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LEASEHOLD (ENLARGEMENT AND EXTENSION) ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1971 - SECT 1

1.(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), 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 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;

<(iii)the son-in-law or daughter-in-law of the predecessor in title or of his spouse;


<(iv)the parent or parent-in-law of the predecessor in title or of his spouse; 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.

[(h)a lease of land granted by the Northern Ireland Housing Executive or a
housing association registered under the Housing (Northern Ireland) Order 1981
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

© 1971 Crown Copyright

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