HC Deb 21 July 1896 vol 43 cc331-3

(1.) The landlord and tenant of a holding may jointly apply to the Court for an order applying this section to the holding, and (except during the first four years of a statutory term) may so apply whether there is or is not a statutory term current in respect of the holding.

(2.) On such application the Court may by order apply this section to the holding, and fix all or any of the matters following:—

  1. (a) the customary products of the holding as defined in this section;
  2. (b) if there are more products than one, the relative value of each product as defined in this section; and
  3. (c) if an application to fix a fair rent can he made, the fair rent of the holding;
and the court may fix any matters appearing to them to he incidental to or consequential on the fixing of the matters above mentioned, or otherwise to he necessary for the purpose of that fixing; and the Court shall by their order constitute the fair rent so fixed, or where, by reason of a statutory term being current, an application to fix a fair rent cannot be made, the then existing judicial rent to be a variable fair rent, and in the latter case may fix such variation of the then existing judicial rent as is authorised under this section at the end of a quinquennial period.

(3.) All or any of the above matters may, cither before or after the application, and before the order is made, be fixed by agreement in writing between the landlord and tenant, or by arbitration in pursuance of such agreement, and, if so fixed, shall be adopted by the order of the Court, and, for the purposes of this section, the fair rent may be so fixed by agreement or arbitration, even though, by reason of a statutory term being current, no application for fixing a fair rent can be made to the Court.

(4.) The provisions of this Act with respect to the fixing by the Land Commission of a fair rent shall, with such necessary modifications as may be prescribed, apply to fixing the matters in this section mentioned other than a variation of any existing judicial rent, and the provisions of this section with respect to varying a variable fair rent at the end of the quinquennial period shall apply to the fixing of such variation.

(5.) Where an order applying this section is made, the statutory term for the tenancy shall be thirty years, and such term and the variable fair rent shall begin from the same gale day from which it would have begun if the application had been an application to fix a fair rent, or whore the application is made in the fifth year of an ordinary statutory term, from any later day at which the said fifth year expires, and on the beginning of such statutory term of thirty years any previously-existing statutory term shall be deemed to have expired.

(6.) During the last twelve months of each quinquennial period of a statutory term under this section, either the landlord or the tenant may apply in the prescribed form to the Land Commission to vary the variable fair rent, and thereupon the Land Commission shall determine what variation (if any) ought equitably to be made in the variable rent, having regard—

  1. (a) to the gazetted prices hereinafter mentioned of the customary products of the holding, and their relative value, as compared with the gazetted prices for the calendar year in which the judicial rent was fixed; and
  2. (b) to the extent to which any variation in such prices may be reasonably held to have affected the fairness of the rent of the holding;

and the rent if varied shall as varied be payable for the residue of the term, reckoning from the end of the quinquennial period, unless and until it is varied upon a like application under this sub-section.

(7.) An order applying this section may, if it is so provided by the application for the order or by any subsequent agreement between the landlord and tenant, direct that at the end of each quinquennial period the variable fair rent shall, without any order of the Land Commission, vary, whether by way of increase or decrease, in proportion to the gazetted price herein after mentioned of the customary product of the holding when compared with the gazetted price of such product for the year in which the judicial rent of the holding was fixed, or in such other proportion dependent upon that price as may be fixed by the order; and where there is more than one such customary product, the variation shall depend on the net results of the gazetted prices of all such products, in the proportions of their relative value as fixed by the order, after setting off an increase in the price of one product against any decrease in the price of another.

(8.) A like direction may be given by an order made at the end of any quinquennial period in pursuance of any agreement made between the landlord and the tenant.

(9.) During the last twelve months of each quinquennial period the customary products of a holding and their relative value may be varied prospectively by agreement made between the landlord and the tenant, and recorded with the Land Commission.

(10.) During the last twelve months of a statutory term under this section, an application may be made by the landlord and the tenant jointly to continue under this section, or by either of them to fix a new fair rent for the ordinary statutory term under the Land Law Acts. If no such application is made, this section and the provisions for varying the rent at the end of every quinquennial period which applied to the holding during the statutory term, shall continue to apply to the holding until the end of a quinquennial period during the last twelve months of which such an application has been made to the court as above provided in this Sub-section, and such an application may be made during the last twelve months of any quinquennial period, but at no other time.

(11.) For the purposes of this section the expression "the customary products of a holding," means the agricultural and pastoral products which are usually produced on the holding, or such of them as are to be considered for the purposes of fixing or varying the rent; and "the relative value of a product" means the approximate proportion of value which each product may he considered to contribute to the total value of the customary products of the holding.

(12.) For the purpose of this section the Land Commission shall ascertain, with respect to each province or such other area as they think most suitable, the following prices of what they consider to be the agricultural and pastoral products of that provice or area, namely—

  1. (a) in respect of the year one thousand eight hundred and eighty-two the average prices of the preceding year, and in respect of the, year one thousand eight hundred and eighty-three the average prices of the two preceding year's, and in respect of the year one thousand eight hundred and eighty-four the average prices of the three preceding years, and in respect of the year one thousand eight hundred and eighty-five the average prices of the four preceding years; and
  2. (b) in respect of each subsequent calendar year the average prices of the five years last preceding that year;
and the Land Commission shall publish the prices so ascertained in respect of each year in the Dublin Gazette at such times as they think most convenient for giving information to all persons interested, and the prices so ascertained and published in respect of each year shall be the gazetted prices for that year.

(13.) The Land Commission may also, whenever a holding is inspected by an Assistant Commissioner or other officer of the Commission, obtain in the prescribed manner information with respect to the customary products of holdings, and their relative value.

(14.) An application under this section shall be deemed to be a joint application, where the Land Commission are satisfied, that either the landlord or tenant has served upon the other the prescribed notice requesting him to join in the application, and the person upon whom the notice was served has not within the prescribed time after such service given notice of his refusal to join therein.

Under the Order of the House of this date, Clause 14 ceased to be part of the Bill.

Clause 15,—