Commission on Disposals of Land (Northern Ireland) Order 1986 (Hansard, 22 April 1986)

§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Northern Ireland Office (Lord Lyell)
My Lords, I beg to move that the Commission on Disposals of Land (Northern Ireland) Order, a draft of which was laid before your Lordships' House on 19th February this year, be approved.
The purpose of the order that we have before us this evening is simple, and I hope your Lordships will agree that it is straightforward. It will bring to an end the current practice in Northern Ireland whereby on the grant of a lease or letting of land the landlord may oblige his tenant to pay for his (the landlord's) agent's professional services. This practice, which I understand is not normal on this side of the water, grew up in Northern Ireland after the war when land was scarce and it was then a landlord's market. In so far as sales of land, as opposed to leases and lettings, are concerned, a similar practice prevailed whereby the purchaser paid the vendor's agent's professional fees. That happened until the Commission on Sales of Land Act (Northern Ireland) was passed in 1972, which put an end to this practice. But leases and lettings of land were not included in that Act.
In 1983 the Northern Ireland Assembly passed a Motion calling upon the Government to introduce legislation to put an end to the current practice, which was described by the Assembly as "inequitable". Those of your Lordships who appreciate the workings of the Assembly will think that that is a singularly mild comment. Indeed, your Lordships may agree that it is inequitable that a tenant should be obliged to pay for the professional services of an agent who has been acting for the landlord and as such has been acting possibly quite against the tenant's interests. The current practice is totally at variance with the normal business principle that he who engages an agent to act for him should pay for that agent's services.
The Government replied to the Motion of the Assembly by issuing a consultation paper on the subject. The reaction to that paper was overwhelmingly in favour of prompt legislative action which has led to the order which is before your Lordships' House this evening.
Perhaps I may turn your Lordships' attention briefly to the provisions of the order. Your Lordships will see that Article 3 is the substantive provision. In my own parlance I put it that this is the article which bites. This article renders void stipulations whereby the person taking the land is obliged to pay the commission due to an agent acting for the person disposing of the land. All dealings in land are covered, including sales, leases and lettings in conacre. In addition, rent reviews and 1145 rent renewals are covered by Article 3(4), so that, for example, a landlord may no longer charge his tenant for the professional services of an agent employed by him to negotiate an increased rent under a rent review clause. The provisions of the order will apply only to agreements made after the commencement of the legislation. I stress to your Lordships that there is no element of retrospection.
The contents of the order which is before us this evening have been widely welcomed by the Assembly and indeed by the vast majority of those who commented during the period of consultation. There has been but one substantive change since the order was published: the commencement period has been reduced from six to four months. Your Lordships will see that element in the little paragraph classified "Title and commencement", paragraph 1. This has been done so that if your Lordships approve the order this evening, it will be operative in time for the student letting season, which I understand is at its peak in July and August each year, and student tenants may have the advantage of the provisions of the order.
In conclusion, perhaps I may just say to your Lordships that the order is the first piece of government legislation to spring from a Motion of the Northern Ireland Assembly. I think it is worth putting on record that this is an example of how the Assembly, when of course it is working properly, can bring about changes in the law for the benefit of the enormous public in Northern Ireland. With that brief explanation, I beg to move.

§ Lord Prys-Davies
My Lords, as the Minister has explained, this simple draft order can be traced back to the initiative that was taken by the Northern Ireland Assembly in 1983 when it unanimously resolved to seek legislation to remedy the mischief which the Minister has described to the House. Those who were subsequently consulted gave their wholehearted support to legislation. Therefore, the draft order represents the end result of the discussions in the Assembly in 1983. We are particularly glad that the Government have amended Article 1(2) because the draft order, as it was originally framed, was based on the order coming into effect six months from the date on which it was made, and this was the subject of a great deal of criticism from the student population.
I believe that the Government have effectively met that criticism by enacting that it will come into effect within four months. That means that it should be in effect before the new academic year commences in September next.
So with those few comments we give the order our full support because it will remedy a mischief which has been widespread in Northern Ireland since the end of the Second World War.

§ Lord Lloyd of Kilgerran
My Lords, in this matter, I am, as it were, the statutory Member for the purposes of welcoming the order. I congratulate the noble Lord, Lord Lyell, on the fair and clear way in which he presented it.

§ Lord Lyell
My Lords, I should like to thank the noble Lord, Lord Prys-Davies, for his observations on what we have sought to achieve by this order. The noble Lord picked up the point that we have altered Article 1(2) to try to accommodate the student population. Indeed, this was something of an education to me because I was not aware that the students started working for the academic year in July, preferably just after the week-end of 12th July. Instantly, they get down to work for the next weekend. This is a lesson that I have learnt as a result of the deliberations in your Lordships' House.
I reiterate my admiration for the students. Clearly, we hope that this order will achieve what is desired by the student population of Northern Ireland and, also, I am sure, by the landladies and other people who accommodate them. I am grateful for the attention paid by the noble Lord, Lord Prys-Davies, and I should also like to thank the noble Lord, Lord Lloyd, whose noble friend Lord Hampton warned me that he would be unable to be in his place, although he had, I understand, no major points to make on the order. Indeed, he was in accord with it.
In expressing my thanks to the noble Lord, Lord Lloyd, I am taken back some nine years to a time when we were discussing elements of the previous business in respect of which the noble Lord shows that he has lost none of his touch. I recall some of the warnings issued at that time. I shall not weary your Lordships further. I am grateful for the attention that has been shown towards Northern Ireland legislation this evening. With that, I commend the order to your Lordships.