Rent Restrictions Act, 1960

Making of provisional orders.

21.—(1) Where an application under section 20 of this Act is referred to a District Justice—

(a) the District Justice shall deal with the application privately unless a hearing in open court becomes appropriate in accordance with paragraph (e) of this subsection;

(b) the District Justice, unless it appears to him that the application should be refused, shall cause a notice to be served upon the landlord informing him that the application has been made, stating particulars of the application and requiring him to furnish within fourteen days after the service of the notice, to the District Court Clerk of the court area in which the dwelling concerned is situate, such information in the landlord's possession as might assist the Justice in making a provisional order determining the lawful rent of the dwelling;

(c) as soon as may be after the said information has been furnished or the expiration of the said fourteen days (whichever first occurs) and, if a reference under section 28 is made, after receipt of the report made on the reference, the District Justice shall, subject to paragraphs (d) and (e) of this subsection, proceed as follows:

(i) in case it appears to him—

(I) that the dwelling is a small controlled dwelling to which section 7 of this Act applies and the basic rent does not exceed, by an amount exceeding one-eighth of the basic rent, the rent which, if the dwelling were a dwelling to which section 9 of this Act applies, would, if “(being dwellings to which Chapter 1 of Part II of the Act of 1946 applied)” were contained in subsection (2) of the said section 9 after “controlled dwellings”, be determined by the Court as the basic rent thereof, or

(II) that the dwelling is a small controlled dwelling to which section 9 of this Act applies, the basic rent whereof has already been determined by the Court, and that the amount of that basic rent is ascertainable,

he may by order determine provisionally—

(A) the lawful additions to the basic rent of the dwelling, and

(B) the lawful rent of the dwelling;

(ii) in case it appears to him that the dwelling is a small controlled dwelling to which subparagraph (i) of this paragraph does not apply, he may by order determine provisionally—

(I) the basic rent of the dwelling under section 9 of this Act,

(II) the lawful additions to the basic rent of the dwelling, and

(III) the lawful rent of the dwelling;

(d) in case it appears to the District Justice that the lawful rent of the dwelling, if determined by a provisional order, would equal or exceed the existing rent, he shall dismiss the application and cause the tenant and the landlord to be informed of the dismissal and of the fact that the dismissal does not prejudice the right of either of them to apply to the Court under this Act, other than this Part, to have the rent determined;

(e) in case—

(i) the District Justice is not satisfied that he has jurisdiction to make a provisional order, or

(ii) the landlord has claimed an addition in respect of moneys alleged to have been expended on improvements, structural alterations or repairs and the District Justice is not satisfied that the landlord's claim should be allowed without formal evidence and without giving the tenant an opportunity to contest the claim,

the District Justice shall hear the application in open court and, for that purpose, shall cause the application to be listed for hearing, shall fix a date for the hearing and shall cause the landlord and tenant (who shall be entitled to appear and be represented at the hearing) to be notified accordingly;

(f) if the dwelling is not separately valued under the Valuation Acts and an apportionment in relation thereto has not already been made under section 41 of this Act, then, for the purposes of this Act, the District Justice may by order provisionally apportion to the premises such part as he thinks proper of the rateable valuation of the property in which the dwelling is comprised;

(g) if it appears to the District Justice that the rent of the dwelling includes payments for any of the matters referred to in paragraph (d) of subsection (2) of section 3 of this Act, he may by the provisional order (if made) apportion the rent for the purposes of this Act and, accordingly, references to “the Court” in that paragraph shall be construed as including references to the District Justice dealing with the application.

(2) An appeal shall not lie to the Circuit Court from the determination of a District Justice on an application under section 20 of this Act.