RENT RESTRICTIONS ACT, 1946

• (ii) in case evidence is forthcoming that the premises were so held under a contract of tenancy to which subparagraph (i) of this paragraph does not relate, the assignee shall be deemed to hold the premises from the landlord under a contract of tenancy of like duration as the contract of tenancy under which they were so held, and, subject thereto, on the same terms and conditions as the assignor;

• (iii) in any other case, the assignee shall be entitled to retain possession of the premises on the same terms and conditions as the assignor;

• (b) if the premises are premises to which paragraph (a) of this subsection does not relate, the assignee shall be entitled to retain possession of the premises on the same terms and conditions as the assignor.

41 Powers of Court in ejectment proceedings.

41.—Where an order for the recovery of possession of controlled premises is made by the Court, or was so made before the operative date, the Court may, at the time of the order or at any time before the execution thereof, stay execution on the order or postpone the date of possession for such period or periods, and subject to such conditions, as the Court thinks fit, and if such conditions are complied with the Court may, if it thinks fit, discharge or vary the order.

42 Amendments of section 15 of Summary Jurisdiction (Ireland) Act, 1851.

42.—(1) Notwithstanding anything in section 15 of the Summary Jurisdiction (Ireland) Act, 1851, every warrant for delivery of possession of, or to enter and give possession of, controlled premises shall remain in force for three months from the day next after the last day named in the order for delivery of possession or, in the case of a warrant under the Summary Jurisdiction (Ireland) Act, 1851, from the date of the issue of the warrant, and in either case for such further period or periods if any, as the Court shall from time to time, whether before or after the expiration of such three months, direct.

• (2) Section 15 of the Summary Jurisdiction (Ireland) Act 1851, shall apply to every controlled premises occupied by a statutory tenant, the rateable valuation whereof does not exceed ten pounds, notwithstanding that the rent exceeds one pound by the month.

43 Acceptance of rent by landlord after expiration of notice to quit.

43.—Where the landlord of controlled premises serves a notice to quit on the tenant of the premises, the acceptance of any sum purporting to be rent by the landlord for the period mentioned in whichever of the following paragraphs is applicable shall not prejudice his right (if any) to recover possession of the premises, that is to say,—

• (a) if he institutes proceedings for the recovery of possession of the premises within three months of the expiration of the notice to quit, the period beginning on the expiration of the notice to quit and ending on the date on which the proceedings are finally determined,

• (b) in any other case, the period of three months beginning on the expiration of the notice to quit,

and if an order for possession of the premises is made, any such sum so accepted shall be treated as mesne profits.

44 Order for possession obtained by misrepresentation.

44.—Where it appears to the Court that an order for possession of controlled premises was obtained by the landlord by misrepresentation or concealment of material facts, the Court may order the landlord to pay to the former tenant such sum as the Court thinks proper by way of compensation for damage or loss sustained by the tenant as the result of the order for possession.

45 Non-application of sections 37 and 38 to lettings for temporary convenience, etc.

45.—Sections 37 and 38 of this Act shall not apply to premises let to a person during his continuance in any office, appointment or employment, or let bona fide for the temporary convenience or to meet a temporary necessity of the landlord or the tenant.

46 Saving for rights of local authorities under the Housing of the Working Classes Acts.

46.—Nothing in this Part shall prevent a local authority from obtaining possession of any premises the possession of which is required by them for the purpose of exercising their powers under any enactment for the time being in force or under any scheme made under any such enactment.

PART V. Miscellaneous.

47 Liability for repairs.

47.—For the purposes of paragraph (d) of subsection (2) of section 11 and sections 21, 22 and 48 of this Act, the landlord shall be deemed to be responsible for any repairs for which the tenant is not under any liability, whether expressed in the contract or implied under section 42 of the Landlord and Tenant Law Amendment Act (Ireland), 1860.

48 Compensation for disrepair of controlled premises owing to default of landlord.

48.—(1) Where owing to the default of the landlord controlled premises are not in good and tenantable repair, the Court may order the landlord to pay to the tenant such sum as, in the opinion of the Court, will be required to put the premises into good and tenantable repair.

• (2)
• (a) The right of the tenant to obtain relief under this section shall not prejudice his right to seek relief in any other form of proceedings.

• (b) If at the time of the application for or the making of any order under this section the landlord undertakes to put the relevant premises into good and tenantable repair, the Court may adjourn the application, or stay or suspend execution on the order, and if the undertaking is fulfilled the Court may discharge the order.

• (c) A sum awarded to a tenant by an order under this section shall be expended on suitable repairs to the premises to which the order relates, and the order may be made subject to such conditions as the Court thinks fit to impose for the purpose of ensuring that the said sum is so expended.

49 Apportionment of rateable valuation by Commissioner of Valuation.

49.—(1) Where premises are not separately valued under the Valuation Acts, the Commissioner of Valuation and Boundary Surveyor may, on the application of the landlord or tenant of the premises, apportion to the premises such part as he thinks proper of the rateable valuation of the property in which the premises are comprised, and the part so apportioned to the said premises shall be taken to be the rateable valuation of the premises for the purposes of this Act, but not further or otherwise.

• (2) The Minister for Finance, after consultation with the Minister, may make regulations fixing a scale of the fees to be paid to the Commissioner of Valuation and Boundary Surveyor for apportionments under subsection (1) of this section.

• (3) The following provisions shall have effect in relation to all fees payable under this section:

• (a) such fees shall be collected and taken in such manner as the Minister for Finance shall from time to time direct and shall be paid into or disposed of for the benefit of the Exchequer in accordance with the directions of the said Minister;

• (b) the Public Offices Fees Act, 1879, shall not apply in respect of such fees.

50 Restriction on premiums.

50.—(1) A person shall not, as a condition of the grant, renewal, or continuance of a tenancy or subtenancy of any controlled premises, require the payment of any fine, premium, or other like sum, or the giving of any valuable consideration, in addition to the rent, and, where any such payment or consideration is made or given in respect of any such premises, the amount or value thereof may be recovered within, but not later than, six years after the date on which it was made or given.

• (2) If any person who recovers any sum made recoverable by this section has assigned or otherwise disposed of his interest in the tenancy for valuable consideration, the sum recovered by him shall be held by him in trust for such person as shall seem to the Court to be equitably entitled thereto.

• (3) A person requiring any payment or other consideration in contravention of this section shall be guilty of an offence under this subsection and shall, on summary conviction thereof, be liable to a fine not exceeding one hundred pounds, and the Court by which he is convicted may order the amount paid or the value of the consideration to be repaid to the person by whom the payment or other consideration was made or given.

• (4)
• (a) Any person making or offering to make any payment or giving or offering to give any consideration the requiring of which would be in contravention of this section, or advertising or publishing any such offer shall be guilty of an offence under this subsection and shall, on summary conviction thereof, be liable to a fine not exceeding twenty pounds.

• (b) No proceedings under this subsection shall be taken against any person who has instituted any proceedings under subsection (1) of this section, or who has supplied any information for the purpose of the institution of any proceedings under subsection (3) of this section.

• (5) Any grant, renewal, or continuance of a tenancy as a condition of which any payment or consideration has been made or given in contravention of this section shall, without prejudice to the operation of this section, be voidable at the option of either party thereto, without prejudice to the right of the tenant, if he has entered into possession of the premises comprised therein, to retain possession thereof by virtue of the provisions of this Act after any such option has been exercised.

• (6) This section shall not apply to the grant, renewal or continuance for a term of fourteen years or upwards of any tenancy.

51 Restriction on levy of distress for rent.

51.—(1) No distress for the rent of controlled premises shall be levied except by order of the Court.

• (2) Where the Court makes an order under subsection (1) of this section, the Court may attach to the execution of the order such conditions as the Court thinks fit.

52 Method of recovery of sums due by landlords to tenants.

52.—Any sum which under this Act is recoverable by a tenant from a landlord or payable or repayable by a landlord to a tenant may, without prejudice to any other method of recovery, be deducted by the tenant from any rent payable by him to the landlord.

53 Regulations.

53.—(1) The Minister may make regulations providing for any or all of the following matters:

• (a) the supply of rent-books in a form prescribed in the regulations by landlords of controlled premises or any class of controlled premises to the tenants of such premises;

• (b) the custody of such rent-books;

• (c) the entry of specified particulars in such rent-books;

• (d) any other matters relating to the user of such rent-books which the Minister may think proper to provide for;

• (e) any matter or thing referred to in this Act as prescribed;

• (f) the compilation of registers of controlled premises, the standard rents or basic rents of which have been determined by the Court, or any classes of such premises, in such form and containing such particulars as may be prescribed in the regulations, the inspection thereof by members of the public and such other matters relating thereto as the Minister may think proper to provide for;

• (g) the provision by landlords of identifying numbers for parts (being controlled premises) of any houses or classes of houses.

• (2) Every person who fails to comply with any regulation made under subsection (1) (other than paragraph (e) ) of this section and for the time being in force shall be guilty of an offence under this section and shall, on summary conviction thereof, be liable to a fine not exceeding ten pounds.

• (3)
• (a) On an application by a landlord of controlled premises, the Court may by order exempt the landlord from compliance with regulations relating to rent-books made under subsection (1) of this section.

• (b) An order shall not be made under this subsection unless the Court is satisfied—

• (i) that the applicant has made satisfactory alternative arrangements for keeping records of payments of rent made by his tenants and for furnishing a proper receipt for each such payment, and

• (ii) that, having regard to those arrangements and to all the circumstances of the case, it would be unreasonable to require the applicant to comply with the regulations.

• (c) The Court may attach to an order made under this subsection such conditions as the Court thinks fit to impose, including, in particular, a condition that the applicant shall furnish each tenant of controlled premises, of which he may from time to time be landlord, with such particulars, relating to the rent payable by the tenant and the rights and obligations of landlords and tenants under this Act, as are required by the regulations to be specified in rent-books.

• (d) A person who fails to comply with any condition attached to an order made under this subsection in relation to him shall be guilty of an offence under this section and shall, on summary conviction thereof, be liable to a fine not exceeding ten pounds.

• (4) Every regulation made by the Minister under subsection (1) of this section shall be laid before each House of the Oireachtas as soon as may be after it is made, and if a resolution is passed by either House of the Oireachtas within the next subsequent twenty-one days on which that House has sat after the regulation is laid before it annulling the regulation, the regulation shall be annulled accordingly, but without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done under the regulation.

54 Powers of the Court generally.

54.—(1) Where, for the purpose of determining the rateable valuation of premises which are alleged to be controlled premises, it is necessary to apportion the rateable valuation of the property in which the premises are comprised, the Court may, on the application of either party, make such apportionment as it thinks proper.

• (2) Where premises are let or were let at the date in relation to which the basic rent is to be fixed, at a rent which includes or included payment for board, attendance or the use of furniture, the Court may for any of the purposes of this Act make such apportionment as it thinks proper.

• (3) On the hearing of an action for the recovery of possession of controlled premises or for the recovery of any rent claimed to be due by a landlord or any sum claimed to be recoverable by a tenant in respect of controlled premises, the Court may on the application of either party at such hearing determine any matter arising under this Act which can in the opinion of the Court be conveniently determined on such hearing.

• (4) The Court shall, if satisfied that any error or omission in a notice served under section 20 of this Act is due to a bona fide mistake on the part of the party serving it, have power to amend the notice by correcting any errors and supplying any omissions therein, whether or not such errors or omissions, if not corrected or supplied, would render the notice invalid, on such terms and conditions as appear to the Court to be proper and, if the Court so directs, the notice as so amended shall have effect and be deemed to have had effect as a valid notice under the said section 20.

• (5) In addition to the powers specifically conferred on the Court by this Act the Court may deal with any matter arising under this Act whether a dispute has or has not arisen in relation to that matter.

55 Exercise of jurisdiction of Court.

55.—(1) The jurisdiction and powers conferred on the Court by this Act may be exercised—

• (a) by the Circuit Court, or

• (b) where the rateable valuation of the relevant premises does not exceed £10, or if the parties consent in writing to such exercise, by the District Court.

• (2) The Minister may from time to time nominate one or more of the District Justices for the time being assigned to the Dublin Metropolitan District as the Justice or Justices who shall have sole jurisdiction in that District in all cases, within the jurisdiction of the District Court, arising under this Act, and all such cases shall be referred to the Justice or one of the Justices so nominated.

• (3) A nomination under subsection (2) of this section may be withdrawn at any time by the Minister.

• (4) No appeal shall lie from the decision of the Circuit Court as to any apportionment of rent or rateable valuation.

56 Continuance of pending proceedings.

56.—Where on the operative date proceedings are pending for the determination of the standard rent or the basic rent (within the meaning of the Order of 1944) of any premises, the proceedings shall continue and shall be treated as if they were proceedings under this Act to determine the basic rent of the premises.

57 Position of statutory tenants under Act of 1923 and Order of 1944.

57.—To avoid doubts, it is hereby declared that any person who, immediately before the operative date, was in possession of premises by virtue of the provisions of the Act of 1923 or the Order of 1944 shall, subject to this Act, be entitled to retain possession of the premises.

58 Rules as to procedure.

58.—(1) Until rules are made regulating the practice and procedure of the Circuit Court for the purposes of this Act, the rules made under section 19 of the Act of 1923, so far as they relate to the Circuit Court, shall apply for the purposes of this Act with the necessary modifications.

• (2) Until rules are made regulating the practice and procedure of the District Court for the purposes of this Act, the rules made under section 19 of the Act of 1923, so far as they relate to the District Court, shall apply for the purposes of this Act with the necessary modifications.

SCHEDULE. Enactments Repealed.