HL Deb 26 February 1953 vol 180 cc885-8

5.15 p.m.

Order of the Day for the House to be put into Committee read.

Moved, That the House do now resolve itself into Committee.—(The Lord Chancellor.)

On Question, Motion agreed to.

House in Committee accordingly:

[The LORD TERRINGTON in the Chair]

Clause 1 [Extension of 14&15 Geo. V. c. 38]:

THE LORD CHANCELLOR moved, after subsection (2) to insert:

"(3) Notwithstanding anything in section eleven of the said Act of 1951, where apart from that section the expiring tenancy—

  1. (a) would come to end by notice to quit given by the landlord, and
  2. (b) would so come to an end on or after the twenty-third day of June, nineteen hundred and fifty-three.
an application under Part II of the said Act of 1951 shall not be treated as out of time if made not later than one month after the commencement of this Act.

In this subsection the expression 'the expiring tenancy' has the same meaning as in Part II of the said Act of 1951."

The noble and learned Lord said: The Amendment which stands in my name is necessary to make good the hiatus which the ingenuity of a correspondent discovered. I have furnished the noble and learned Earl, Lord Jowitt, with a note of the reasons why the Amendment is necessary and I hope that the noble Lord, Lord Silkin, has had, the advantage of seeing that note and will be able to follow me, for this is an extremely difficult and complicated matter, and not at all easy to follow at first blush. I will state it as shortly as I can.

The difficulty arises in connection with shop tenancies, which come under Part II of the Act of 1951, which the Bill now before the House seeks to amend. As Part II of the 1951 Act now stands, a shop tenant who has received notice to quit can apply for renewal if two conditions are fulfilled. The first, which I will call condition A, is to be found in Section 10 (1) of the Act, and it is that the notice must be one which will expire on or before June 23, 1953. The second condition, condition B, is to be found in Section 11 (1) (b)—that the application for renewal must be made within a month of receiving the notice to quit. The Bill which extends the 1951 Act from June 24, 1953, to Christmas, 1954, operates on the first condition I have mentioned, that which arises under Section 10 (1) of the Bill. It operates by substituting December 24, 1954, for June 24, 1953. But, as introduced, it says nothing about what I have called condition B, that the application for renewal must be made within a month of receiving the notice to quit. As the Bill stands, therefore, this would deprive of his chance of renewal any tenant whose notice to quit has been received a month or more before the Bill becomes law but will not expire until after June 23, 1953. For before Royal Assent he cannot apply, because he does not fulfil condition A as it now stands; and after Royal Assent he will not be able to fulfil condition B.

It is a very difficult matter to follow, but I can assure the Committee, having given it the best consideration I can, that it does appear that there is a gap, and that gap we propose to fill by introducing the words which appear in the Amendment standing in my name. Perhaps I may read them to your Lordships. (3) Notwithstanding anything in section eleven of the said Act of 1951, where apart from that section the expiring tenancy"— which is defined—

  1. "(a) would come to an end by notice to quit given by the landlord, and
  2. (b) would so come to an end on or after the twenty-third day of June, nineteen hundred and fifty-three,
an application under Part II of the said Act of 1951 shall not be treated as out of time if made not later than one month after the commencement of this Act. Then the same definition of "the expiring tenancy" appears. So the tenant, in any case, will get his month. I think that will be satisfactory to him and to everyone concerned, and, I hope, satisfactory also to your Lordships. I beg to move.

Amendment moved.

Page 2, line 10, at end insert: ("(3) Notwithstanding anything in section eleven of the said Act of 1951, where apart from that section the expiring tenancy—

  1. (a) would come to an end by notice to quit given by the landlord, and
  2. (b) would so come to an end on or after the twenty-third day of June, nineteen hundred and fifty-three,
an application under Part II of the said Act of 1951 shall not be treated as out of time if made not later than one month after the commencement of this Act.

In this subsection the expression 'the expiring tenancy' has the same meaning as in Part II of the said Act of 1951.")—(The Lord Chancellor.)

LORD SILKIN

I had not, in fact, had the advantage of being able to study this matter, but the explanation which the noble and learned Lord has given is, as usual, so clear that he has made a very complicated matter perfectly plain, to me at any rate. As I understand it, under the Bill as it stands there would, in certain circumstances, be tenants who would not get a full month's opportunity of giving notice; and this Amendment gives them rather more than a month in certain circumstances.

THE LORD CHANCELLOR

Sometimes.

LORD SILKIN

That is, of course, quite acceptable to us on this side of the House, and we are very glad that this Amendment has been brought forward.

On Question, Amendment agreed to.

Clause 1, as amended, agreed to.

Remaining clauses agreed to.

House resumed.

Then, Standing Order No. XXXIX having been dispensed with (pursuant to Resolution), the Amendment reported.

THE LORD CHANCELLOR

My Lords, in moving, That the Bill be read a third time I have it in command from Her Majesty to signify to the House that Her Majesty, having been informed of the purport of the Leasehold Property Act and Long Leases (Scotland) Act Extension Bill, has been pleased to place at the disposal of Parliament the interests of the Crown in so far as they are affected by the said Bill. I beg to move.

Moved, That the Bill be now read 3a.—[The Lord Chancellor.]

On Question, Bill read 3a, and passed and sent to the Commons.