Landlord and Tenant (Reversionary Leases) Act, 1958

PART II.

Reversionary Leases.

Building leases.

4.— (1) In this Act “building lease” means a lease in respect of which the conditions specified in subsection (2) of this section are complied with and includes any lease which is deemed to be a building lease by section 5 , section 6 , section 10 , section 19 or section 20 of this Act.

(2) The following are the conditions to be complied with:

(a) that the land demised by the lease is situate wholly in an urban area or, if not so situate, was demised by the lease for a term of not less than twenty years ;

(b) that there are permanent buildings on the land and that the portion of the land not covered by such buildings is subsidiary and ancillary thereto ;

(c) that the permanent buildings are not an improvement within the meaning of this Act ;

(d) that the permanent buildings were erected—

(i) by the person who, at the time of their erection, was entitled to the lessee's interest under the lease, or

(ii) in pursuance of an agreement for the grant of such lease upon the erection of such permanent buildings ;

(e) that the permanent buildings were not erected in contravention of a covenant, condition or agreement contained in the lease.

(3) (a) Where a lease is for a term of not less than fifty years, it shall be presumed, until the contrary is proved, that the buildings on the land demised by the lease were erected by the person who, at the time of their erection, was entitled to the lessee's interest under the lease if—

(i) in the case of a lease granted before the 1st day of January, 1914, the rent reserved by the lease is less than three-fourths of the rateable valuation of the land thereby demised together with the buildings thereon as first fixed or revised subsequent to the date of the lease pursuant to the Valuation (Ireland) Act, 1852, as amended and adapted, or

(ii) in the case of a lease granted on or after the 1st day of January, 1914, the rent reserved by the lease is less than that rateable valuation.

(b) The inclusion in the certificate signed by or on behalf of the Commissioner of Valuation on an extract from the Valuation List issued pursuant to section 9 of the Rateable Property (Ireland) Amendment Act, 1860, of a statement that a valuation shown in the extract is the first rateable valuation for the purposes of paragraph (a) of this subsection shall be prima facie evidence of that fact.

(c) For the purposes of paragraph (a) of this subsection, the rent reserved by the lease shall comprise the rent reserved as such in the lease (other than a penal rent payable for any breach of covenant) together with the one-twentieth part of any fine payable by the lessee under the terms of the lease.

(d) Where the land demised by a lease did not in a particular year bear a separate rateable valuation the Commissioner of Valuation shall have power for the purposes of this subsection to apportion the rateable valuation or valuations of the properties in which such land was comprised in that year and to charge a fee for such apportionment. Every such fee shall be determined, accounted for and applied in the same manner as the fees charged by the Commissioner pursuant to section 9 of the Rateable Property (Ireland) Amendment Act, 1860.

(4) Where a lease is alleged in any Court to be a building lease by reason of the permanent buildings thereon having been erected in pursuance of an agreement for the grant of such lease upon the erection of those buildings but express evidence of such agreement is not available, the following provisions shall have effect:

(a) if it is shown to the satisfaction of the Court that the said buildings were erected by the person to whom the said lease was subsequently made, it shall be presumed, until the contrary is proved, that such agreement was in fact made and that the said buildings were erected in pursuance thereof;

(b) in any case in which paragraph (a) of this subsection does not apply, the Court may, if it so thinks proper on hearing such evidence as is available and is adduced, presume that such agreement was in fact made and that the said buildings were erected in pursuance thereof.

(5) Permanent buildings erected by a lessee in pursuance of a covenant in his lease to reinstate the buildings comprised in the lease in the event of their destruction by fire or otherwise shall be deemed to have been erected by the person who erected the original buildings.

(6) The Court may declare a person to be entitled to a reversionary lease notwithstanding non-compliance with paragraph (e) of subsection (2) of this section where it is of opinion that it would be unreasonable to order otherwise.