No. 20/1994:

LANDLORD AND TENANT (AMENDMENT) ACT, 1994

ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS

1 Short title, construction, collective citation and commencement.

2 Definition.

3 Amendment of section 13 of Act of 1980.

4 Amendment of section 17 of Act of 1980.

5 Amendment of section 23 of Act of 1980.

6 Amendment of section 85 of Act of 1980.

AN ACT TO AMEND THE LAW RELATING TO THE RENEWAL OF LEASES AND TENANCIES AND TO AMEND THE LAWS OF LANDLORD AND TENANT.

[10th July, 1994]

BE IT ENACTED BY THE OIREACHTAS AS FOLLOWS:

1.—(1) This Act maybe cited as the Landlord and Tenant (Amendment) Act, 1994 .

(2) The Landlord and Tenant (Ground Rents) Act, 1967 , the Landlord and Tenant (Amendment) Act, 1971 , the Landlord and Tenant (Ground Rents) Act, 1978 , the Landlord and Tenant (Ground Rents) (No. 2) Act, 1978 , the Landlord and Tenant (Amendment) Act, 1980 , the Landlord and Tenant (Amendment) Act, 1989 , and this Act shall be construed together as one Act and may be cited together as the Landlord and Tenant Acts, 1967 to 1994.

(3) This Act shall come into operation on the day that is one month after the date of its passing.

2.—In this Act, "the Act of 1980" means the Landlord and Tenant (Amendment) Act, 1980 .

3.—(1) Paragraph (a)of section 13 (1) of the Act of 1980 is hereby amended by the substitution of "five years" for "three years".

(2) Subsection (1) shall have effect only in relation to a lease or other contract of tenancy the term of which commences after the commencement of this Act.

4.—The following subparagraph shall be inserted after subparagraph (iii) of section 17 (1) ( a ) of the Act of 1980:

"(iiia ) if section 13 (1) ( a ) applies to the tenement, the terms of the tenancy provided for the use of the tenement wholly and exclusively as an office and, prior to the commencement of the tenancy, the tenant had executed, whether for or without valuable consideration, a valid renunciation of his entitlement to a new tenancy in the tenement and had received independent legal advice in relation to the renunciation, or".

5.—The following shall be substituted for subsection (2) of section 23 of the Act of 1980:

"(2) The Court shall fix the duration of the tenancy at thirty-five years or such less term as the tenant may nominate save, where the right to a new tenancy arises in respect of a tenement referred to in section 13 (1) ( a ) (as amended by section 3 of the Landlord and Tenant (Amendment) Act, 1994), the duration of the tenancy shall be fixed at twenty years or such less term as the tenant may nominate provided that it shall not be fixed for a term of less than five years without the landlord's agreement.".

6.—The following subsection shall be inserted after subsection (1) of section 85 of the Act of 1980:

"(2) Subsection (1) does not apply to a renunciation referred to in subparagraph (iiia ) (inserted by section 4 of the Landlord and Tenant (Amendment) Act, 1994) of section 17.".

ACTS REFERRED TO