Land Act, 1931

Untenanted land held under fee farm grant or long lease.

44.—(1) Where, on the application of the owner of a parcel of untenanted land, and after notice to all interested parties, the Land Commission is satisfied—

(a) that such parcel is held by such owner under a fee farm grant, lease for lives or years renewable for ever, or lease for a term of years of which sixty or more were unexpired at the date of the passing of the Land Act, 1923 , whether such grant or lease does or does not comprise other land as well as such parcel, and

(b) that such owner is in bona fide occupation of such parcel and occupies and uses it in the same manner as an ordinary farmer in accordance with proper methods of husbandry, and

(c) that the rent payable by such owner in respect of such parcel is not less than the rent which in the opinion of the Land Commission would have been the fair rent of such parcel at the date of the passing of the Land Act, 1923 , if such parcel had then been held by such owner under a statutory tenancy subject to a third term judicial rent, and

(d) that such owner is willing to repurchase such parcel and that it should be resold to him, and

(e) that such parcel is not required for the relief of congestion,

the Land Commission may by order declare that such parcel shall vest in the Land Commission on the appointed day as if it were tenanted land.

(2) Where the fee farm grant or lease under which a parcel of untenanted land the subject of an application under the foregoing sub-section of this section is held comprises, in addition to such parcel, other land which is not in the occupation of the owner of such parcel (whether such owner has or has not any estate or interest in such other land) the Land Commission may either apportion the rent reserved by such grant or lease between such parcel and such other land or exclusively charge the whole of such rent on such parcel and thereupon the rent so apportioned to or exclusively charged on such parcel shall be deemed for the purposes of this section to be the rent payable by such owner in respect of such parcel.

(3) Where a parcel of untenanted land becomes vested in the Land Commission by virtue of an order made under this section the following provisions shall have effect, that is to say:—

(a) the owner of such parcel shall be deemed to have entered on the appointed day into a subsequent purchase agreement for the purchase of such parcel as if it were a holding held by such owner at the rent payable by him in respect of such parcel;

(b) arrears of the rent payable by such owner in respect of such parcel which accrued due on or before the first gale day in the year 1928 and are unpaid on the appointed day shall not be payable by such owner;

(c) arrears of the said rent which accrued due after the first gale day in the year 1928 and before the appointed day and are unpaid on the appointed day together with an apportioned gale of such rent from the last gale day before the appointed day up to the appointed day shall be compounded by the addition of compounded arrears of rent (calculated as hereinafter mentioned) to the purchase money of such parcel;

(d) the amount of the compounded arrears of rent so to be added to such purchase money shall be seventy-five per cent. of the arrears of rent and apportioned gale of rent so to be compounded.

(4) Applications to the Land Commission for an order under sub-section (1) of this section shall be heard and decided by the Land Commissioners other than the Judicial Commissioner and an appeal shall lie to the Judicial Commissioner from the decision of the other Commissioners on any such application (including any apportionment or exclusive charge of a rent) and the decision of the Judicial Commissioner on such appeal shall be final, save that an appeal shall lie on questions of law only from such decision of the Judicial Commissioner to the Supreme Court.

(5) Section 11 of the Land Act, 1927 , is hereby repealed without prejudice to the continuance, completion, and validity of proceedings under that section which are pending at the passing of this Act.

(6) The owner of a parcel of untenanted land shall not be precluded from applying to the Land Commission under this section nor shall an application under this section be refused solely by reason or on the ground of an application under section 11 of the Land Act, 1927 , in respect of the same parcel of land having been refused before the passing of this Act.