The Property (Northern Ireland) Order 1997

PART I N.I. INTRODUCTORY

Title and commencement N.I.

1.—(1) This Order may be cited as the Property (Northern Ireland) Order 1997.

(2) This Order shall come into operation on such day or days as the Head of the Department of Finance and Personnel may by order appointF1 .

F1 partly exercised by SR 1997/328; 1999/461; 2002/252

General interpretation N.I.

2.—(1) The [1954 c. 33 (N.I.).] Interpretation Act (Northern Ireland) 1954 applies to Article 1 and the following provisions of this Order as it applies to a Measure of the Northern Ireland Assembly.

(2) In this Order—

“the Act of 1971” means the [1971 c. 7 (N.I.).] Leasehold (Enlargement and Extension) Act (Northern Ireland) 1971;

“the appointed day” means a day appointed under Article 1(2); and, if different days are appointed for different provisions of this Order or for different purposes of the same provision, any reference in such a provision to the appointed day is a reference to the day appointed for the coming into operation of that provision or its coming into operation for the purpose in question;

“building lease” means a lease of land made for the purposes of having buildings erected thereon (and a lease is deemed to be made for those purposes if, at the time when it is made, planning permission has been applied for, or is in force, for those purposes);

“business purposes” means purposes other than the purposes of a private dwelling; and, for the purposes of this Order, land is used for business purposes if it is not a dwelling-house;

Definition rep. by 2001 c. 5 (NI)

“costs”, in any connection, means reasonable costs properly incurred in that connection;

Definition rep. by 2001 c. 5 (NI)

“covenant”[F2 (except in Article 34)]F2 includes a promise in writing which is not a deed, an agreement to make a covenant, a proviso, a declaration and a condition and, so far as it makes a provision that could have been framed as a covenant, a limitation;

“dwelling-house” has the meaning given by Article 4;

“equity-sharing lease” means a lease of land, the general effect of which is to provide—

(a) that, in consideration for the granting of the lease, the lessee shall pay a capital sum, representing a part payment in respect of the cost of acquisition of the premises demised, and a rent; and

(b) that the lessee may make additional part payments towards the said cost of acquisition and may exercise an option to purchase the whole or part of the lessor's reversion in the premises demised;

“fee farm grant” means a grant of a fee simple reserving or charging a perpetual rent (whether or not the relation of landlord and tenant subsists between the person entitled to receive the rent and the person liable to pay it) and includes a sub-fee farm grant;

“fee farm rent”, without prejudice to any provision of Article 36 or Schedule 2, means the rent payable under a fee farm grant;

“fee simple” means a legal fee simple absolute in possession;

“ground rent” has the meaning given by Article 3;

Definition rep. by 2001 c. 5 (NI)

“land”, in relation to a rent-payer, means land held by him subject to a ground rent; and, in relation to a ground rent or a superior rent, “the land” means the land subject to the ground rent or superior rent or, in relation to a redeemed ground rent or superior rent, means the land formerly subject to it;

“the Land Registration Act” means the [1970 c. 18 (N.I.).] Land Registration Act (Northern Ireland) 1970;

“lease” includes a sub-lease;

“leasehold estate” means a legal estate for a term of years absolute;

“lessor” and “lessee” include the successors in title to, respectively, the original lessor and the original lessee;

“mortgage” includes a charge, and “mortgagor” and “mortgagee” include respectively a person who is entitled to land which is subject to a charge and the person in whose favour a charge is created, and the successors in title to, respectively, the original mortgagor and the original mortgagee;

“the National Trust” means the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty;

“modify” includes making additions, omissions, amendments, extensions, restrictions and substitutions; and “modifications” is to be construed accordingly;

“notice” means notice in writing;

“obligation” includes an obligation under any agreement, whether enforceable at law or not;

“prescribed”[F2 (except in Article 46(1))]F2 means prescribed by rules;

Definitions rep. by 2001 c. 5 (NI)

“registered”, in relation to an estate, means registered under the Land Registration Act;

“rentcharge” means any annual or periodic sum charged on or issuing out of land, except—

(a) a fee farm rent;

(b) rent reserved by a lease (including an oral lease or an implied lease);

(c) interest;

“rent-owner” meansF2 ... the person to whom a ground rent is, or before redemption of the ground rent was, payable by virtue of his being entitled to the next superior estate to the rent-payer's in the land, or, where the ground rent is or was a fee farm rent the person who is or was entitled to receive it from the rent-payer;

“rent-payer” meansF2 ... a person entitled to an estate in land by virtue of which he is liable to pay a ground rent, and “the rent-payer”, in relation to any ground rent or any land, means the person who is, or before redemption of the ground rent was, liable to pay that ground rent or a ground rent to which that land is or was subject;

“rules” means Land Registry Rules made in pursuance of Article 46(2) to (6);

“statutory provision” has the meaning given by section 1(f) of the [1954 c. 33 (N.I.).] Interpretation Act (Northern Ireland) 1954;

“successor in title” includes a personal representative, that is to say, the executor (including an executor by representation) or administrator of the estate of a deceased person, and also includes such a successor at any remove;

“superior owner” means a rent-owner who is, or before , redemption of a ground rent was, entitled to a superior rent;

“superior rent”, in relation to a ground rent which is to be or has been redeemed, means a ground rent which is, or before redemption of the first-mentioned ground rent was, payable to a person entitled to an estate in land superior to that of the rent-owner of the first-mentioned ground rent, or, where the second-mentioned ground rent is or was a fee farm rent, was created before the first-mentioned ground rent.

(3) F2 ... References in this Order to a rent-owner, a rent-payer or a superior owner include references to their respective successors in title.

Para. (4) rep. by 2001 c. 5 (NI)

(5) For the purposes of this Order, except Article 37 and Schedule 3, a lease which is, by virtue of that Article and that Schedule, to be construed as a lease for a term of any period is deemed to have been originally granted for a term of that period and the fact (if it is the case) that the lease is determinable after any event is to be ignored.

(6) Without prejudice to any other provision of this Order, expressions used in this Order which are defined in the Land Registration Act, but not in this Order, have the same meaning in this Order as in that Act.

F2 2001 c. 5 (NI)

Interpretation: “ground rent” N.I.

3.—(1) In this Order “ground rent” means—

(a) a fee farm rent; or

(b) the rent payable under a lease granted for a term of more than 50 years.

(2) For the purposes of this Order—

Sub‐para. (a) rep. by 2001 c. 5 (NI)

(b) where a ground rent is payable if demanded (however expressed), it shall be treated as payable even though there is no demand.

(3) Where the amount of a ground rent is subject to alteration in consequence of a breach of covenant (whether it is to be increased from a lower amount to a higher amount in the event of a breach or is subject to reduction from a higher amount to a lower amount so long as there is no breach), for the purposes of this Order the amount of the ground rent is the lower amount.

Interpretation: “dwelling-house” N.I.

4.—(1) In this Order “dwelling-house” means land used wholly for the purposes of a private dwelling (and, for the purposes of this Order, land is so used if it comprises or includes a building constructed or adapted for those purposes and (subject to paragraph (2)) is not used for any other purpose).

(2) For the purposes of this Order land is not to be treated as used otherwise than wholly for the purposes of a private dwelling by reason only of one or more than one of the following circumstances—

(a) that one or more than one room on the land suitable for being used for letting singly for residential purposes is so let, whether by way of a tenancy or of a licence and whether with or without board or other services or facilities (so long as all, or substantially all, such rooms are not so let);

(b) that the land includes a garage, outhouse, garden, yard, court, forecourt or other appurtenance which is not used, or not used wholly, for the purposes of a private dwelling;

(c) that part of the land, not being a garage, outhouse, garden, yard, court, forecourt or other appurtenance, is used partly for the purposes of a private dwelling and partly for other purposes, unless that part was constructed, or has been adapted, for those other purposes;

(d) that a person who resides on the land, or part of it, is required or permitted to reside there in consequence of his employment or of holding an office.