Purchase of Land (Ireland) Act 1885

• Jurisdiction: Ireland

Purchase of Land (Ireland) Act, 1885

(48 & 49 Vict.) CHAPTER 73.

An Act to provide greater facilities for the Sale of Land to occupying Tenants in Ireland.

[14th August 1885]

Be it enacted by the Queen's most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:

1 Short title.

1. This Act may be cited for all purposes as thePurchase of Land (Ireland) Act, 1885.

Advances by the Land Commission.

2 Advances to tenants under this Act.

2. For enabling tenants to purchase their holdings, either from the Land Commission or from the landlords of such holdings, the Land Commission may make advances under this Act out of any funds at their disposal.

With respect to advances under this Act, the provisions of Part Five of the Land Law (Ireland) Act, 1881, shall be amended as follows; that is to say,

a .) The Land Commission may, if the repayment of the advance is secured by a deposit under this Act (herein-after referred to as a guarantee deposit), and if the Land Commission are satisfied with the security in other respects, make an advance to a tenant who is purchasing his holding of the whole principal sum or price payable by the tenant, instead of the three fourths thereof mentioned in Part Five of the ^{Land Law (Ireland) Act, 1881}.

b .) In making advances under this Act the Land Commission shall prefer applications for the purchase of holdings upon which the tenants reside, or which are reasonable adjuncts to holdings upon which such tenants reside

c .) It shall not be lawful for the Land Commission to make advances under this Act exceeding in all the sum of five million pounds

3 Deposit of money as guarantee fund.

3. Any person willing to secure the repayment of an advance made by the Land Commission to a tenant who is purchasing his holding either from the Land Commission or from the landlord of such holding may deposit with the Land Commission such sum, as a guarantee deposit, not being less than one fifth of the advance, as may be agreed on between him and the Land Commission.

If the person willing to secure the repayment of such advance is a landlord entitled to be paid by the Land Commission, or out of moneys provided by the Land Commission, any sum for the purchase money of any land sold by him, he may provide such guarantee deposit by permitting the Land Commission to retain the same out of such sum so payable for purchase money.

The Land Commission shall pay interest on the guarantee deposit at the rate of three per cent. per annum.

Subject to the other provisions of this Act, the Land Commission shall retain the guarantee deposit until they ascertain and by order declare that the person liable for the repayment of the advance has repaid on account of principal money a sum equal to the guarantee deposit, and shall then pay over the guarantee deposit to the person entitled thereto.

If at any time during the period for which the Land Commission are authorized to retain the guarantee deposit any sum due to the Land Commission in respect of an advance secured by a guarantee deposit under this Act is declared by them, by order, to be an irrecoverable debt, the Land Commission may apply the guarantee deposit in discharge or reduction of such irrecoverable debt.

Such order shall not be made, unless the Land Commission, having exercised any power of sale of the holding which they legally may exercise, have failed to realise by means of such sale the sum due to them secured on the holding, or unless it appears by the order of the Land Commission that they have attempted to exercise such power of sale and have been unable to do so.

Whenever it appears by such order that the Land Commission have attempted to exercise their power of sale and have been unable to do so, and the Land Commission thereupon apply a guarantee deposit or any part of it in discharge or reduction of any sum charged upon a holding, it shall be lawful for the Land Commission, by order, to declare that the interest in the holding of the person liable to pay such sum shall be charged in favour of the person entitled to the guarantee deposit with the amount of the guarantee deposit, or so much thereof as has been so applied by the Land Commission as aforesaid, with interest thereon at the rate of three per centum per annum until such charge is realised.

Trustees entitled to receive the purchase money produced by the sale of any settled land may, and shall if required by the tenant for life of the settled land, or the person having the powers of a tenant for life within the meaning of the Settled Land Act, 1882, secure, by a guarantee deposit, the repayment of an advance made for the purchase of any holding being or forming part of such settled land, and may apply or permit the Land Commission to retain so much of the purchase money as the trustees or such tenant for life or other person may think fit for that purpose.

4 Terms of repayment of advances.

4. With respect to advances to be made under this Act, or to be made under the ^{Landlord and Tenant (Ireland) Act, 1870}, or the Land Law (Ireland) Act, 1881, and also with respect to advances to be made to tenants under Part Two of the ^{Tramways and Public Companies (Ireland) Act, 1883}, the provisions of Part Five of the ^{Land Law (Ireland) Act, 1881}, shall be amended as follows:

a .) Every such advance shall be repaid by an annuity in favour of the Land Commission for forty-nine years, of four pounds for every hundred pounds of such advance, and so in proportion for any less sum, instead of by the annuity mentioned in the said Act

b .) Every such annuity, or any portion of it at any time outstanding, may be redeemed in whole or in part by the person liable to pay such annuity, by payment to the Land Commission of a sum equivalent to the then value of such annuity or of such portion of it as is sought to be redeemed; such value to be calculated according to the table in the Schedule to this Act.

c .) The repayment of every advance under this Act shall be secured to the Land Commission by deed. It shall be the duty of the Land Commission to exercise the power conferred upon mortgagees by the first sub-section of the nineteenth section of the ^{Conveyancing and Law of Property Act, 1881}, or any power for the same purpose contained in such deed.

d .) Subject to the amendments contained in this Act, the provisions of Part Five of the said Act shall apply to all advances under this Act.

Where a holding is sold by the Land Judges to the tenant of that holding, the sale may, for the purpose of advances under this Act, and of guarantee deposits under this Act, be deemed to be a sale by a landlord to a tenant.

Sales of Land.

5 Purchase of estates and holdings.

5. The Irish Land Commission, if they have reasonably satisfied themselves that a resale can be effected without loss, may purchase any estate for the purpose of reselling to the tenants of the lands comprised in such estate their respective holdings, and may purchase any holding for the purpose of reselling it to the tenant thereof. Provided that such purchase of an estate shall only be made if the Land Commission are reasonably satisfied that holdings to the extent of not less than four-fifths in value and number of the estate will be purchased by the tenants thereof. This condition may be relaxed on special grounds with the consent of the Treasury, but so that in all cases the Land Commission are reasonably satisfied that holdings to the extent of not less than three-fourths in value and number of the estate will be purchased by the tenants thereof, and in every such transaction of the purchase of an estate the Land Commission shall retain not less than one-fifth of the purchase money to satisfy the purpose of a guarantee deposit as defined by section three of this Act.

The tenant of any holding may purchase such holding, and before or after completing the agreement for such purchase may apply to the Land Commission for an advance.

If the vendor of such estate or holding is a tenant for life, or has the powers of a tenant for life, and the land proposed to be sold is settled land, within the meaning of those expressions as used in the ^{Settled Land Act, 1882}, he shall have all the powers conferred upon tenants for life under that Act, subject to the amendments thereof herein contained and to the other provisions of this Act; and the purchase money arising from such sale may be invested or applied as if it were capital money arising under the said Act.

6 Power to tenant for life to leave part of purchase money outstanding.

6. Where a landlord of a holding is a tenant for life, or has the powers of a tenant for life within the meaning of those expressions as used in the ^{Settled Land Act, 1882}, and is selling such holding to the tenant thereof, he may exercise, to the same extent as if he were an absolute owner, the power of permitting any sum not exceeding one fourth of the purchase money to remain as a charge upon such holding secured by a mortgage; and in case any advance is made by the Land Commission to the tenant for the purchase of such holding, any such mortgage shall be subject to any charge in favour of the Land Commission for securing such advance; and any such mortgage shall be deemed to be part of the purchase money payable in respect of such holding, and the money secured thereby when paid shall be dealt with as if it were capital money arising under the ^{Settled Land Act, 1882}, or purchase money otherwise payable under this Act.

This section shall apply to the trustees of any settlement in the same manner...