Landlord and Tenant Act, 1931

Works required by a sanitary authority.

13.—(1) Where a sanitary authority serves under the Public Health Acts, 1878 to 1931, or the Housing of the Working Classes (Ireland) Acts, 1890 to 1921, a notice on the tenant of a tenement requiring the execution by such tenant of any work which is an improvement within the meaning of this Act, such tenant shall, within three days after the service of such notice on him, serve on the landlord of such tenement a notice in writing (in this Act referred to as a sanitary work notice) stating the fact of the service of such notice by such sanitary authority and stating the material portions of such notice.

(2) Where a sanitary work notice is served on the landlord of a tenement such landlord may, within three days after such service, serve on the tenant of such tenement a notice (in this Act referred to as a sanitary work undertaking) in the prescribed form undertaking to execute such work in consideration of either (as such landlord shall state in such notice) a specified increase of rent or an increase of rent to be fixed by the Court.

(3) Whenever the landlord of a tenement has served under and in accordance with this section a sanitary work undertaking on the tenant of such tenement the following provisions shall have effect, that is to say:—

(a) the service of such undertaking shall have the same effect as the service on such tenant of an improvement undertaking, and the provisions of this Act in relation to an improvement undertaking shall apply accordingly; and

(b) such tenant may serve on the sanitary authority a copy of such sanitary work undertaking and thereupon the obligation to comply with the notice served by the sanitary authority and the liability for failure to comply with such notice shall be transferred to and become and be the obligation and liability of such landlord in exoneration of such tenant.

(4) Where a tenant has served a sanitary work notice on his landlord and such landlord has not, within three days after such service, served on such tenant a sanitary work undertaking in respect of such sanitary work notice, such tenant shall be entitled to execute as an improvement the work mentioned in the notice the service of which by the sanitary authority occasioned the service of such sanitary work notice.