Rent Restrictions Act , 1960

PART I. Preliminary and General.

1 Short title and commencement.

1.—(1) This Act may be cited as the Rent Restrictions Act, 1960.

(2) This Act shall come into operation on the 31st day of December, 1960.

2 Interpretation generally.

2.—(1) In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires—

“the Act of 1946” means the Rent Restrictions Act, 1946;

“basic rent” means, in relation to a controlled dwelling, the basic rent of the dwelling determined under section 7, section 8 or section 9 (as the case may be) of this Act

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

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

“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 former enactments relating to restriction of rent” means—

(a) the Increase of Rent and Mortgage Interest (War Restrictions) Act, 1915,

(b) the Increase of Rent and Mortgage Interest (Restrictions) Act, 1919,

(c) the Increase of Rent and Mortgage Interest (Restrictions) Act, 1920,

(d) the Increase of Rent and Mortgage Interest (Restrictions) Acts, 1923 to 1930,

(e) the Emergency Powers (No. 313) Order, 1944, and the Emergency Powers (No. 313) Order, 1944 (Amendment) Order, 1945, and

(f) the Rent Restrictions Acts, 1946 to 1959;

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

“lawful addition” means, in relation to the basic rent of a controlled dwelling, any sum which is, by virtue of section 10 of this Act, a lawful addition to the basic rent;

“lawful rent” means, in relation to a controlled dwelling, the sum declared by section 11 of this Act to be the lawful rent of the dwelling;

“let” includes sublet;

“the Minister” means the Minister for Justice;

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

“the operative date” means the date of the commencement of this Act, that is to say, the 31st day of December, 1960;

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

“rates” means, in relation to a controlled dwelling, 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, or the council of an urban district) in respect of the dwelling 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 dwelling;

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

“statutory tenant” means a person being either—

(a) a person who retains possession of any controlled dwelling after his contractual tenancy therein (not being a tenancy to which section 37 of this Act applies) has terminated, or

(b) a person who retains possession of any controlled dwelling under subsection (2), subsection (3) or subsection (4) of section 31 of this Act, or

(c) a person who retains possession of any controlled dwelling under subparagraph (iii) of paragraph (a) or under paragraph (b) of subsection (5) of section 32 of this Act, or

(d) a person who retains possession of any controlled dwelling under section 52 of this Act;

“tenant” includes in relation to any dwelling 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 a controlled dwelling shall be construed as including references to an order for 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 dwelling.

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

(2) This Act does not apply to—

(a) a dwelling the rateable valuation of which exceeds—

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

(ii) in any other case, forty pounds,

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

(c) a dwelling the letting of which is under the Labourers Acts, 1883 to 1958, or the Housing of the Working Classes Acts, 1890 to 1958,

(d) 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,

(e) a house which at the commencement of this Act is occupied by the owner thereof for the purposes of his own residence, or thereafter becomes so occupied,

(f) a house of which the landlord is, at the commencement of this Act, in possession or thereafter comes into possession and the rateable valuation whereof exceeds—

(i) in case the house is situate in the county borough of Dublin or the borough of Dún Laoghaire, thirty pounds,

(ii) in any other case, twenty-five pounds,

(g) a dwelling which is a separate and self-contained flat forming part of any buildings which, after the commencement of this Act, were reconstructed by way of conversion into two or more separate and self-contained flats,

(h) a dwelling let together with land other than the site of the dwelling, 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 is situate in the county borough of Dublin or the borough of Dún Laoghaire, ten pounds,

(II) in any other case, five pounds.

(3) The application of this Act to a dwelling forming part of a house (other than a house erected after, or in course of being erected on, the 7th day of May, 1941, or a house the letting of which is under the Labourers Acts, 1883 to 1958, or the Housing of the Working Classes Acts, 1890 to 1958) shall not be excluded by reason only of the fact that this Act does not apply to the house.

(4) Where the rateable valuation of a dwelling is increased and thereby the valuation becomes a valuation which exceeds—

(a) in case the dwelling is situate in the county borough of Dublin or the borough of Dún Laoghaire, sixty pounds, or

(b) in any other case, forty pounds,

this Act shall, notwithstanding paragraph (a) of subsection (2) of this section, continue to apply to the dwelling unless and until the landlord comes into possession thereof.

(5) Where, immediately before the commencement of this Act,—

(a) a dwelling stood let together with land other than the site of the dwelling, and

(b) the Act of 1946 applied to the dwelling.

this Act shall, notwithstanding paragraph (h) of subsection (2) of this section, apply to the dwelling unless and until the landlord comes into possession thereof.

(6) In paragraph (e) of subsection (2) of this section “owner” includes a person having any estate or interest in the house except under a contract of tenancy not being for more than a term of twenty-one years.

(7) In paragraph (f) of subsection (2) and in subsections (4) and (5) of this section “possession” means actual possession, and a landlord shall not be deemed to have come into possession by reason only of a change of tenancy made with his consent.

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 adaptations of references to repealed Acts.

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

(2) References in any Act passed before the passing of this Act to the Rent Restrictions Acts, 1946 to 1959, 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 Dwellings.

Chapter 1. Lawful Rent of Controlled Dwellings.

7 Basic rent of certain controlled dwellings.

7.—(1) This section applies to—

(a) a controlled dwelling in respect of which evidence is forthcoming of both of the following facts—

(i) that it was on the operative date (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 or under a statutory tenancy (within the meaning of the Act of 1946), and

(ii) the rent at which it was so held;

(b) a controlled dwelling in respect of which evidence is forthcoming of all the following facts—

(i) that it was not so held on the operative date,

(ii) that it was last so held on a date (in this section also referred to as the relevant date) during the period of three years ending on the operative date, and

(iii) the rent at which it was so held.

(2) The basic rent of a controlled dwelling to which this section applies shall be—

(a) in the case of a dwelling specified in the Schedule attached to the Agreement entered into on the 6th day of October, 1960, between the Dublin Artisans' Dwellings Company Limited and the Dublin Artisans' Dwellings Tenants Association and deposited in the Public Record Office—the rent specified in the third column of that Schedule in respect of the dwelling, and

(b) in any other case—the net rent at which it was held on the relevant date.

(3) For the purposes of this section, the net rent at which a controlled dwelling was held on the relevant date shall be taken to be—

(a) in case the landlord at the relevant date habitually paid or allowed a deduction or set-off against, or indemnified the tenant in respect of, the rates or any part thereof, the rent payable at that date less the amount of the payment, allowance, deduction, set-off or indemnity (as the case may be);

(b) in any other case, the rent payable at that date.

8 Revision of basic rent of controlled dwellings to which section 7 applies.

8.—(1) (a) If, on an application to the Court under this subsection by the landlord of a controlled dwelling to which section 7 of this Act applies, not being a dwelling referred to in paragraph (a) of subsection (2) of that section, the Court is satisfied—

(i) that the basic rent of the dwelling falls short of, by an amount exceeding one-eighth of the basic rent, the rent (in this subsection referred to as the notional rent) which, if the premises were premises to which section 9 of this Act applies, would be determined by the Court as the basic rent thereof, and

(ii) that the amount of the basic rent was affected by special circumstances,

the basic rent of the dwelling shall be determined by the Court and shall be the amount which, in the opinion of the Court, represents the notional rent, and thenceforth the dwelling shall, without prejudice to the previous application thereto of paragraph (a) of section 16 of this Act, become a dwelling to which section 9 of this Act applies as if such determination had been made under that section.

(b) In determining pursuant to paragraph (a) of this subsection the notional rent of a dwelling to which Chapter 1 of Part II of the Act of 1946 applied, “(being dwellings to which Chapter 1 of Part II of the Act of 1946 applied)” shall be regarded as being contained in subsection (2) of section 9 of this Act after “controlled dwellings” and, in determining as aforesaid the notional rent of any other dwelling, “(being dwellings to which Chapter 2 of Part II of the Act of 1946 applied)” shall be regarded as being so contained in that subsection.

(2) (a) If, on an application to the Court under this subsection by the tenant of a controlled dwelling to which section 7 of this Act applies, not being a dwelling referred to in paragraph (a) of subsection (2) of that section, the Court is satisfied that the basic rent of the dwelling exceeds, by an amount exceeding one-eighth of the basic rent, the rent (in this subsection referred to as the notional rent) which, if the dwelling were a dwelling to which section 9 of this Act applies, would be determined by the Court as the basic rent thereof, the basic rent of the dwelling shall be determined by the Court and shall be the amount which, in the opinion of the Court, represents the notional rent, and thenceforth the dwelling shall, without prejudice to the previous application thereto of paragraph (a) of section 16 of this Act, become a dwelling to which section 9 of this Act applies as if such determination had been made under that section.

(b) In determining pursuant to paragraph (a) of this subsection the notional rent of a dwelling—

(i) the Court shall have regard to any amount expended on the improvement, structural alteration or repair of the dwelling which is an amount by reference to which a lawful addition within the meaning of the Act of 1946 has been obtained, and

(ii) in the case of a dwelling of which the rateable valuation does not exceed ten pounds and which is a dwelling to which Chapter 1 of Part II of the Act of 1946 applied, “(being dwellings to which Chapter 1 of Part II of the Act of 1946 applied)” shall be regarded as being contained in subsection (2) of section 9 of this Act after “controlled dwellings” and, in the case of any other dwelling, “(being dwellings to which Chapter 2 of Part II of the Act of 1946 applied)” shall be regarded as being so contained in that subsection.

(3) (a) If, on an application to the Court under this subsection by the tenant of a controlled dwelling, the Court is satisfied that the dwelling is a dwelling to which this subsection applies and that the basic rent of the dwelling exceeds the notional rent, the basic rent of the dwelling shall be determined by the Court and shall be the amount which, in the opinion of the Court, represents the notional rent, and thenceforth the dwelling shall, without prejudice to the previous application thereto of paragraph (a) of section 16 of this Act, become a dwelling to which section 9 of this Act applies as if such determination had been made under that section.

(b) In this subsection—

“dwelling to which this subsection applies” means a controlled dwelling—

(i) to which section 7 of this Act applies, not being a dwelling referred to in paragraph (a) of subsection (2) of that section,

(ii) with respect to which the basic rent (within the meaning of the Act of 1946) was fixed by section 8 of the Act of 1946 or was determined by the Court under that Act, and

(iii) which was held by the tenant on the relevant date at a rent in excess of the lawful rent (within the meaning of the Act of 1946);

“the notional rent” means, in relation to a dwelling,—

(i) in case, at the relevant date, the landlord habitually paid or allowed a deduction or set-off against, or indemnified the tenant in respect of, the rates or any part thereof, the lawful rent (within the meaning of the Act of 1946) at that date less the amount of the payment, allowance, deduction, set-off or indemnity (as the case may be),

(ii) in any other case, the lawful rent (within the meaning of the Act of 1946) at the relevant date;

“the relevant date” has the same meaning as that expression has in section 7 of this Act.

9 Basic rent of controlled dwellings to which section 7 does not apply.

9.—(1) This section applies to every controlled dwelling other than controlled dwellings to which section 7 of this Act applies.

(2) The basic rent of a controlled dwelling to which this section applies shall be determined by the Court and shall be a rent of such amount as the Court considers reasonable having regard as far as possible to the basic rents of controlled dwellings which are comparable in regard to location, accommodation, amenities, state of repair and rateable valuation.

(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 Lawful additions to basic rent.

10.—(1) In this section “the critical date” means—

(a) in the case of a controlled dwelling to which section 7 of this Act applies, the operative date,

(b) in the case of a controlled dwelling to which section 9 of this Act applies—

(i) in case it has become such a dwelling by virtue of section 8 of this Act, the operative date, and

(ii) in any other case, the date of the institution of the proceedings in which the basic rent of the dwelling is determined.

(2) For the purposes of this Act and subject to the subsequent provisions of this section, 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 a controlled dwelling:

(a) in case the landlord of the dwelling 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 the payment, deduction, set-off or indemnity (as the case may be);

(b) in case the landlord is liable for the whole or part of the repairs to the dwelling, a sum equal to twelve and one-half per cent. of the basic rent;

(c) 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 dwelling, a sum equal to eight per cent. per annum of that amount;