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

17 F1 General provisions in relation to extension of leases. N.I.

(1) Where the reversion immediately expectant on the expiration of a lease is less than the term for which an extension of the lease is to be granted, the immediate lessor and the owners of such estates in the land, if any, as are superior to that of the immediate lessor as may be necessary shall, on receiving a notice under section 2 of a proposal to acquire an extended lease in relation to the land, join in the grant of the extension of the lease.

(2) For the purpose of securing the joinder of all necessary parties in the grant of an extension of a lease, the lessee may serve all or any of the following notices:—

(a) on his immediate lessor or the person to whom he pays the rent under the lease a notice in the prescribed form requiring such lessor or person to inform him of the nature and duration of that lessor's reversion in the land comprised in the lease or any part thereof and the name and address of the immediately superior lessor, if any, of that lessor;

(b) on any person whom the person so entitled reasonably believes to be a superior lessor or the agent of a superior lessor, a notice in the prescribed form requiring such person to inform him whether such person or any person for whom such person is agent has or has not any estate in the land or any part thereof, the nature, tenure and duration of such estate, if any, and the names and addresses of the persons having estates in the said land or any part thereof immediately superior or immediately inferior to such estate.

(3) The information which any such person as is mentioned in paragraphs ( a) and ( b) of subsection (2) is required to give under that subsection shall include information, where such information is in the knowledge of the person, whether there is a mortgage of the estate in the land of the immediate lessor or of the superior lessor and, if so, what is the name and address of the mortgagee under the mortgage.

(4) Where a mortgagee is in possession of an estate in the land or any part thereof, being an estate in reversion expectant (whether immediately or not) on the estate of the lessee, the lessee may serve a notice in the prescribed form requiring the mortgagee to inform him—

(a) of the nature and duration of the estate of his mortgagor; and

(b) of the name and address of the immediate lessor, if any, of his mortgagor.

(5) It shall be the duty of any person on whom a notice is served under this section to furnish in writing within six weeks after the service of such notice to the person by whom such notice was so served, the information asked for by such notice so far as it is within the possession or procurement of such person.

(6) Where a notice is served under this section and the person on whom such notice is so served fails or neglects to furnish in writing, within the time limited by this section, the information he is required by this section so to furnish, the person by whom the notice was served may apply to the Lands Tribunal and on the hearing of such application the Lands Tribunal may make such order as it thinks necessary with a view to compelling such person so to furnish such information and any such order may be enforced by mandamus.

(7) The foregoing provisions of this section shall not apply to a notice served by or on the lessee more than five years before the date on which his lease would determine by effluxion of time or could be brought to an end by notice to quit served by the immediate lessor.

(8) Where a lessee to whom section 1 applies fails to apply for an extension of his lease within the time specified in section 1(2) or (6), the Lands Tribunal may, on such terms as the Tribunal thinks proper, extend such time where it is satisfied that the failure was occasioned by disability, mistake, absence from the United Kingdom, inability to obtain requisite information or any other reasonable cause.

(9) Where an application is made by notice pursuant to section 2 for an extension of a lease before the expiration of the lease under which the applicant lessee holds (in this subsection referred to as the old lease), the extension of the old lease shall commence on the date on which the old lease would otherwise have expired; and where such an application is made after the expiration of the old lease, the extension of the old lease shall for all purposes be deemed to have commenced on the date on which the old lease expired.

(10) Where an application is made by notice pursuant to section 2 for an extension of a lease, then unless the application lapses under any provision of this Act excluding the liability of the applicant lessee, there shall be borne by him (so far as they are incurred in pursuance of the notice) the reasonable costs of or incidental to any of the following matters:—

(a) any investigation by the lessor of that person's right to an extended lease;

(b) the execution of the extension of the lease;

(c) any valuation of land together with the buildings standing thereon obtained by the lessor before the execution of the extension of the lease for the purpose of fixing the rent payable under the extended lease in accordance with section 18.

(11) A lessee shall not be entitled to require the execution of an extension of the lease under this section otherwise than on tender of the amount, so far as ascertained,—

(a) of any sums payable by way of rent or recoverable as rent in respect of the land up to the date of tender; and

(b) of any sums for which at that date the lessee is liable under subsection (10); and

(c) of any other sums due and payable by him to the lessor under or in respect of the lease or any agreement collateral thereto;

and, if the amount of any such sums is not or may not be fully ascertained, on offering reasonable security for the payment of such amount as may afterwards be found to be payable in respect of them.

(12) Where an extension of a lease is executed for the purposes of this section, and any mortgagee of the lessor's estate is by reason thereof entitled to possession of the documents of title relating to that estate, the lessor shall within six weeks after execution of the extension deliver to that person a counterpart of it duly executed by the lessee, and the instrument creating or evidencing the mortgage shall apply in the event of his failing unreasonably to deliver a counterpart in accordance with this subsection as if the obligation to do so were included in the terms of the mortgage as set out in that instrument.

(13) Where an extended lease is subject to a subsisting mortgage of the lessee's estate in the land, and at the time of the execution of the extension the mortgagee is by reason of the mortgage entitled to possession of the documents of title relating to the land, then he shall be similarly entitled to possession of the documents of title relating to the extended lease and the lessee shall within six weeks of the execution of the extension of the lease deliver it to him, and the mortgage shall apply in the event of the lessee failing unreasonably to deliver the lease in accordance with this subsection as if the obligation to do so were included in the terms of the mortgage as set out in that instrument.

(14) A lessor granting an extension of a lease under this section shall be bound to take such steps as may be necessary to secure that it is not liable to be defeated by persons interested in a mortgage of his estate; but a lessor is not obliged, in order to grant an extension of a lease under this Act, to acquire a better title than he has or could require to be vested in him.

(15) In this section “mortgagee in possession” includes a receiver, appointed by the mortgagee or by a court of competent jurisdiction, who is in receipt of the rents and profits, and the expression “his mortgagor” shall be construed accordingly.

F1 functions transf. 1982 NI 6