Landlord and Tenant (Ground Rents) Act 1967

• Original version: <a href='/vid/landlord-and-tenant-ground-907695903'>Landlord and Tenant (Ground Rents) Act 1967</a>

1. General

The Landlord and Tenant (Ground Rents) Act 1967, came into operation on 1st March 1967, by Order of the Minister for Justice under the Landlord and Tenant (Ground Rents) Act 1967, (Commencement) Order 1967, (S.I.No.42 of 1967).

Regulations have also been made under the Act – see the Landlord and Tenant (Ground Rents) Act 1967, (Forms) Regulations 1967, (S.I.No.43 of 1967).

2. Rights of certain Lessees and Tenants to purchase the Fee Simple

Section 3 of the Act provides that the categories of lessees and tenants set out therein shall have the right to purchase the fee simple interest in the land and any intermediate interests therein. A person who proposes to exercise his right under the Act to purchase the fee simple must serve the notice prescribed by section 4 i.e. GR Form No 1 in the Regulations supra. It is important to note that unless such a notice is served, no purchase by a lessee or tenant of the fee simple interest in the lands is to be regarded as a purchase of the fee simple under the Act. Accordingly, the provisions of the Act in so far as they relate to the purchase of the fee simple interest, e.g. Sections 8 or 31 would not appear to apply in such circumstances.

All cases under this heading are to be dealt with by Examiners. The main points upon which the Examiner should be satisfied are:

1. That the purchase is being made in pursuance of the provisions of the Act. In all cases where this is not clear, it is essential to have the Solicitor clarify the matter. [See also section 10].
2. That the purchaser and the property are within the terms of section 3(2).
3. That the purchaser has obtained the consents of all persons whose consents are required by section 5(1) and (2).

Despite the ambiguous wording of sub-sections (2) and (3) of section 8, a conveyance duly executed by an Officer of the Court appointed for the purpose of these sub-sections by the County Registrar for the area concerned may be regarded as an effective conveyance of the interest of the person on whose behalf the Court Officer purports to convey.

Section 17 gives wide powers to the County Registrar to resolve difficulties which may arise under the Act, and he may determine matters by award.

If, in any particular case, the Examiner considers that the County Registrar has made an award which, in his opinion, is wrong in law, or he has a reasonable doubt about the legal validity thereof, he should seek a direction from the Deputy Registrar.

Under section 24, it appears that a...