Rent Restrictions (Amendment) Act , 1967

1 Interpretation.

1.—(1) In this Act “the Principal Act” means the Rent Restrictions Act, 1960.

(2) The Principal Act and this Act shall be construed together as one Act.

2 Amendment of section 3 of Principal Act.

2.—(1) Section 3 (2) (a) and section 3 (4) of the Principal Act are each hereby amended by the insertion after “sixty pounds” of “(if the dwelling is neither a house nor a separate and self-contained flat) or forty pounds (if the dwelling is a house) or thirty pounds (if the dwelling is a separate and self-contained flat)” and by the insertion after “forty pounds” of “(if the dwelling is neither a house nor a separate and self-contained flat) or thirty pounds (if the dwelling is a house) or twenty pounds (if the dwelling is a separate and self-contained flat)”.

(2) Section 3 (2) (f) of the Principal Act is hereby amended by the insertion of “, save in a case in which there is a coming into possession by the landlord on or after the 8th day of June, 1966, ” before “the rateable valuation”.

(3) Section 3 (2) (g) of the Principal Act is hereby amended by the addition at the end of the paragraph of “or which is a separate and self-contained flat (not being a flat forming part of any such buildings) of which the landlord is on the 8th day of June, 1966, in possession or thereafter comes into possession ”.

(4) Section 3 (2) of the Principal Act is hereby amended by the addition of the following paragraph:

“(i) a dwelling which is a house the rateable valuation whereof exceeds ten pounds, being a house of which, after the passing of the Rent Restrictions (Amendment) Act, 1967, a person, being a bachelor or spinster and being over the age of 21 years and under the age of 65 years, has become the tenant.”

(5) Section 3 (7) of the Principal Act is hereby amended by the insertion after “subsection (2)” of “and in paragraph (g) of that subsection ”.

(6) The application of the Principal Act to a house shall not be excluded by reason only of section 3 (6) of that Act in a case in which, at the passing of this Act, the house is occupied for the purposes of his own residence by a person who holds it under a lease the term of which is more than twenty-one years, but if, at any time before the expiration of that term, neither he nor any other person having the lessee's interest under the lease is in occupation of the house for the purposes of his own residence, the Principal Act shall thereupon cease to apply.

3 Amendment of section 7 of Principal Act.

3.—(1) Section 7 of the Principal Act is hereby amended by the insertion of the following subsections before subsection (3):

“(1A) This section applies to a controlled dwelling in respect of which evidence is forthcoming of both of the following facts:

(a) that it was on the 8th day of June, 1966 (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, and

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

(1B) The basic rent of a controlled dwelling to which this section applies shall be the net rent at which it was held on the relevant date.”

(2) Section 7 (3) (a) of the Principal Act is hereby amended by the insertion after “(as the case may be)” of “appropriate by reference to the rates for the local financial year ending on the 31st day of March, 1966 ”.

4 Amendment of section 8 of principal Act.

4.—(1) Section 8 of the Principal Act is hereby amended by the insertion of the following subsection before subsection (2):

“(1A) (a) If, on an application to the Court under this subsection by the landlord 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 is less than 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 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, the following paragraph shall be regarded as being substituted for paragraph (b) of section 9 (1A) of this Act:

‘(b) (i) The said rent shall be a rent of such amount as the Court considers reasonable having regard to all the circumstances of the case, but, in particular, to the necessity of avoiding financial hardship to the tenant and the landlord, and subject to the overriding restriction that it shall not exceed the difference between the gross rent and the allowance for improvements as hereinafter respectively defined.

(ii) The gross rent shall be the rent which in the opinion of the Court a willing tenant not already in occupation would give and a willing landlord would take for the dwelling, in each case on the basis of vacant possession being given, and in such circumstances that the supply of similar dwellings is sufficient to meet thedemand and the competition therefor is normal and having regard to the other terms of the tenancy and to the letting values of dwellings of a similar character to and situate in the vicinity of the dwelling, but without regard to any goodwill which may exist in respect of the dwelling.

(iii) The allowance in respect of improvements shall be such proportion of the gross rent as is, in the opinion of the Court, attributable to improvements made by the tenant or his predecessors in title (whether before or after the commencement of this Act or of the Rent Restrictions (Amendment) Act, 1967) which, at the time of the application under this subsection, add to the letting value and are suitable to the character of the dwelling.

(iv) In the foregoing sub-paragraph—

“improvements” means any additions or alterations to the buildings comprised in the dwelling and includes any structures erected on the site of the dwelling or land together with which the dwelling is let which are ancillary or subsidiary to the said buildings and also includes the installation in the dwelling of conduits for the supply of water, gas or electricity, but does not include work consisting only of repairing, painting and decorating, or any of them,

“predecessors in title” means and includes all previous tenants of the dwelling under the same tenancy as the tenant or any tenancy of which such tenancy is or is deemed to be a continuation or renewal.’

(c) Where, in the case of a dwelling to which this subsection applies and in respect of which an application to the Court under this subsection hasnot been made, the landlord, having agreed with the tenant upon a rent to stand determined as the basic rent of the dwelling, serves a notice of that rent on the tenant, thenceforth—

(i) that rent shall stand determined as the basic rent of the dwelling and 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,

(ii) no application to the Court under paragraph (a) of this subsection may be made, and

(iii) in any application of paragraph (b) of section 16 of this Act to the dwelling, a reference to the date of the service of the notice shall be substituted for the date of the institution of proceedings.

(d) Where a notice is served under paragraph (c) of this subsection—

(i) either party to the agreement may, within three months after the date of the service of the notice, apply to the Court for an order altering the rent specified in the notice on the ground that he has, since that date, become aware of matters showing that the financial circumstances of the other party at the time of the agreement were substantially better than those by reference to which the agreement was reached,

(ii) if the Court allows the application, then, notwithstanding subparagraph (i) of paragraph (c) of this subsection, thenceforth the altered rent determined by the order of the Court shall stand determined as the basic rent of the dwelling and the dwelling shall be regarded as adwelling to which section 9 of this Act applies as if such determination had been made under that section.

(e) In this subsection “dwelling to which this subsection applies” means a controlled dwelling (being a house or a separate and self-contained flat)—

(i) to which section 7 of this Act applies, and

(ii) in the case of which the landlord at the time of the application under paragraph (a) of this subsection or of the service of the notice under paragraph (c) thereof was the landlord on the 8th day of June, 1966, and has been the landlord continuously from that day,

except that the expression shall be construed as not including a controlled dwelling such as aforesaid unless the landlord shows that either—

(I) he was not on the 8th day of June, 1966, the landlord of any other controlled dwelling (being a house or a separate and self-contained flat) to which section 7 of this Act applies, or

(II) the total number of the controlled dwellings (being houses or separate and self-contained flats, or houses or a house and such flats or such a flat) to which section 7 of this Act applies of which he was the landlord on the 8th day of June, 1966, is not more than six and the total of their rateable valuations does not exceed (in case one at least of them is in the county borough of Dublin or the borough of Dún Laoghaire) sixty pounds or (in any other case) forty pounds.

(f) The Court may, if it so thinks proper, deal privately with the whole or any part of an application under this subsection.

(g) Every application under this subsection shall, notwithstanding section 50 of this Act, be made to the District Court, and, in the case of an application under paragraph (a), the landlord shall be liable for the tenant's costs in that Court unless thatCourt, in all the circumstances and having regard, in particular, to the means of the landlord and the means of the tenant, considers it proper to order otherwise.

(h) Every notice served under this subsection shall be in the prescribed form, or a form substantially to the same effect, and shall contain the relevant particulars indicated by the form.

(i) If a notice served under this subsection contains any statement or representation which is false or misleading in any material respect, the person making or causing to be made such statement or representation shall be guilty of an offence and shall, on summary conviction thereof, be liable to a fine not exceeding ten pounds unless he proves that the statement or representation was made innocently and without intent to deceive.”

(2) Section 8 (2) of the Principal Act is hereby amended by the insertion of the following paragraph after paragraph (a):

“(aa) In determining pursuant to paragraph (a) of this subsection the notional rent of a dwelling, 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 or by reference to which a lawful addition within the meaning of this Act has been obtained before the passing of the Rent Restrictions (Amendment) Act, 1967.”

(3) No application shall be made under section 8 of the Principal Act after the expiration of two years from the passing of this Act.

5 Amendment of section 9 of Principal Act.

5.—Section 9 of the Principal Act is hereby amended by the insertion of the following subsection after subsection (1):

“(1A) (a) The basic rent of a controlled dwelling to which this section applies shall be determined by the Court.

(b) The said rent shall be a rent of such amount as the Court considers reasonable having regard as far as possible to the rents of dwellings whichare comparable in regard to location, accommodation, amenities, state of repair and rateable valuation.

(c) In the foregoing paragraph ‘rents’, in relation to controlled dwellings, refers to basic rents.”

6 Amendment of section 10 of Principal Act.

6.—(1) Each of the references to the operative date contained in section 10 (1) of the Principal Act shall be construed as a reference to the 8th day of June, 1966.

(2) Section 10 (2) of the Principal Act is hereby amended by the addition of the following paragraphs:

“(f) in case the landlord—

(i) during the period of three years ending on the 8th day of June, 1966, expended a sum exceeding one-third of the basic rent, or

(ii) during the period of six years ending on that date, expended a sum exceeding two-thirds of that rent,

on maintenance of the dwelling (including painting and the keeping in repair and proper working order of the installations for the supply of water, gas and electricity and for sanitation), a sum (subject to a minimum of two shillings and sixpence per week or its equivalent) equal to fifteen per cent. of the basic rent;

(g) in case the landlord, during the year 1966 or any subsequent year, expends an amount exceeding one-fifth of the basic rent on putting the dwelling into a reasonable state of repair or on its maintenance (including painting and the keeping in repair and proper working order of the installations for the supply of water, gas and electricity and for sanitation), a sum equal to ten per cent. of the excess.”

(3) Section 10 of the Principal Act is hereby amended by the insertion of the following subsections after subsection (4):

“(4A) Where—

(a) a house consists of two or more controlled dwellings and the landlord of the dwellings expends an amount in excess of one-fifth of the aggregate of the basic rents of the dwellings on putting the house into a reasonable state of repair or on its maintenance (including painting and the keeping in repair and proper working order of the installations for the supply of water, gas and electricity and for sanitation), and

(b) all the controlled dwellings benefit directly or indirectly from the repairs or maintenance,

the following provisions shall have effect for the purposes of subsection (2) of this section:

(i) a calculation shall be made in accordance with the provisions of paragraph (g) of that subsection of the sum which would be the lawful addition if the house were a dwelling having a basic rent equal to the aggregate of the basic rents of the dwellings,

(ii) that sum shall be apportioned among the dwellings in proportion to their respective rateable valuations,

(iii) the said paragraph (g) shall be taken as having provided, as respects each dwelling, for the sum apportioned to it on the apportionment (and no other sum) being a lawful addition to its basic rent.

(4B) Where—

(a) apart from this subsection, paragraph (f) of subsection (2) of this section would not apply in respect of a controlled dwelling which is not the sole controlled dwelling of which its landlord is landlord, and

(b) taking all the controlled dwellings of which he is landlord—

(i) they exceed one hundred in number, and

(ii) either—

(I) during the period of three years ending on the 8th day of June, 1966, he has expended a sum exceeding one-third of the aggregate of the basic rents, or

(II) during the period of six years ending on that date, he has expended a sum exceeding two-thirds of that aggregate, on maintenance such as is referred to in the paragraph of all or any of the dwellings,

the paragraph shall apply in respect of the controlled dwelling unless it is a dwelling for the repair of which he is not liable.”

(4) In a case in which there has been an expenditure in the year 1966 or 1967 such as is referred to in section 10 (2) (g) of the Principal Act, there shall be no lawful addition to the basic rent by reference to the amount expended if an addition by reference to that amount has been obtained by virtue of section 10 (2) (e) of the Principal Act.

(5) Section 21 (1) (e) (ii) of the Principal Act is hereby amended by the insertion of “or on maintenance” after “repairs”.

7 Amendment of section 13 of Principal Act.

7.—Section 13 of the Principal Act is hereby amended by the insertion of the following subsection after subsection (5):

“(5A) Where a notice under paragraph (b) of subsection (1) or under subsection (2) of this section which has expired is a notice increasing the rent of any controlled dwelling by an amount consisting of or including any sum in respect of the matters mentioned in paragraph (c), (d) or (g) of subsection (2) of section 10 of this Act—

(a) the Court may, on application made by the tenant not later than twelve months after the expiry of the notice, if satisfied either—

(i) that the expenditure (in so far as it is applicable to any of the said matters) in respect of which the notice was served was not incurred or was unnecessary in whole or in part,

(ii) that the improvements, structural alterations, repairs or maintenance have not been carried out satisfactorily,

(iii) that, in a case in which the tenant claims that the expenditure (in so far as it is applicable to any of the said matters) in respect of which the notice was served was unnecessary in whole or in part, the tenant has been prejudiced in establishing this by his not having been made aware in sufficient time of the nature of the works proposed,

(iv) that, at the time of the application, the dwelling is not in good and tenantable repair, or

(v) that, in a case in which the acquisition by the landlord of the dwelling was before the 1st day of January, 1970, the amount consists of or includes any sum expended in the year 1970 or any subsequent year in respect of repairs rendered necessary by breach of an obligation imposed on the landlord by contract or statute and the landlord has not, during the three years immediately preceding the year of such expenditure, expended a reasonable sum on the maintenance of the dwelling,

disallow or reduce the increase accordingly, as from such date (whether before the date of the application or otherwise) as the Court thinks fit, and