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Consultation Paper on the General Law of the Landlord and Tenant

Consultation Paper on the General Law of the Landlord and Tenant

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CHAPTER 8RENT AND OTHER PAYMENTS8.01 This chapter is c<strong>on</strong>cerned with <strong>the</strong> obligati<strong>on</strong> to pay rent<strong>and</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r charges 1 usually imposed <strong>on</strong> <strong>the</strong> tenant. Payment <strong>of</strong> rent isinvariably an obligati<strong>on</strong> imposed <strong>on</strong> <strong>the</strong> tenant; indeed, as wasdiscussed earlier, that obligati<strong>on</strong> is <strong>on</strong>e <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> key features <strong>of</strong> atenancy. 2 The obligati<strong>on</strong> to make o<strong>the</strong>r payments may vary fromtenancy to tenancy. 38.02 It is c<strong>on</strong>venient to begin <strong>the</strong> discussi<strong>on</strong> with <strong>the</strong> subject <strong>of</strong>rent, c<strong>on</strong>centrating <strong>on</strong> <strong>the</strong> need for legislati<strong>on</strong> to govern <strong>the</strong> subject.This necessitates a c<strong>on</strong>siderati<strong>on</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> existing legislati<strong>on</strong>, whichdeals with several aspects <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> subject.A Obligati<strong>on</strong> to Pay Rent8.03 Secti<strong>on</strong> 42 <strong>of</strong> Deasy’s Act c<strong>on</strong>tains an implied agreement inleases that <strong>the</strong> tenant for <strong>the</strong> time being, <strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong> tenant’s successors intitle, “shall pay, when due, <strong>the</strong> rent reserved …”. A number <strong>of</strong> pointsshould be noted. One is that it is an implied obligati<strong>on</strong> <strong>on</strong>ly, which issubject to <strong>the</strong> proviso “unless o<strong>the</strong>rwise expressly provided by suchlease.” Given <strong>the</strong> primary functi<strong>on</strong> <strong>of</strong> rent as an indicator <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>existence <strong>of</strong> a tenancy, reaffirmed earlier, 4 <strong>the</strong> Commissi<strong>on</strong> takes <strong>the</strong>view that this obligati<strong>on</strong> should be an “overriding” <strong>on</strong>e, <strong>and</strong> not <strong>on</strong>esubject to variati<strong>on</strong> by <strong>the</strong> parties. It is, <strong>of</strong> course, important to note<strong>the</strong> limitati<strong>on</strong> to secti<strong>on</strong> 42, namely that it refers to payment <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>rent “reserved”. 5 If no rent is reserved, but some o<strong>the</strong>r c<strong>on</strong>siderati<strong>on</strong>12345But not service charges or insurance premiums which are discussed in laterchapters: see Chapters 9 <strong>and</strong> 11 below.Paragraph 1.21 above.See paragraph 8.21 below.See paragraph 1.23 above.Secti<strong>on</strong> 42 <strong>of</strong> Deasy’s Act states:“Every lease <strong>of</strong> l<strong>and</strong>s or tenements made after <strong>the</strong> commencement <strong>of</strong>this Act shall (unless o<strong>the</strong>rwise expressly provided by such lease) imply111

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