Leasehold (Enlargement and Extension) Act (Northern Ireland) 1971

1 F1 General right to acquire fee simple or to obtain extension of lease. N.I.

(1) A person who, as respects any land, is a person to whom this section applies, shall, subject to the provisions of this Act, have the right as incident to his existing estate in the land—

(a) to enlarge that estate into a fee simple, and for that purpose to acquire by purchase the fee simple in the land and any intermediate estates therein;

(b) to obtain an extension of his leasehold estate in the land on one occasion only for a term of not more than fifty years.

(2) The right referred to in subsection (1) may be exercised, subject to subsections (5) and (6),—

(a) for the purpose of enlarging a leasehold estate in land into a fee simple, at any time prior to the expiry of the lease under which the land is held for the time being, or the expiration of three months from the service on the lessee by his immediate lessor or any superior lessor of notice of the expiry of that lease, whichever is the later; but that right shall not be capable of being exercised during the period of an extension of the leasehold estate granted by reason of this Act;

(b) for the purpose of obtaining an extension of a leasehold estate in the land, at any time not earlier than five years before the expiry of the lease, and not later than the date of the expiry of the lease or the expiration of three months from the service on the lessee by his immediate lessor or any superior lessor of notice of the expiry of that lease, whichever is the later; and that notice shall be a valid notice only if it is served not earlier than five years before the date of the expiry of the lease.

(3) Subject to subsections (4) and (6)[F2 to (8)], this section applies to every person where—

(a) the person is a lessee who holds land under a lease first granted for more than twenty-one years; and

(b) the land does not exceed one hectare or two acres, one rood and one thousand and seventy square yards; and

(c) there are buildings on the land; and

(d) so much of the land as is not covered by the buildings is subsidiary and ancillary to the land which is covered by the buildings; and

(e) the person occupies the buildings in whole or in part by virtue of the lease as his sole or principal residence and is not by reason of such occupation in breach of a covenant in the lease; and

(f) if the lease will expire within fifty years of the date on which the lessee serves notice upon his immediate lessor under section 2, the lessee has been on that date a person qualified under paragraph ( e) for the period of five years, or for periods amounting to five years in the period of ten years, ending on that date; and for the purposes of this paragraph a lessee shall be deemed to be so qualified if he occupied the buildings in whole or in part as his sole or principal residence for such period or periods in his capacity as a member of the family of his predecessor in title, that is to say, as—

(i) the spouse[F3 or civil partner] of the predecessor in title;

(ii) the child, adopted child or stepchild (whether such child or stepchild be legitimate or not) of the predecessor in title or of his spouse[F3 or civil partner];

(iii) the son-in-law or daughter-in-law of the predecessor in title or of his spouse[F3 or civil partner];

(iv) the parent or parent-in-law of the predecessor in title or of his spouse[F3 or civil partner]; and

(g) the rent reserved by the lease does not exceed a ground rent.

(4) This section shall not apply to persons who hold land under the following leases—

(a) a lease of land which is used for the purposes of a business unless the buildings on the land are used in whole or in part as the lessee's sole or principal residence;

(b) a lease of land where the buildings on the land are divided into more than three separate and self-contained flats, that is to say, four or more suites of rooms each of which suites forms within itself a complete residence irrespective of whether the rooms in each suite are or are not all on the same floor, being a lease which contains provisions enabling the amount of the rent reserved by the lease to be altered within twenty-one years from the commencement of the lease;

(c) a lease of land containing a covenant, condition or agreement by the lessee to erect a building or buildings or carry out development on the land where the covenant, condition or agreement has not been complied with;

(d) a lease of agricultural land, including farm houses and farm buildings;

(e) a mining lease;

(f) a lease made either in consideration of, or stated to be dependent on, the continuance of the lessee in any office, employment or appointment;

(g) a lease granted in breach of any prohibition against the granting thereof contained in any other lease or agreement.

F4 [(h) a lease of land granted[F2 , otherwise than in pursuance of Chapter I of Part III of the Housing (Northern Ireland) Order 1986] by the Northern Ireland Housing Executive or a housing association registered under the Housing (Northern Ireland) Order 1981 [1981 NI 3] and declared for the purposes of this section to be an equity-sharing lease within the meaning of Article 31(6)( a) of that Order.]

(5) Where a notice of expiry of a lease has not been served on the lessee, references in subsection (2) to the service of such a notice includes references to the institution against the lessee of proceedings for the recovery of possession of the land by reason of such expiry.

Subs.(6) spent

[F2 (7) Subject to subsection (8), where a lease is granted in pursuance of Chapter I of Part II of the Housing (Northern Ireland) Order 1983 or of Chapter I of Part III of the Housing (Northern Ireland) Order 1986, this section shall have effect in relation to such a lease as if paragraph (a) of subsection (3) were omitted.

(8) Notwithstanding anything in subsection (7), where, in pursuance of Chapter I of Part III of the Housing (Northern Ireland) Order 1986, a lease is granted in respect of a dwelling-house which is a house, then, so long as the rent payable under the lease exceeds £10 per annum, this section shall not have effect in relation to such a lease.

(9) Expressions used in subsections (7) and (8), which are defined in Chapter I of Part II of the Housing (Northern Ireland) Order 1983, shall have the meanings given in that Chapter.]

F1 functions transf. 1982 NI 6

F2 1986 NI 13

F3 2004 c.33

F4 1981 NI 3