Agricultural Credit Act, 1929

PART III.

Priority of Charges on Land.

Priority of certain charges in favour of the Corporation.

14.—(1) Where—

(a) a person is in occupation of land in respect of which rent or interest in lieu of rent or payment in lieu of rent or interest on purchase money is for the time being payable to the Irish Land Commission, and

(b) such person is certified by the Irish Land Commission to be the person by whom such rent or interest in lieu of rent or payment in lieu of rent or interest on purchase money (as the case may be) is payable at the date of such certificate, and

(c) such person (either alone or in conjunction with other persons) within one month after the date of such certificate charges such land in favour of the Corporation with payment of a principal sum not exceeding four hundred pounds, and

(d) the instrument effecting such charge is duly registered in the Registry of Deeds, and

(e) at the date of such instrument no lis pendens is registered in respect of such land in the Central Office of the High Court or in the Circuit Court Office for the county or county borough in which such land is situate,

then (subject to the provisions of this section) such charge shall as against such land be in priority to and shall override all estates and interests in and all incumbrances on and all claims against such land which are subsisting at the date of such instrument save and except the said rent, interest in lieu of rent, payment in lieu of rent or interest on purchase money (as the case may be), compounded arrears of rent within the meaning of the Land Purchase Acts, mortgages in favour of the Irish Land Commission, any land purchase annuity which may subsequently be charged on such land under the Land Purchase Acts, and any of the charges mentioned in paragraphs (a), (b), (d), (e) and (g) of section 47 of the Act of 1891.

(2) In any case in which all the circumstances mentioned in paragraphs (a) to (e) of the foregoing sub-section are present save that the person mentioned in the said paragraph (a) is in occupation of the land as personal representative of a deceased person and the certificate mentioned in the said paragraph (b) is to the effect that the rent, or interest in lieu of rent or payment in lieu of rent or interest on purchase money (as the case may be) is payable by the representative of the said deceased person and the charge mentioned in the said paragraph (c) is expressed to be made by the grantor or one of the grantors thereof as personal representative of the said deceased person, then the said sub-section shall apply to the said charge and such charge shall have priority accordingly and shall also be deemed to be made in due course and for the purpose of the administration of the estate of the said deceased person.

(3) Where at the date of an instrument effecting a charge on land which would, on such instrument being registered in the Registry of Deeds, be entitled to priority under this section, a caution under section 61 of the Act of 1891 as amended by this Act appears in the Land Registry in respect of such land, the relative priorities of such charge and of the estate, interest, incumbrance, or other claim against such land of the person by whom such caution was lodged shall, notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, be determined as if this Act had not been passed.

(4) In this Act—

a charge on land to which priority is given by this section is referred to as a priority charge;

a person by whom a priority charge is given is referred to as mortgagor;

estates and interests in and incumbrances on and claims against land which are postponed in priority by virtue of this section to a priority charge are collectively referred to as puisne claims;

a person entitled to a puisne claim is referred to as a puisne claimant; and

the expression “permanent improvement charge” means a priority charge in respect of which it is shown by the mortgagor that the principal sum secured by such charge was advanced by the Corporation solely for one or more of the following purposes, that is to say, constructing buildings on the land the subject of such charge or making on such land improvements of a permanent character calculated to increase or facilitate or conduce to the increase of the productivity of such land or paying the expenses of borrowing such money and giving security for the repayment thereof and that the said principal sum was actually expended wholly for one or more of those purposes.