Land Act, 1965

Amendment of section 39 of Land Act, 1939.

42.—(1) Section 39 of the Land Act, 1939 , is hereby amended—

(a) by the substitution of the following subsection for subsection (6):

“(6) Where the Lay Commissioners are satisfied in respect of a holding that—

(a) the tenant has not, in the qualifying period, offered it for sale, and

(b) any one of the following requirements which is applicable has been bona fide complied with—

(i) where a person other than a body corporate is the sole tenant—such person has throughout the whole of the qualifying period resided either on the holding or in the immediate neighbourhood thereof;

(ii) where a body corporate is the sole tenant—each of the persons entitled to a beneficial interest in the body corporate has throughout the whole of the qualifying period resided either on the holding or in the immediate neighbourhood thereof;

(iii) in any case not mentioned in subparagraph (i) or (ii) of this paragraph—all the persons entitled to a beneficial interest in any part of or share in the holding and all the persons entitled to a beneficial interest in the body or bodies corporate, which is or are entitled to any part of or share in the holding, have throughout the whole of the qualifying period resided either on the holding or in the immediate neighbourhood thereof;

provided that the requirement in respect of residence shall in no case be satisfied or deemed to be satisfied by compliance with any statutory provision whatsoever relating to residence by a body corporate, and

(c) having regard to the area, situation and character of such holding, the amount of congestion and unemployment existing in the immediate neighbourhood of such holding and the country generally, and the desirability of increasing the production of food, an adequate amount of agricultural products was, during the qualifying period, produced on such holding and an adequate amount of employment (including in such amount the employment of any relatives of the tenant of such holding who were permanently employed thereon) was, during the qualifying period, provided on such holding, then and in such case the following provisions shall apply and have effect, that is to say:—

(A) notwithstanding anything contained in the foregoing provisions of this section, the Land Commission shall not resume such holding or any part thereof for any purpose other than the relief of congestion in the immediate neighbourhood in which such holding is situate, or the provision of sports-fields, parks, pleasure-grounds, or playgrounds, or the provision of gardens for schools, or (in the case only of land not situate within fifty yards of an occupied dwellinghouse which was in existence at the commencement of the qualifying period) the provision of facilities for persons boating or fishing on the sea or on a lake or river;

(B) if—

(i) the Land Commission resumes such holding or a part thereof, and

(ii) the tenant of such holding or the wife or husband of such tenant resides on such holding or in the immediate neighbourhood thereof, and

(iii) neither such tenant nor such wife or husband is the owner of land (other than such holding or the part thereof resumed) the market value of which exceeds six thousand pounds, and

(iv) such tenant, within the prescribed time and in the prescribed manner, requires the Land Commission, if part only of such holding has been resumed, to resume the whole of such holding and (whether such holding is resumed in whole or in part) to acquire all (if any) other land held or belonging to him in the immediate neighbourhood of such holding and, in any case, requires the Land Commission to provide him with a new holding, then and in such case the Land Commission shall comply with such requisition and shall provide such tenant with a new holding which the Lay Commissioners consider to be suitable for him and also consider (subject to a right of appeal to the Appeal Tribunal whose decision shall be final) to be of not less market value than the market value of the resumed holding and the other land (if any) acquired in pursuance of such requisition or the sum of six thousand pounds, whichever is the lesser;

(C) where the Land Commission provide such tenant with a new holding in pursuance of the next preceding paragraph of this subsection, the amount (if any) by which the resumption price of the resumed holding together with the price of the other land (if any) acquired from such tenant in pursuance of the said paragraph exceeds the market value of the said new holding so provided shall be payable in land bonds.”, and

(b) by the addition of the following subsection after subsection (8):

“(9) In this section—

‘qualifying period’ means the period of one year ending on the day on which notice is given under paragraph (a) of subsection (2) of this section;

‘throughout the whole of the qualifying period resided’ shall be construed as requiring that the person or persons mentioned in subparagraph (i), (ii) or (iii) (as the case may be) of paragraph (b) of subsection (6) of this section has or have ordinarily dwelt on or in the immediate neighbourhood of the land, provided that the Lay Commissioners may at their discretion disregard, for the purposes of this section, any temporary absence or absences from the land which they are satisfied is or are reasonably attributable to illness, business, education, vacation or any other cause;

‘tenant or proprietor’ includes the wife or husband of a tenant or proprietor;

‘immediate neighbourhood’ includes any place which the Lay Commissioners are satisfied is not more than three miles from the nearest point of the relevant holding.”

(2) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (1) of this section, any proceedings pending at the passing of this Act for the resumption of a holding in respect of which notice under paragraph (a) of subsection (2) of section 39 of the Land Act, 1939 , has been given before the passing of this Act, shall be continued and concluded as if this section had not been enacted.