HL Deb 10 August 1896 vol 44 cc322-5

(1) For the purpose of the Land Law Acts, the tenant of a holding shall be deemed to be in bona fide occupation thereof notwithstanding—

  1. (a) that any dwelling-house on the holding, not being the dwelling in which the tenant for the time being resides, and not having been erected by the tenant in breach of his contract of tenancy or 323 of a statutory condition, is sublet to or in the occupation of another person; or
  2. (b) that any other part of the holding is, otherwise than in breach of the contract of tenancy or of a statutory condition, sublet to or in the occupation of another person, if the sub-letting was made before the passing of the Land Law (Ireland) Act, 1887, or if it was substantially in substitution for a letting existing at that date; provided that the amount of land so sub-let shall not exceed one-eighth of the holding, nor one statute acre for each house or allotment, nor five acres in the aggregate.
Provided also that—
  1. (i) for the purpose of the foregoing provisions of this section, a breach of the contract of tenancy shall not he deemed to have taken place if the landlord waived such breach;
  2. (ii) the foregoing provisions of this section shall not apply unless the Court think it reasonable to entertain the application having regard to the acreage of the holding and to any other matter which they think should be taken into consideration, and the Court may entertain the application notwithstanding that any such house or part of a holding is occupied by a person to whom it has been sub-let in contravention of Section two of the Land Law (Ireland) Act, 1881.

(2.) Where a part of the property held under one demise is sub-let, and the property was let to the tenant subject to the tenancy of some other person in the part sub-let, the Court may, in any case to which Sub-section (1) of this section does not apply, direct that the part so sub-let shall thenceforth be, or if it is an incorporeal hereditament be treated as, a separate holding, and (unless the application to the Court is made on the expiration of a lease) that the same shall be held during the continuance of the tenancy at such rent as the Court determine to be the proper proportion of the rent reserved by the demise, and the Court may fix a fair rent for the remainder of the property held under the demise, and the Land Law Acts as amended by this Act shall apply to that remainder, as if it were a separate holding.

Provided that, if the landlord so elect, the Court shall, in any case to which this sub-section applies, order that the tenant of the part so sub-let shall he the tenant of such landlord as his immediate landlord.

(3.) The sub-letting of any such dwelling-house as is referred to in Sub-section (1) (a) of this section during the continuance of a statutory term or after its expiration shall not be deemed to he a breach of any statutory condition, nor shall the Second section of the Land Law (Ireland) Act, 1881, apply to any such sub-letting, whether made before or after passing of this Act.

THE EARL OF ARRAN

moved, in paragraph (a), Sub-section (1), after the word "condition," to insert the words" or enactment." He said the Amendment was intended to provide that the subletting referred to in the clause should not include sub-letting contrary to the Act of 1881.

*LORD ASHBOURNE

said the introduction of the word "enactment" in line 2 did not appear necessary, and in line 5, as the next Amendment proposed would be contradictory of the later words of the clause.

Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.

THE EARL OF ARRAN

said he would also ask leave to withdraw the next Amendment, namely, after the word "condition" to insert the word "enactment."

Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.

THE EARL OF ARRAN

moved, in paragraph (b), Sub-section (1), after the word "person," to insert the words:— unless it be shown that such sub-letting was made by the tenant for the purpose of making a profit by the sub-letting, or not solely for the duo cultivation of his holding and. He said he understood that the object of this clause was to prevent sub-letting being made for purposes of profit—that the sub-letting should be confined to what was necessary for the due cultivation of the holding. But as the clause now stood, he believed there was nothing in it to prevent the tenant building dwelling-houses on his holding not necessary to its due cultivation and letting them out for profit. None of those houses would be under the clause. It seemed to him that a tenant in this way might build and sub-let any number of houses on his holding without any regard to the area specified.

*THE MARQUESS OF LANSDOWNE

said he feared the Amendment would narrow the operation of the section more than was desirable. The effect of the Amendment would be to render it impossible for a farmer to sub-let a cottage except to a labourer on the farm. Let them take the case, for example, of an arable farm which had been laid down to grass. A number of cottages appropriate to an arable farm might be built on that farm, but the same number of houses would cease to be appropriate when the farm was laid down to grass. Why should not one of those cottages be sub-let to a suitable tenant?

THE EARL OF ARRAN

said he had in his mind that under the clause the tenant might be able to build a villa on his holding in the proximity of a town, the effect of which might be to prevent the landlord ever resuming the land for building purposes.

LORD HARLECH

thought that if they allowed any number of cottages to be erected on a farm, they would soon have to put the Congested Districts Act into force.

*THE MARQUESS OF LANSDOWNE

said that the erection of such buildings as the noble Earl contemplated would be a breach of the statutory condition.

Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.

*THE MARQUESS OF LANSDOWNE

moved to transpose Sub-section (3), placing it before Sub-section (2).

Amendment agreed to.

Clause 8,—