Landlord and Tenant Act, 1931

Restrictions on the right to a reversionary lease.

50.—(1) Where the person in receipt of the rent reserved by a building lease has, before the 31st day of March, 1931, made a reversionary lease of the land or any part of the land comprised in such building lease, or has on or after the 31st day of March, 1931, made, in pursuance of an enforceable agreement entered into before the 31st day of March, 1931, a reversionary lease of the land or any part of the land comprised in such building lease, no person shall be entitled to obtain under this Part of this Act a reversionary lease of the land or any part of the land comprised in the said reversionary lease so made.

(2) Where, after the passing of this Act, a lease (in this section referred to as the statutory reversionary lease) of any land is made by way of reversionary lease to a building lease by a person who is bound to make and to a person who is entitled (either with or without obtaining the consent of another person) to obtain under this Part of this Act a lease of such land by way of reversionary lease to such building lease, the following leases shall be void and of no effect, that is to say, every lease which—

(a) is made after the passing of this Act and either before or after the making of the statutory reversionary lease, and

(b) comprises the land or any part of the land comprised in the statutory reversionary lease, and

(c) is made by way of reversionary lease to the said building lease, and

(d) is made by a person who is bound under this Part of this Act to grant a reversionary lease of the land comprised in such building lease, and

(e) is made to a person who either is not entitled to obtain under this Part of this Act a reversionary lease of the land or any part of the land comprised in the statutory reversionary lease or (being entitled so to obtain such reversionary lease only on obtaining the consent of the person to whom the statutory reversionary lease is made) did not obtain such consent.

(3) No person shall be entitled to obtain a reversionary lease under this Part of this Act of the land or any part of the land comprised in a building lease where the person in receipt of the rent reserved by such building lease satisfies the Court either—

(a) that he bona fide intends, or has agreed to pull down and rebuild or to reconstruct the whole or a substantial portion of the building on the land comprised in such building lease; or

(b) that he requires vacant possession of such land for the purpose of carrying out a scheme of development of property which includes such land; or

(c) that for any reason the grant of such reversionary lease would not be consistent with good estate management.

(4) Where an application for a reversionary lease under this Part of this Act is refused on one of the grounds mentioned in paragraph (a) or paragraph (b) of the next foregoing sub-section of this section and the person objecting to such application on such ground does not within a reasonable time carry out the intention, agreement, or purpose (as the case may be) on account of which such application was refused, such person shall be guilty of contempt of court and be punishable accordingly.