HC Deb 27 July 1954 vol 531 cc405-6

Lords Amendment: In page 30, line 19, leave out from beginning to "any" in line 24 and insert: (2) Where—

  1. (a) during the whole of the five years immediately preceding the date on which the tenant under a tenancy to which this Part of this Act applies is to quit the holding, premises being or comprised in the holding have been occupied for the purposes of a business carried on by the occupier or for those and other purposes, and
  2. (b) if during those five years there was a change in the occupier of the premises, the person who was the occupier immediately after the change was the successor to the business carried on by the person who was the occupier immediately before the change."

The Solicitor-General

I beg to move, "That this House doth agree with the Lords in the said Amendment."

This is a drafting Amendment. Clause 38 (2) prevents contracting out of compensation where the tenant's business had been carried out in the tenant's premises for five years or more. Under Clause 23 it is not necessary that the premises in which the business is carried on should be used exclusively for the purposes of the business. It is sufficient if they are used for those and other purposes, as, for instance, a doctor's waiting room, which is used as such during surgery hours and used by him and his family at other times. This Lords Amendment takes account of this, and assimilates the language of this provision with that of a similar provision in Clause 37 (3) which entitles the tenant to compensation at the double rate if the business has been carried on in the premises for 14 years or more.

This Lords Amendment picks up a point raised by the hon. Member for Hayes and Harlington (Mr. Skeffington) in the original Bill, on the words whether by the tenant or by any other person, and makes it clear that the other person has to be a successor.

Mr. Skeffington

I am very grateful for the reference to me and am glad the wording I suggested has commended itself in such eminent circles.

Lords Amendment: In page 30, line 34, leave out between the landlord and the tenant.

The Solicitor-General

I beg to move, "That this House doth agree with the Lords in the said Amendment."

This is a drafting Amendment. The reason for leaving out these words is that they suggest that an agreement to exclude the compensation may not be valid unless the landlord who made the agreement is one defined in Clause 43.