Consultation Paper on the General Law of the Landlord and Tenant

with determination of the tenancy and recovery of possession by thelandlord. As the name implies, it is more concerned with recovery ofarrears of rent and recovery of possession is the ultimate sanctiononly. This form of action does suffer, however, from seriousdrawbacks from the landlord’s point of view. One is that it can onlybe invoked when at least one year’s rent is in arrear. 14 Few landlordsare willing to wait that long before taking action against a defaultingtenant. Another is that even though the landlord has succeeded inobtaining ultimately an order for possession and has re-entered theproperty on foot of this, the tenant still has the right to apply for“restitution” 15 within six months of the execution of the decree forpossession. 16 This has the effect of preventing the landlord who hasretaken possession from re-letting the property during the six monthperiod. It is hardly surprising, therefore, that this form of ejectment israrely used nowadays. The Commission provisionally recommendsthat the special form of an ejectment for non-payment of rent shouldcease to be available.D Deserted Premises15.05 This form of action is governed by sections 78 and 79 ofDeasy’s Act and is available where a tenant has deserted orabandoned the premises, leaving them unoccupied or, in the case ofagricultural land, the land or the greater portion uncultivated. Againthere are drawbacks from the landlord’s point of view. The action isavailable only where half a year’s rent is in arrear and there areinsufficient goods left in the premises to amount to a “sufficientdistress”. 17 The procedure is also somewhat complicated, involvingthe obtaining of, first, a certificate of “desertion” from the DistrictCourt and, secondly, on the basis of this an ejectment order from theCircuit Court. Again, it is hardly surprising that this form of action1314151617(Northern Ireland) 1986).Eg on the title (paragraph 15.8 below) and for overholding (paragraph15.09 below).Section 52.Ie an order restoring the tenant to possession.Sections 70 and 71.See paragraph 8.17 above. As regards the need to search the premises forsufficient distress see Nestor v O’Neill [1939] Ir Jur Rep 80.181