Land Act, 1965
Prohibition of letting, subletting or subdivision of certain holdings without consent of Land Commission. |
12.—(1) An agricultural holding shall not be let, sublet or subdivided without the consent in writing of the Land Commission, and such consent may be either general or particular and may be subject to such conditions (if any) as the Land Commission think fit. | |
(2) The power of the Land Commission to withhold their consent under this section shall be exercised solely to prevent the creation or continuance of holdings which, in the opinion of the Land Commission, are not economic holdings. | ||
(3) Any attempted or purported letting, subletting or subdivision in contravention of this section shall be null and void as against all persons; provided, however, that in any case where the consent of the Land Commission under this Act is given after the attempted or purported letting, subletting or subdivision, such consent shall, if the Land Commission so direct, so operate as to validate with retrospective effect such attempted or purported letting, subletting or subdivision. | ||
(4) Subsection (1) of this section shall not apply to any holding which is not subject to purchase annuity or other payment payable to the Land Commission, and either— | ||
(a) the whole of such holding is situate within the boundary of any county borough, borough, urban district or town, or | ||
(b) the Land Commission certify under their common seal that in their opinion such holding, by reason of its proximity to a county borough, borough, urban district or town, is required for urban development. | ||
(5) The reference in subsection (2) of section 3 of the Land Act, 1927 , to the consent of the Land Commission to a subdivision under that section shall be construed as a reference to the consent of the Land Commission under this Act. | ||
(6) Where but for this section a title to a part or parts of a holding would be acquired by possession, the consent of the Land Commission under this section shall be required to such acquisition; provided that, in any case where the title has been or is acquired (whether before or after the passing of this Act) by or through possession wholly antecedent to the passing of this Act, such consent shall not be required. | ||
(7) Every stipulation in a contract for the sale of land whereby the purchaser is precluded from making requisitions in relation to a letting, subletting or subdivision of an agricultural holding shall be null and void. | ||
(8) In this section— | ||
“agricultural”, in relation to a holding, means substantially agricultural or pastoral or substantially agricultural and pastoral in character; | ||
“holding”, in relation to a particular tenant or proprietor, means all the land held by him at or after the passing of this Act under a single demise or to which he has acquired title by possession, whether fee simple, fee farm grant, leasehold or from year to year (whether or not under statutory conditions), and whether held jointly or in common or alone or in severalty, and whether or not purchased under the Land Purchase Acts or registered or deemed to be registered under the Registration of Title Acts, 1891 and 1942, or the Registration of Title Act, 1964 ; provided that where two or more than two such holdings stand consolidated they shall be deemed to be one holding and that, where two or more than two registered properties are registered in the same ownership and have not been consolidated by the Land Commission, they shall be deemed to be separate holdings for the purposes of this section; | ||
“subdivision” includes any claim whatsoever to title to a part or parts of a holding, whether by disposition to one or more than one person, and “subdivide” shall be construed accordingly. |