thereupon become tenants to the person to whom such surrender is made at the rents and subject to the conditions of their sub-tenancies under the person so surrendering.

(11) In this section the expression “holding” includes land held under a fee farm grant, and the expression “rent” includes the rent payable thereunder.