Rent Restrictions Act , 1946

PART I. Preliminary and General.

1 Short title and duration.

1.—(1) This Act may be cited as the Rent Restrictions Act, 1946.

(2) This Act shall continue in operation until the 31st day of December, 1950.

2 Interpretation generally.

2.—(1) In this Act—

the expression “the Act of 1923” means the Increase of Rent and Mortgage Interest (Restrictions) Act, 1923 (No. 19 of 1923);

the expression “the Act of 1926” means the Increase of Rent and Mortgage Interest (Restrictions) Act, 1926 (No. 24 of 1926);

the expression “basic rent” means—

(a) in relation to controlled (1923 Act) premises, the basic rent of the premises determined under section 8 or section 9 (as the case may be) of this Act,

(b) in relation to controlled (non-1923 Act) premises, the basic rent of the premises determined under section 14, section 15 or section 16 (as the case may be) of this Act;

the expression “business premises” means premises used for the purposes of any business, trade or profession or for the public service;

the expression “controlled premises” means any premises to which, by virtue of section 3 of this Act, this Act applies;

the expression “controlled (1923 Act) premises” means controlled premises to which, by virtue of section 7 of this Act, Chapter 1 of Part II of this Act applies;

the expression “controlled (non-1923 Act) premises” means controlled premises to which, by virtue of section 13 of this Act, Chapter 2 of Part II of this Act applies;

the expression “District Justice” means a Justice of the District Court;

the word “dwelling” means a house let as a separate dwelling, or a part, so let, of any house, whether or not the tenant shares with any other persons any portion thereof or any accommodation, amenity or facility in connection therewith;

the word “landlord”, when used in relation to any premises, includes any person from time to time deriving title under the original landlord of the premises, and also includes any person, other than the tenant, who is or would but for this Act be entitled to possession of the premises;

the expression “lawful addition” means—

(a) in relation to the basic rent of controlled (1923 Act) premises, any sum which is, by virtue of section 11 of this Act, a lawful addition to the basic rent,

(b) in relation to the basic rent of controlled (non-1923 Act) premises, any sum which is, by virtue of section 17 of this Act, a lawful addition to the basic rent;

the expression “lawful rent” means—

(a) in relation to controlled (1923 Act) premises, the sum declared by section 12 of this Act to be the lawful rent of the premises,

(b) in relation to controlled (non-1923 Act) premises, the sum declared by section 18 of this Act to be the lawful rent of the premises;

the word “let” includes sublet;

the expression “the Minister” means the Minister for Justice;

the expression “non-statutory tenant” means a tenant who is not a statutory tenant;

the expression “the operative date” means the date of the passing of this Act;

the expression “the Order of 1944” means the Emergency Powers (No. 313) Order, 1944 (S. R. & O., No. 29 of 1944), as amended by the Emergency Powers (No. 313) Order, 1944 (Amendment) Order, 1945 (S. R. & O., No. 188 of 1945);

the word “premises” means any premises being a dwelling or business premises;

the word “prescribed” means prescribed by the Minister by regulations made under this Act;

the word “rates” means, in relation to any premises, the rates (including water rates) which are made by a local authority (being the council of a county, the corporation of a county or other borough, the council of an urban district or the commissioners of a town) in respect of the premises for the service of any local financial year and which by any Act are, or but for any Act would be, chargeable on the occupier of the premises;

the expression “standard rent” has the same meaning as it has in the Act of 1923;

the expression “statutory tenancy” means the interest of a statutory tenant in the premises in relation to which the expression is used;

the expression “statutory tenant” means a person being either—

(a) a person who retains possession of any controlled premises after his contractual tenancy therein (not being a tenancy to which section 45 of this Act applies) has terminated, or

(b) a person who retains possession of any controlled premises under subsection (2) or subsection (3) of section 39 of this Act, or

(c) a person who retains possession of any controlled premises under subparagraph (iii) of paragraph (a) or under paragraph (b) of subsection (5) of section 40 of this Act, or

(d) a person who retains possession of any controlled premises under section 57 of this Act;

the word “tenant”, unless the context otherwise requires, includes in relation to any premises a statutory tenant, and includes any person from time to time deriving title under the original tenant, and also includes a subtenant.

(2) References in this Act to an order for the recovery of possession of any premises shall be construed as including references to an order for the ejectment of a tenant therefrom.

(3) References in this Act to any enactment shall be construed as references to that enactment as amended by any subsequent enactment.

3 Controlled premises.

3.—(1) Subject to subsection (2) of this section, this Act applies to every premises.

(2) This Act does not apply to—

(a) premises the rateable valuation whereof exceeds—

(i) in case the premises are situate in the county borough of Dublin or the borough of Dún Laoghaire, sixty pounds,

(ii) in any other case, forty pounds,

(b) premises erected after, or in course of being erected on, the 7th day of May 1941,

(c) a dwelling provided by a local authority under the Labourers Acts, 1883 to 1941, or under the Housing of the Working Classes Acts, 1890 to 1931, and of which a local authority is for the time being the landlord, or

(d) business premises in any market or fair where the rent or conditions of tenancy are controlled or regulated by or under any statute or charter,

(e) business premises let for a term of years or let from year to year under a tenancy, notice to determine which (otherwise than for breach of a term of the tenancy) must be a notice of not less than three months,

(f) a dwelling let at a rent (hereinafter called the reserved rent) which includes payments for board, attendance or the use of furniture, or for the supply to the dwelling of heat, hot water, fuel, electricity or any other commodity or for the rendering of any services in connection with the dwelling, unless, on apportionment of the reserved rent by the Court, the portion of the reserved rent which, in the opinion of the Court, is attributable to the dwelling alone equals or exceeds three quarters of the reserved rent, in which case the rent of the dwelling shall be taken, for the purposes of this Act, to be the portion of the reserved rent so attributable to the dwelling alone,

(g) any dwelling or business premises let together with land other than the site of the dwelling or business premises, if the rateable valuation of the land exceeds the lesser of the following:—

(i) half the rateable valuation of the site including the building or buildings thereon, or

(ii) (I) in case the dwelling or business premises are situate in the county borough of Dublin or the borough of Dún Laoghaire, fifteen pounds,

(II) in any other case, ten pounds.

4 Dwellings used in part for business purposes, etc.

4.—The application of this Act to a dwelling shall not be excluded by reason only of the fact that part of it is used for the purposes of any business, trade or profession.

5 Repeals and adaptation of references to repealed Acts.

5.—(1) The enactments mentioned in the Schedule to this Act are hereby repealed to the extent specified in the third column of that Schedule.

(2) The repeal, effected by subsection (1) of this section, of the proviso to paragraph (b) of subsection (1) of section 2 of the Act of 1923 shall have effect as from the date of the passing of the Act of 1923 but such repeal shall not—

(a) entitle a landlord to recover from a tenant any sums which have been recovered from the landlord before the 1st day of October, 1945, by means of a deduction from rent or otherwise or any rent which has not been paid by reason of such deductions having been made therefrom, or

(b) affect the right to enforce any judgment of a court of competent jurisdiction given before the 1st day of October, 1945, or render recoverable any sum paid under such judgment.

(3) References in any Act to the Increase of Rent and Mortgage Interest (Restrictions) Acts, 1923 to 1930, or to any of those Acts shall be construed as references to this Act.

6 Expenses.

6.—The expenses incurred by the Minister in the administration of this Act shall, to such extent as may be sanctioned by the Minister for Finance, be paid out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas.

PART II. Restriction of Rent of Controlled Premises.

Chapter 1. Lawful Rent of Controlled (1923 Act) Premises.

7 Controlled (1923 Act) premises.

7.—(1) Subject to subsection (2) of this section, this Chapter applies to every controlled premises the rateable valuation whereof does not exceed—

(a) thirty pounds in case the premises are situate in either—

(i) the county borough of Dublin as existing immediately before the passing of the Local Government (Dublin) Act, 1930 (No. 27 of 1930), or

(ii) the area comprising the former urban districts of Pembroke, and Rathmines and Rathgar, as existing immediately before the passing of the said Act, or

(iii) the borough of Dún Laoghaire,

(b) twenty-five pounds in any other case.

(2) (a) This Chapter does not apply to premises erected after, or in course of being erected on, the 2nd day of April, 1919, or which at that date were being or have since been bona fide reconstructed by way of conversion into two or more separate and self-contained flats or tenements.

(b) This Chapter does not apply to premises which, having been controlled (non-1923 Act) premises, would, by reason of a reduction of the rateable valuation thereof, become, but for this paragraph, premises to which this Chapter applies.

(c) This Chapter does not apply to premises to which the Act of 1923 had, by the operation of section 5 of the Act of 1926, ceased, before the operative date, to apply.

8 Basic rent of controlled (1923 Act) premises the standard rent whereof has been determined by Court or by arbitration.

8.—(1) This section applies to controlled (1923 Act) premises in respect of which evidence is forthcoming of both the following facts:—

(a) that the standard rent of the premises was determined by the Court before the operative date, and

(b) the amount of the standard rent.

(2) This section also applies to controlled (1923 Act) premises in respect of which evidence is forthcoming of both the following facts:—

(a) that the standard rent of the premises was, before the operative date, the subject of an arbitration award, and

(b) the amount of the standard rent.

(3) The basic rent of premises to which this section applies shall be an amount equal to the sum of the following:—

(a) the standard rent of the premises, and

(b) (i) in the case of a dwelling, twenty per cent. of the standard rent, or

(ii) in any other case, twenty-five per cent. of the standard rent.

9 Basic rent of controlled (1923 Act) premises to which section 8 does not apply.

9.—(1) This section applies to every controlled (1923 Act) premises other than premises to which section 8 of this Act applies.

(2) The basic rent of premises to which this section applies shall be determined by the Court and shall be a rent of such amount as the Court considers reasonable, under any given contract of tenancy not being for more than a term of five years, having regard to the basic rents of other controlled (1923 Act) premises and, in case evidence is forthcoming of both the following facts,—

(i) that the premises the basic rent whereof is to be determined were on the 3rd day of August, 1914, held by an occupying tenant thereof under a contract of tenancy not being for more than a term of five years, or that they were not so held but were last so held on a date not being more than three years before the 3rd day of August, 1914, and

(ii) the rent at which they were so held,

then, having regard also to the amount of the said rent.

(3) For the purpose of the determination by the Court of the basic rent under this section the tenant shall be deemed to be responsible for the rates.

10 Premises not to cease to be controlled (1923 Act) premises by reason of increase of rateable valuation.

10.—(1) Where, by reason of an increase in the rateable valuation thereof, premises which were, immediately before the date of the increase, controlled (1923 Act) premises would, but for this section, become controlled (non-1923 Act) premises, then, notwithstanding such increase, the premises shall continue to be premises to which this Chapter applies.

(2) Subsection (1) of this section shall not apply to premises the increase in the rateable valuation whereof arises from improvements or structural alterations carried out by the landlord while in possession of the whole of the premises.

11 Lawful additions to basic rent of controlled (1923 Act) premises.

11.—(1) In subsection (2) of this section, the expression “the critical date” means—

(a) in the case of premises to which section 8 of this Act applies, the operative date,

(b) in the case of premises to which section 9 of this Act applies, the date of the institution of the proceedings in which the basic rent of the premises is determined.

(2) For the purposes of this Act, the sum mentioned in any paragraph of this subsection shall, in the case set out in that paragraph, be a lawful addition to the basic rent of controlled (1923 Act) premises:—

(a) in case the landlord of the premises pays or allows a deduction or set-off against, or indemnifies the tenant in respect of, the rates or any part thereof, a sum equal to the amount for the time being of such payment, deduction, set-off or indemnity (as the case may be);

(b) in case the landlord, on or after the critical date, expends any amount (excluding any amount expended on decoration or repairs) on the improvement or structural alteration of the premises, a sum equal to eight per cent. per annum of that amount;

(c) in case the landlord, on or after the critical date, expends any amount on repairs to the premises which are wholly or mainly rendered necessary because of acts of waste by, or the neglect or default of, the tenant or any person residing with him or any of his lodgers or subtenants, a sum equal to eight per cent. per annum of that amount;

(d) (i) in case the landlord is responsible for the whole of the repairs to the premises, an amount not exceeding one-twelfth part of the basic rent,

(ii) in case the landlord is responsible for part only of the repairs, such lesser amount as may be agreed upon between the landlord and the tenant or as may, on the application of either of the said parties, be determined by the Court, or, in the absence of any such agreement or determination, an amount not exceeding one twenty-fourth part of the basic rent;

(e) in the case of premises to which section 8 of this Act applies, if the landlord has, in the year 1922, expended an amount in excess of one-third of the standard rent, or has, during a period comprising the two years 1923 and 1924, or 1925 and 1926, or 1927 and 1928, expended an amount in excess of two-thirds of the standard rent, on putting the premises into a reasonable state of repair, a sum equal to fifteen per cent. per annum of such excess or excesses of expenditure;

(f) in the case of premises to which section 8 of this Act applies, if the landlord has, after the 4th day of August, 1914, and before the critical date, expended any amount on the improvement or structural alteration of the premises (but not including therein any amount expended on decoration or repairs) a sum equal to eight per cent. per annum of that amount;

(g) in case the landlord, during a period comprising the two years 1945 and 1946, or 1946 and 1947, or 1947 and 1948, or 1948 and 1949, or 1949 and 1950, expends an amount in excess of two-thirds of the basic rent of the premises on putting the premises into a reasonable state of repair, a sum equal to fifteen per cent. per annum of such excess or excesses of expenditure.

(3) For the purposes of subsection (2) of this section, the amount of any grant under the Housing (Financial and Miscellaneous Provisions) Acts, 1932 to 1944, as amended or extended by any subsequent enactment, shall not be reckoned as part of any amount expended on any improvement, structural alteration or repairs to which that subsection applies.

(4) In the application of this Chapter to a small dwelling, within the meaning of the Local Government (Rates on Small Dwellings) Act, 1928 (No. 4 of 1928), the following provisions shall have effect:

(a) the word “rates” in paragraph (a) of subsection (2) of this section shall not include a rate made by virtue of the last-mentioned Act on the owner of such small dwelling, and

(b) the amount by which the rent of such small dwelling is increased by virtue of section 6 of the last-mentioned Act shall be taken into account as a lawful addition in calculating the lawful rent of such small dwelling,

12 Lawful rent of controlled (1923 Act) premises.

12.—The lawful rent of controlled (1923 Act) premises shall be—

(a) in case there is no lawful addition to the basic rent of the premises, the basic rent of the premises,

(b) in any other case, the sum of the basic rent of the premises and the lawful additions thereto.

Chapter 2. Lawful Rent of Controlled (Non-1923 Act) Premises.

13 Controlled (non 1923 Act) premises.

13.—This Chapter applies to every controlled premises, other than premises in respect of which evidence is forthcoming that they are controlled (1923 Act) premises.

14 Basic rent of certain controlled (non-1923 Act) premises.

14.—(1) Subject to subsection (2) of this section, this section applies to—

(a) controlled (non-1923 Act) premises in respect of which evidence is forthcoming of both the following facts—

(i) that they were, on the 7th day of May, 1941 (in this section referred to as the relevant date) held by an occupying tenant thereof under a contract of tenancy not being for more than a term of five years, and