Land Law (Ireland) Act, 1896

Extinguishment of superior interests.

54 & 55 Vict. c. 57.

48 & 49 Vict. c. 73.

50 & 51 Vict. c. 33.

50 & 51 Vict. c. 33.

54 & 55 Vict. c. 48.

50 & 51 Vict. c. 33.

37 & 38 Vict. c. 78.

31.(1) Where any land has been sold under the Land Purchase Acts, as amended by this Act, or where land is sold by the Land Judge to the tenant thereof, and an advance under the Land Purchase Acts is made for the purpose of such sale, or where a lessor or grantor has signified his consent to the redemption of a rent under the Redemption of Rent (Ireland) Act, 1891, the sale of such land, or the redemption consequent on the lodgment of such consent, as the case may be, shall be made discharged from all superior interests as defined by this section, or from any of them, and in every such case the land shall be vested accordingly in the purchaser in fee simple, and such superior interests, or the value thereof, shall become a lien upon, and be redeemed or satisfied out of, the purchase money of such land.

(2) A vesting order shall be subject to such exceptions and reservations as are specified in the order, if they were contained in the agreement for purchase or subsequently agreed to by the vendor and purchaser and have been approved by the Land Commission and the Land Commission are satisfied that the effect of such exceptions and reservations was explained to and understood by the purchaser, or the purchaser is represented by a solicitor other than the solicitor of the vendor.

(3) The powers of apportionment and redemption given to the Land Commission by section ten of the Purchase of Land (Ireland) Act, 1885, and sections fifteen and sixteen of the Land Law (Ireland) Act, 1887, shall extend to superior interests and be exercised in such manner as shall appear equitable, and shall not be limited to an apportionment between the land sold and the residue of the land subject to the superior interest.

(4) Where a holding is sold by the Land Judge to the tenant thereof, and an advance under the Land Purchase Acts is made for the purpose, the Land Judge shall have the powers of apportionment and redemption conferred on the Land Commission by sections fifteen and sixteen of the Land Law (Ireland) Act, 1887, and by section twenty of the Purchase of Land (Ireland) Act, 1891, as the same are amended and extended by this Act in like manner as if the Land Judge were the Land Commission.

(5) The price or compensation to be paid in respect of a superior interest, or of any apportioned part thereof, shall be determined in the manner provided by the said sections for the redemption of annuities, rentcharges, and rents: Provided that, if the court are of opinion that any such superior interest is of no appreciable value to the persons entitled thereto, the purchase money of the land may be distributed without regard to such superior interest.

(6) If a superior interest, or the benefit arising thereunder, is settled land within the meaning of the Settled Land Acts, 1882 to 1890, the person who constitutes the tenant for life, or who has the powers of a tenant for life under those Acts, shall have power to enter into any consent in relation to the sale being made discharged from such superior interest, and to the redemption or satisfaction of the same out of the purchase money.

(7) Where a superior interest is subject to an incumbrance as defined by the Land Law (Ireland) Act, 1887, the court shall have the same powers as if such incumbrance had been charged directly upon the land sold.

(8) The expression “superior interest” shall include any rent, rentcharge, annuity, fees, duties, or services, payable or to be rendered in respect of the land sold to any person, including Her Majesty and Her successors, and any estates, exceptions, exceptions, reservations, covenants, conditions, or agreements, contained in any fee-farm grant, or other conveyance in fee, or lease, under which such land is held, and, if such land is held under a lease for lives or years renewable for ever, or for a term of years of which not less than sixty are unexpired at the date of the sale, shall include any reversion or estate expectant on the determination of such lease or expiration of such term, and notwithstanding that such reversion or estate may be vested in Her Majesty and Her successors.

(9) Nothing in this section shall affect the rights of the public or of any class of the public in respect of the land sold.

(10) The Land Commission or the High Court shall not in any case be empowered to make any requisition as to title the making of which by a purchaser would be prevented by the Vendor and Purchaser Act, 1874, or any Act amending the same.