Auctioneers and House Agents Act , 1947

PART I. Preliminary and General.

1 Short title.

1.—This Act may be cited as the Auctioneers and House Agents Act, 1947.

2 Definitions.

2.—(1) In this Act—

the word “auction” includes a Dutch auction and the word “auctioneer” shall be construed accordingly;

the expression “auction permit” means a permit, under section 9 of this Act, to conduct auctions;

the expression “auctioneer's licence” means a licence, under section 8 of this Act, to carry on the business of auctioneer;

the expression “certificate of qualification” means a certificate, under section 12 of this Act, of qualification to hold an auctioneer's licence or a house agent's licence;

the word “deposit” means a deposit for the purposes of this Act maintained in the High Court in accordance with section 14 of this Act;

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

the word “house” includes part of a house and also includes a building of any kind and part of any building;

the expression “house agent” means a person who, as agent for another person and for or in expectation of reward, purchases, sells, lets or offers for sale or letting, or invites offers to purchase or take a letting of, or negotiates for the purchase, sale or letting of a house otherwise than by auction or attempts to effect such purchase, sale or letting;

the expression “house agent's licence” means a licence, under section 10 of this Act, to carry on the business of house agent;

the word “licence” means an auctioneer's licence or a house agent's licence;

the expression “licensed assurance company” means an assurance company which is the holder of an assurance licence under the Insurance Act, 1936 (No. 45 of 1936);

the expression “licensed auctioneer” means a holder of an auctioneer's licence;

the expression “licensed house agent” means a holder of a house agent's licence;

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

the expression “the operative date” means the 6th day of July next after the passing of this Act.

(2) References in this Act to a house shall be construed as including references to any land held therewith and also to any interest in a house.

3 Regulations.

3.—(1) The Minister may make regulations in relation to any matter about which the Minister considers it necessary or desirable to make regulations for the purpose of carrying into effect the objects of this Act, but, in relation to the collection of the excise duties payable on licences and auction permits and their issue, cancellation and suspension, only with the consent of the Minister for Finance.

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

4 Expenses.

4.—The expenses incurred by the Minister or the Revenue Commissioners 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.

5 Repeals.

5.—Each enactment referred to in the Schedule to this Act is repealed, with effect from the operative date, to the extent set out in the third column of the said Schedule opposite the mention of that enactment.

PART II. Licences and Auction Permits.

6 Restrictions on acting as auctioneer.

6.—(1) Subject to subsection (2) of this section—

(a) no person shall, on or after the operative date, carry on or hold himself out or represent himself as carrying on the business of auctioneer except under and in accordance with a licence under section 8 of this Act,

(b) no person shall, on or after the operative date, conduct an auction except under and in accordance with a licence under section 8, or a permit under section 9, of this Act.

(2) Subsection (1) of this section does not apply to—

(a) an auction conducted by an officer of customs and excise by direction of the Revenue Commissioners,

(b) an auction conducted by, or by an officer of, a sheriff, under-sheriff, or county registrar,

(c) an auction conducted by a collector of income tax or his deputy under the Income Tax Acts,

(d) an auction, under any enactment relating to distress in respect of rates, conducted by a rate collector,

(e) an auction conducted under a power of sale conferred by paragraph 8 of section 19 of the Summary Jurisdiction (Ireland) Act, 1851, or section 71 of the Towns Improvement (Ireland) Act, 1854,

(f) an auction of wreck conducted by a receiver of wreck under a power of sale conferred on him by Part IX of the Merchant Shipping Act, 1894,

(g) an auction of fresh fish,

(h) an auction of State property conducted by an officer of the State,

(i) an auction conducted by a person authorised by or under any enactment to do so without being licensed,

(j) an auction by any person of goods belonging solely to that person.

(3) A person who, in contravention of this section carries on or holds himself out or represents himself as carrying on the business of auctioneer or conducts an auction shall be guilty of an offence under this section and shall be liable on summary conviction thereof to an excise penalty of one hundred pounds.

7 Restrictions on acting as house agent.

7.—(1) Subject to subsection (2) of this section, no person shall, on or after the operative date, carry on or hold himself out or represent himself as carrying on the business of house agent or act as a house agent except under and in accordance with a licence under section 10 of this Act.

(2) Subsection (1) of this section does not apply to—

(a) a licensed auctioneer,

(b) a solicitor who is for the time being duly qualified to act as solicitor,

(c) a person acting as agent for a Minister of State, the Commissioners of Public Works in Ireland, the Irish Land Commission or any person authorised to acquire land compulsorily.

(3) A person who, in contravention of this section, carries on or holds himself out or represents himself as carrying on the business of house agent or acts as a house agent shall be guilty of an offence under this section and shall be liable on summary conviction thereof to an excise penalty of one hundred pounds.

8 Grant of auctioneer's licence.

8.—(1) The Revenue Commissioners shall grant to a person who applies therefor, in accordance with subsection (2) of this section, a licence to carry on the business of auctioneer under the name specified in the licence.

(2) An application for an auctioneer's licence shall be accompanied by—

(a) a certificate of qualification granted to the applicant not more than twenty-eight days before the date of the application,

(b) a certificate of the Accountant of the Courts of Justice granted not more than twenty-eight days before the date of the application that the applicant maintains in the High Court a deposit and, where the deposit is a guarantee bond, that it covers the whole of the period for which the licence is to be granted, and

(c) the excise duty payable on an auctioneer's licence.

(3) An auctioneer's licence shall—

(a) specify the name under which the licensee is authorised to carry on business,

(b) commence on the date specified in that behalf therein, and

(c) if not previously cancelled, continue in force (subject to the power of suspension contained in section 18 of this Act) until the 5th day of July next following.

(4) An auctioneer's licence shall authorise one named individual (being either the licensee or some individual nominated by him) to conduct auctions on behalf of the licensee.

(5) The Revenue Commissioners shall, at the request of a licensee, cancel his auctioneer's licence.

9 Grant of auction permit.

9.—(1) Whenever a licensed auctioneer applies to the Revenue Commissioners for an auction permit, the Revenue Commissioners shall grant—

(a) if the applicant is an individual—either, as he shall request,

(i) a permit to the applicant to conduct auctions on his own behalf, or

(ii) a permit to an individual nominated by the applicant to conduct auctions on behalf of the applicant,

(b) if the applicant is a body corporate or an unincorporated body of persons—a permit to an individual nominated by such body to conduct auctions on their behalf.

(2) An application under subsection (1) of this section shall be accompanied by the excise duty payable on an auction permit.

(3) An auction permit shall—

(a) commence on the date specified in that behalf therein, and

(b) if not previously cancelled, continue in force (subject to the power of suspension contained in section 18 of this Act) until

(i) the 5th day of July next following or

(ii) the cancellation of the auctioneer's licence held by the person on whose behalf the permit was granted,

whichever is the sooner.

(4) The Revenue Commissioners shall, at the request of a licensed auctioneer, cancel a specified auction permit granted on his behalf.

10 Grant of house agent's licence.

10.—(1) The Revenue Commissioners shall grant to a person who applies therefor, in accordance with subsection (2) of this section, a licence to carry on the business of house agent under the name specified in the licence.

(2) An application for a house agent's licence shall be accompanied by—

(a) a certificate of qualification granted to the applicant not more than twenty-eight days before the date of the application,

(b) a certificate of the Accountant of the Courts of Justice granted not more than twenty eight days before the date of the application that the applicant maintains in the High Court a deposit and where the deposit is a guarantee bond, that it covers the whole of the period for which the licence is to be granted, and

(c) the excise duty payable on a house agent's licence.

(3) A house agent's licence shall—

(a) specify the name under which the licensee is authorised to carry on business,

(b) commence on the date specified in that behalf therein, and

(c) if not previously cancelled, continue in force (subject to the power of suspension contained in section 18 of this Act) until the 5th day of July next following.

(4) The Revenue Commissioners shall, at the request of a licensee, cancel his house agent's licence.

PART III. Certificates of Qualification to Hold an Auctioneer's or House Agent's Licence.

11 Application for certificate of qualification.

11.—(1) An intending applicant for a certificate of qualification in respect of a particular business shall—

(a) cause to be inserted, at least twenty-eight days before the making of the intended application, in a newspaper circulating in the district court area in which he proposes to have his principal place of business in the State, notice of his intention to make the application,

(b) give to the Superintendent of the Garda Síochána, within whose district he proposes to have his principal place of business in the State, at least twenty-eight days' notice in writing of his intention to make the application.

(2) A notice under subsection (1) of this section shall specify—

(a) the name of the applicant and, if the applicant is an unincorporated body, the names of its members,

(b) the name under which the applicant proposes to carry on business and the address at which he proposes to have his principal place of business in the State,

(c) the time and place at which he intends to make the application.

(3) Every application for a certificate of qualification in respect of a particular business shall be made to a district justice having jurisdiction—

(i) if the applicant proposes to carry on the business in one district court area only—in that district court area,

(ii) if the applicant proposes to carry on the business in more than one district court area—in the district court area in which he proposes to have his principal place of business.

(4) On the hearing of an application for a certificate of qualification any member of the Garda Síochána not below the rank of Inspector and any person who appears to the district justice hearing the application to be interested therein may appear and be heard in relation to the application and may adduce evidence in support of his submissions to the Court.

(5) An objection to an application for a certificate of qualification shall not be entertained by the Court unless the intending objector has, at least seven days before the hearing of the application, given notice in writing of the grounds of his objection to the applicant and the district court clerk.

12 Grant of certificates of qualification.

12.—(1) Where an application for a certificate of qualification to carry on the business of auctioneer or a certificate of qualification to carry on the business of house agent is duly made to a district justice, the justice shall, subject to section 13 of this Act, grant the certificate to the applicant.

(2) A certificate of qualification shall specify the name under which the holder may be licensed to carry on business.

13 Grounds for refusal of a certificate of qualification.

13.—An application for a certificate of qualification may be refused on any of the following grounds:—

(a) that the applicant is not a fit and proper person to hold a certificate,

(b) that the applicant is an undischarged bankrupt or arranging debtor,

(c) that the applicant is under the age of twenty-one years,

(d) that the applicant is disqualified under section 18 of this Act from holding an auctioneer's licence or a house agent's licence,

(e) that an auctioneer's licence or house agent's licence previously held by the applicant has been suspended or cancelled under section 18 of this Act,

(f) that an individual responsible or proposed to be responsible for the management of the applicant's business, and also, in the case of an unincorporated body, that any individual member of the body, is a person whose application might be refused under this section if he himself applied for a certificate of qualification.

PART IV. Deposits.

14 General provisions in relation to deposits.

14.—The following provisions shall have effect in relation to a deposit in the High Court made in pursuance of this Act:—

(a) the deposit shall be of the value of two thousand pounds;

(b) the deposit shall be under the control of the High Court;

(c) the Accountant of the Courts of Justice shall issue free of charge on request to the person proposing to make the deposit the forms requisite for that purpose;

(d) the deposit may, in lieu of being made in money, be made by—

(i) the deposit of securities authorised by rules of court for the investment of moneys under the control of the High Court, or

(ii) the deposit of a guarantee bond issued by a licensed assurance company in a form approved by the Minister whereby the company guarantees, in favour of the President of the High Court, up to a limit of two thousand pounds the due performance by the depositor of the obligations incurred by him as a licensed auctioneer or licensed house agent in relation to the receipt and payment of money and the safe custody of property;

(e) where the deposit is made or held in money, the money or a specified part thereof shall, on the request and at the cost of the depositor, be invested in securities authorised as aforesaid and specified by the depositor;

(f) the income derived from the securities of which the deposit is wholly or partly composed shall be paid to the depositor;

(g) the said securities or any of them shall, at the request and cost of the depositor, be varied into other securities authorised as aforesaid and specified by the depositor;

(h) the Accountant of the Courts of Justice shall issue free of charge on request to the depositor a certificate addressed to the Revenue Commissioners that the depositor maintains a deposit of a specified value or a guarantee bond for a specified sum in accordance with this section.

15 Payment of judgment debt out of deposits.

15.—(1) Whenever a person (in this subsection referred to as the plaintiff) obtains in any proceedings a judgment, order or decree against any other person (in this subsection referred to as the defendant) for the payment of money in discharge of a liability incurred by the defendant as a licensed auctioneer or licensed house agent in relation to the receipt or payment of money or the safe custody of property, the High Court may, on the application in a summary manner of the plaintiff, order such money (with or with out the costs of the application) to be paid to him out of the deposit maintained by the defendant, or, if the deposit consists of a guarantee bond and notice of the institution of the proceedings has been served before the hearing of the proceedings on the assurance company concerned, to be paid to the Accountant of the Courts of Justice by the assurance company, on behalf of the plaintiff.

(2) Whenever a person (in this subsection referred to as the plaintiff) institutes proceedings against any other person (in this subsection referred to as the defendant) involving a claim for payment of money in discharge of a liability alleged to have been incurred by the defendant as a licensed auctioneer or licensed house agent in relation to the receipt or payment of money or the safe custody of property, the High Court may, on the application of the plaintiff, by order direct that the deposit maintained by the defendant or some specified portion thereof be not released pending the termination of the proceedings or during such other period as to the Court may seem proper, and the Court may discharge or vary the said order.

(3) Whenever an order is made by the Court under this section for the payment of money out of a deposit or by an assurance company, the following provisions shall have effect:—

(a) the Accountant of the Courts of Justice shall, on making any payment under the order, forthwith notify the Revenue Commissioners and the depositor thereof and of the value of the balance remaining of his deposit or the balance secured by the guarantee of the assurance company, as the case may be;