Land Act, 1965

Restriction on vesting of interests in land not situate in a county borough, borough, urban district or town.

45.—(1) In this section—

“land to which this section applies” means land not situate in a county borough, borough, urban district or town;

“interest”, in relation to land, includes—

(a) an estate,

(b) a leasehold interest or tenancy (including an interest under a grant for a term of years whether or not reserving a rent),

(c) an interest of a mortgagee (including an equitable mortgagee) or chargeant,

(d) an interest referable to a person's having contracted to buy, or having contracted to take a lease or tenancy,

(e) an interest referable to a right to become registered as owner of the land or of a charge thereon under the Registration of Title Acts, 1891 and 1942, or the Registration of Title Act, 1964 ,

(f) an interest consisting of the right to ratify a contract or other transaction conferred by subsection (1) of section 37 of the Companies Act, 1963 ,

(g) an interest referable to a possession,

and comprises equitable and beneficial interests as well as legal interests;

“qualified person” means a person who is in any of the following categories:

(i) an Irish citizen,

(ii) a person (other than a body corporate) who has been ordinarily resident in the State continuously during the seven years ending at the material time,

(iii) a person who is certified by the Minister for Industry and Commerce as having shown to the satisfaction of that Minister that he is acquiring the relevant interest exclusively for the purpose of an industry other than agriculture,

(iv) a local authority for the purposes of the Local Government Act, 1941 ,

(v) a body corporate which, by virtue of a licence issued under or having effect by virtue of the Companies Act, 1963 , is registered under that Act without the addition of the word “limited” or the word “teoranta”,

(vi) a body corporate established by a Saorstát Éireann statute or an Act of the Oireachtas,

(vii) a body corporate incorporated in the State pursuant to a specific direction or authorisation contained in a Saorstát Éireann statute or an Act of the Oireachtas,

(viii) a bank named in the Third Schedule to the Central Bank Act, 1942 ,

(ix) a person who is certified by the Land Commission as having shown to their satisfaction that he is acquiring the relevant interest for private residential purposes where the land involved does not exceed five acres in extent,

(x) any category declared by the Minister by regulations to be an additional category for the purposes of this definition;

“State authority” means—

(a) a Minister of State,

(b) the Land Commission,

(c) the Revenue Commissioners,

(d) the Commissioners of Public Works in Ireland;

any reference to the vesting of an interest shall, in the case of a contingent or executory interest or any other interest not vesting when created, be construed as referring solely to the creating of the interest.

(2) (a) Notwithstanding any other enactment or any rule of law, but subject to paragraph (b) of this subsection and to subsection (3) of this section, no interest in land to which this section applies shall become vested in a person who is not a qualified person except with the written consent (whether general or particular) of the Land Commission and subject to any conditions attached to the consent having been complied with, and the determination of the application for such consent shall be an excepted matter for the purposes of section 12 of the Land Act, 1950 .

(b) Paragraph (a) of this subsection does not apply in a case in which an interest becomes vested—

(i) in a State authority,

(ii) in a person as legal personal representative of a deceased person, or

(iii) on the distribution of the estate of a deceased person if the interest becomes vested, in the case of an interest which is real estate, in the heir or a member of the family (not being the heir) of the deceased person or, in any other case, in a member of the family of the deceased person.

(c) In subparagraph (iii) of paragraph (b) of this subsection “member of the family” means father, mother, step-father, step-mother, husband, wife, son, daughter, grandson, granddaughter, step-son, step-daughter, brother, sister, half-brother, half-sister, uncle, aunt, nephew, niece, first cousin, son-in-law or daughter-in-law and, in the case of a female deceased person, her illegitimate child.

(d) In deducing any relationship for the purposes of this subsection, a person adopted under the Adoption Acts, 1952 and 1964 , shall be considered the legitimate offspring of the adopter or adopters.

(3) (a) Subject to paragraph (b) of this subsection, an instrument by which an interest in land to which this section applies purports to become vested (being an instrument which, apart from this section, would effect such vesting) shall effect such vesting provided that it contains a certificate by the person in whom the interest is purported to be vested—

(i) that an appropriate consent has been given under this section and, if any conditions are attached to that consent, that they have been complied with, or

(ii) that the person who becomes entitled to the entire beneficial interest in the interest (or, where more than one person becomes entitled to a beneficial interest therein, each of them) is a qualified person by reference to a specified category of the definition of “qualified person” contained in subsection (1) of this section, or

(iii) that the instrument is consequent upon a contract entered into before the passing of this Act, or

(iv) if the instrument is relative to a case referred to in subparagraph (iii) of paragraph (b) of subsection (2) of this section, that the case is within that subparagraph,

notwithstanding any objection to the accuracy of such certificate.

(b) Paragraph (a) of this subsection does not apply to an instrument relative to a case referred to in paragraph (b) (other than subparagraph (iii) thereof) of subsection (2) of this section.

(4) (a) Where the Land Commission are of opinion that a person is not a qualified person and that he has after the passing of this Act come into possession, occupation or control of land to which this section applies otherwise than by reference to a consent under subsection (2) of this section, the Land Commission may, by notice in writing served in the prescribed manner on the person, require him to deliver to them before a specified date (not earlier than thirty days after the service of the notice) a statement in writing containing such particulars as may be specified in the notice in relation to his possession, occupation or control of the land, and the person shall comply with the requisition.

(b) In the foregoing paragraph “occupation” includes occupation by merely being present on the land and “control” includes indirect control.

(5) (a) Where, at a time when an interest in land to which this section applies stands vested in a body corporate, control of the body corporate becomes transferred to a person who is not a qualified person, the following provisions shall have effect:

(i) it shall be the duty of the body corporate to disclose such transfer to the Land Commission within one month from such transfer, and

(ii) if the Land Commission institute proceedings for the acquisition or resumption of the land or any part thereof, no restriction contained in subsection (3) of section 32 of the Land Act, 1933 (as amended by subsequent enactments, including this Act) or subsection (6) of section 39 of the Land Act, 1939 (as amended as aforesaid) shall apply.

(b) In paragraph (a) of this subsection “control”, in relation to a body corporate, means the power of a person to secure, by means of the holding of shares or the possession of voting power in or in relation to that or any other body corporate, or by virtue of any powers conferred by the articles of association or other document regulating that or any other body corporate, that the affairs of the first-mentioned body corporate are conducted in accordance with the wishes of that person.

(6) Where a person—

(a) makes any statement which to his knowledge is false or misleading—

(i) in connection with an application for a certificate under paragraph (iii) or (ix) of the definition of “qualified person” contained in subsection (1) of this section,

(ii) in connection with an application for a consent under subsection (2) of this section,

(iii) in a certificate under subsection (3) of this section, or

(iv) in reply to a requisition under this section, or,

(b) fails to comply with a requisition under this section, or

(c) fails to make a disclosure which he is required by this section to make,

he shall be guilty of an offence triable, at the election of the prosecution, either summarily or on indictment and shall be liable—

(i) on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding two hundred pounds or, at the discretion of the Court, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding twelve months or to both such fine and such imprisonment, or

(ii) on conviction on indictment, to a fine not exceeding ten thousand pounds or, at the discretion of the Court, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three years or to both such fine and such imprisonment.

(7) Where an offence under this section is committed by a body corporate and is proved to have been committed with the authority, consent or approval of, or to have been facilitated by any neglect on the part of, any director, manager, secretary, or other officer of the body corporate, he shall also be deemed to have committed the offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly.

(8) (a) In a prosecution for an offence under this section relating to a certificate under subsection (3) of this section, it shall be presumed, until the contrary is shown by the defendant—

(i) if the certificate is pursuant to subparagraph, (i) of paragraph (a) of that subsection and the statement is with respect to the giving of an appropriate consent—that, such a consent was not given,

(ii) if the certificate is pursuant to subparagraph (ii) of that paragraph—that the person who became entitled to the entire beneficial interest in the interest (or, where more than one person became entitled to a beneficial interest therein, each of them) was not a qualified person by reference to the category specified for him,

(iii) if the certificate is pursuant to subparagraph (iii) of that paragraph—that the instrument was not consequent upon a contract entered into before the passing of this Act, and

(iv) if the certificate is pursuant to subparagraph (iv) of that paragraph—that the case was not within subparagraph (iii) of paragraph (b) of subsection (2) of this section.

(b) In a prosecution for an offence under this section relating to a disclosure required by subsection (5) of this section, it shall be presumed, until the contrary is shown by the defendant, that the transferee was not a qualified person.

(c) In a prosecution for an offence under this section relating to a requisition under subsection (4) of this section, evidence that the Land Commission were of the opinion specified in that subsection may be given by production of a certificate under the seal of the Land Commission certifying that they were of that opinion.

(9) (a) A consent by the Land Commission for the purposes of this section may be given retrospectively and, if so given, shall have effect accordingly.

(b) Evidence of a consent of the Land Commission for the purposes of this section may be given in any legal proceedings by production of a certificate under the seal of the Land Commission certifying that they have given such consent.

(c) Where a consent is given by virtue of paragraph (a) of this subsection after the execution of the relevant instrument, the apropriate certificate under paragraph (a) of subsection (3) of this section shall be deemed to be contained in the instrument.

(10) Every stipulation in a contract whereby it is sought to preclude the making of requisitions in relation to a consent by the Land Commission for the purposes of this section shall be null and void.

(11) Notwithstanding subsection (4) of section 10 of the Petty Sessions (Ireland) Act, 1851 , summary proceedings for an offence under this section may be instituted within three years from the date of the offence.

(12) The provisions of this section providing for restriction on vesting of interests in land to which this section applies shall be deemed to be included in the restrictive provisions to which subsection (1) of section 38 of the Registration of Title Act, 1891, and subsection (1) of section 59 of the Registration of Title Act, 1964 , apply.

(13) Every regulation made under paragraph (x) of the definition of “qualified person” contained in subsection (1) of this section shall be laid before each House of the Oireachtas as soon as may be after it is made.