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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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an FRI lease. For this reas<strong>on</strong> practiti<strong>on</strong>ers usually take <strong>the</strong> precauti<strong>on</strong><strong>of</strong> inserting in <strong>the</strong> lease a waiver <strong>of</strong> secti<strong>on</strong> 40. 10 All this makes forcomplicated drafting <strong>and</strong> c<strong>on</strong>stitutes a potential trap for <strong>the</strong> unwarypractiti<strong>on</strong>er. The obvious soluti<strong>on</strong> is to amend secti<strong>on</strong> 40 to make itclear that it also does not apply where repairs to <strong>the</strong> destroyed orbadly damaged premises are covered by insurance paid for orc<strong>on</strong>tributed to by <strong>the</strong> tenant. The Commissi<strong>on</strong> provisi<strong>on</strong>allyrecommends that a covenant or agreement excepting an obligati<strong>on</strong> todo repairs relating to “insured risks” should still exclude <strong>the</strong> tenant’sright <strong>of</strong> surrender under secti<strong>on</strong> 40 <strong>of</strong> Deasy’s Act.11.05 This leads to ano<strong>the</strong>r issue which may arise, namely whereinsurance cover exists <strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong> premises are destroyed or badlydamaged, can ei<strong>the</strong>r <strong>the</strong> l<strong>and</strong>lord or <strong>the</strong> tenant insist up<strong>on</strong> <strong>the</strong>proceeds being used to reinstate or repair <strong>the</strong> premises? This may bea particular issue for <strong>the</strong> tenant where <strong>the</strong> l<strong>and</strong>lord arranges <strong>the</strong>insurance <strong>and</strong> it is in <strong>the</strong> l<strong>and</strong>lord’s name, but <strong>the</strong> tenant has paid forit.11.06 In Engl<strong>and</strong>, it was provided by <strong>the</strong> Fires Preventi<strong>on</strong>(Metropolis) Act 1774 that <strong>on</strong>e party can require <strong>the</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r party’sinsurance company to expend <strong>the</strong> proceeds <strong>on</strong> reinstatement 11 <strong>and</strong>,despite its title, this was held to apply outside L<strong>on</strong>d<strong>on</strong>. 12 Indeed, itwas regarded as <strong>on</strong>e <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> “statutes <strong>of</strong> general applicati<strong>on</strong>” adoptedin several former British col<strong>on</strong>ies. 13 But <strong>the</strong> view was expressed inIrel<strong>and</strong> that “we have no corresp<strong>on</strong>ding enactment in this country”. 14In particular, it was held that <strong>the</strong> l<strong>and</strong>lord had no right to require <strong>the</strong>tenant to expend insurance proceeds <strong>on</strong> reinstatement <strong>and</strong> had to relyup<strong>on</strong> <strong>the</strong> tenant’s covenant to repair. 15 It must, <strong>the</strong>refore, be doubted101112131415See <strong>the</strong> precedents in Divisi<strong>on</strong> L.2 <strong>of</strong> Laffoy’s Irish C<strong>on</strong>veyancingPrecedents (Looseleaf Butterworths).Secti<strong>on</strong> 83.Ex parte Goreley (1864) 4 De G J & S 477.Eg Canada: Canadian Sou<strong>the</strong>rn Railways v Phelps (1884) 14 SCR 132 <strong>and</strong>Port Coquitlam v Wils<strong>on</strong> (1923) SCR 235; New Zeal<strong>and</strong>: Hunter v Walker(1888) 6 NZLR 690.Andrews v Patriotic Assurance Co <strong>of</strong> Irel<strong>and</strong> (No 2) (1886) 18 LR Ir 355,366 (per Palles CB). See also Brady v Irish L<strong>and</strong> Commissi<strong>on</strong> [1921] 1 IR56, 64 (per O’C<strong>on</strong>nor MR).Per Palles CB op cit at 368.143

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