Consultation Paper on the General Law of the Landlord and Tenant

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the parties’ agreement. 33 The Commission inclines to the view that itwould clarify the law considerably if the doctrine of denial of titlewere consigned to history and that the position of a tenant who deniesthat a valid tenancy has been granted should be governed by the lawof forfeiture, ie, once the tenant acts upon the denial by breaking anyof the obligations under the apparent tenancy, the landlord should berequired to exercise the usual remedies for breach of obligation,including, if preferred, forfeiting the tenancy. Alternatively, it ispossible that the courts here will follow, by way of analogy, 34 theEnglish courts’ recent application of the contractual principle ofdisclaimer or rescission for repudiation by the other party. 35 TheCommission has reached the preliminary conclusion that the doctrineof denial of title should no longer apply as between landlords andtenants.C Enlargement12.10 The concept of enlargement of the tenant’s interest in thedemised premises has had a long history in Ireland. Quite apart fromthe dramatic impact of the Land Purchase Acts of the late nineteenthand first half of the twentieth centuries, there was the more specificexample of the Renewable Leasehold Conversion Act 1849 dealingwith leases for lives renewable for ever. 36 In more recent times therehas been the right of certain lessees to purchase the fee simple underthe ground rents legislation. 37 This legislation will be reviewedseparately as part of the current project.3334353637See paragraph 1.10 above.This has usually been invoked by tenants against landlords: see paragraph6.09 above.See paragraph 12.07 above. Another possibility is that the doctrine ofestoppel may come into play: see again Wallace v Daly & Co Ltd [1949]IR 352, 380 (per Black J).Note also section 74 of the Landlord and Tenant (Amendment) Act 1980,dealing with pre-1849 unconverted leases. See the <strong>Consultation</strong> <strong>Paper</strong> onBusiness Tenancies (LRC CP 21–2003) paragraph 4.51. See also Wylie opcit paragraphs 4.42 and 4.45.In particular the Landlord and Tenant (Ground Rents) Act 1967 andLandlord and Tenant (Ground Rents) (No 2) Act 1978. See Wylie op citChapter 31.153
12.11 There is one further, somewhat obscure, provision to bementioned and that is section 65 of the Conveyancing Act 1881. 38This is a provision which could be invoked very rarely because itapplies only to leases where the original term was not less than 300years, of which not less than 200 years remain outstanding.Furthermore no rent must be payable or at most only a peppercornrent “or other rent having no money value”. Alternatively, if asubstantial rent was originally reserved, it must have been releasedsubsequently, have become statute-barred or otherwise ceased to bepayable. Nor can it apply if the lease contained a re-entry clause forbreach of condition. It is highly unlikely that many such leases existnowadays 39 and it is difficult to see why one would be created. 40There was a short-lived practice of using it to avoid stamp duty in the1980s, but this was killed off by the anti-avoidance provisions ofsection 96(2) of the Finance Act 1986. 41 It has been argued that thesection may be used to make covenants run with the enlarged freeholdinterest, which would not otherwise run because of the restrictions ofthe rule in Tulk v Moxhay, 42 but the Commission has alreadypublished separate recommendations to deal with this subject. 43 Inview of this the Commission inclines to the view that section 65 hasoutlived its usefulness. It will, however, revisit the subject when itreviews the ground rents legislation. The Commission provisionallyrecommends that section 65 of the Conveyancing Act 1881 should berepealed without replacement.383940414243It was amended slightly by section 11 of the Conveyancing Act 1882. SeeWylie op cit paragraphs 26.12-3.The section was mentioned in the judgment of Kenny J in the unreportedcase of Atkins v Atkins High Court 30 March 1976.Note, however, that there is a precedent (F.2.15) for using it in Laffoy’sIrish Conveyancing Precedents (Looseleaf Butterworths).See now section 35 of the Stamp Duties Consolidation Act 1999.Wylie Irish Land Law (3 rd ed Butterworths 1997) paragraphs 4.085-86;Taylor “Enlargement of Leasehold to Freehold” (1958) 22 Conv 101.Report on Land Law and Conveyancing Law: (7) Positive Covenants overFreehold Land and other Proposals (LRC 70–2003).154
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Landlord and Tenant Law Working Gro
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E Landlord’s Identity and Agent .
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INTRODUCTION1. This is the second <
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CHAPTER 1THE RELATIONSHIP OF LANDLO
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after its enactment there were nume
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Commission’s preliminary conclusi
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1.15 It might be thought that the I
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preliminary conclusion that any re-
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like lodgers, 83 hotel guests, 84 s
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landlord and tenant.” 96 This see
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the nature of a tenant’s interest
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parties an intention which they nev
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management of the said Railway arch
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the courts’ desire in the past to
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CHAPTER 2FORMALITIES2.01 This chapt
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Commission has previously drawn att
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paragraph, such an arrangement woul
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Deasy’s Act should be dropped fro
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the judges of the old Exchequer Cha
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within the purview of the Landlord
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seems to be inconsistent with the c
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E Surrenders2.21 Section 7 of Deasy
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premises, the alternative of a new
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espect to the part not surrendered.
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CHAPTER 3SUCCESSORS IN TITLE3.01 Th
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section 10 of the Conveyancing Act
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prescribe that a particular tenant
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not clear how far statute law has c
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was not resolved until the enactmen
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the doctrine of estoppel. 57 On the
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eferred to as a severance of the in
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need to have statutory provisions t
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the premises occupied by the sub-te
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CHAPTER 4FIXTURES4.01 The law of
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tenant. Often an item installed in
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A Common Law4.09 Originally at comm
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parties’ agreement. Furthermore,
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fixtures. Given that this is subjec
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(viii) it should also be made clear
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(2) consumer protection; (3) defaul
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subject was discussed in the <stron
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already covered by modern legislati
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CHAPTER 6LANDLORD’S OBLIGATIONS6.
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for sale. 14 This matter is again o
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may not be a point of much substanc
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how far the Irish courts will follo
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6.13 To some extent the very limite
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Page 118 and 119: CHAPTER 7TENANT’S OBLIGATIONS7.01
Page 120 and 121: CHAPTER 8RENT AND OTHER PAYMENTS8.0
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Page 134 and 135: CHAPTER 9SERVICE CHARGES9.01 It has
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Page 166 and 167: CHAPTER 13NOTICE13.01 Service of a
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Page 170 and 171: D Sub-Tenants13.08 It may be conven
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Page 175 and 176: very small rent. The Residential Te
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Page 193 and 194: is sufficient. 32 It is questionabl
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18.82 The Commission recommends tha
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the original sub-tenancy or mortgag
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APPENDIXLIST OF LAW REFORM COMMISSI
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Working Paper No 1
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Report on the Liability in Tort ofM
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Eleventh (Annual) Report (1989) (Pl
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Report on Occupiers’ Liability (L
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Report on Privacy: Surveillance and
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Consultation <stro
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Consultation Paper on the General Law of the Landlord and Tenant

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