Law of Property Act 1925

Redemption and Apportionment of Rents, &c.

190 Equitable apportionment of rents and remedies for nonpayment or breach of covenant.

(1) Where in a conveyance for valuable consideration, other than a mortgage, of part of land which is affected by a rentcharge, such rentcharge or a part thereof is, without the' consent of the owner thereof, expressed to be—

(a) charged exclusively on the land conveyed or any part thereof in exoneration of the land retained or other land; or

(b) charged exclusively on the land retained or any part thereof in exoneration of the land conveyed or other land ; or

(c) apportioned between the land conveyed or any part thereof, and the land retained by the grantor or any part thereof;

then, without prejudice to the rights of the owner of the rentcharge, such charge or apportionment shall be binding as between the grantor and the grantee under the conveyance and their respective successors in title.

(2) Where—

(a) any default is made in payment of the whole or part of a rentcharge by the person who, by reason of such charge or apportionment as aforesaid, is liable to pay the same; or

(b) any breach occurs of any of the covenants (other than in the case of an apportionment the covenant to pay the entire rentcharge) or conditions contained in the deed or other document creating the rentcharge, so far as the same relate to the land retained or conveyed, as the case may be;

the owner for the time being of any other land affected by the entire rentcharge who—

(i) pays or is required to pay the whole or part of the rentcharge which ought to have been paid by the defaulter aforesaid; or

(ii) incurs any costs, damages or expenses by reason of the breach of covenant or condition aforesaid;

may enter into and distrain on the land in respect of which the default or breach is made or occurs, or any part of that land, and dispose according to law of any distress found, and may also take possession of the income of the same land until, by means of such distress and receipt of income or otherwise the whole or part of the rentcharge (charged or apportioned as aforesaid) so unpaid and all costs, damages and expenses incurred by reason of the non-payment thereof or of the breach of the said covenants and conditions, are fully paid or satisfied.

(3) Where in a conveyance for valuable consideration, other than a mortgage, of part of land comprised in a lease, for the residue of the term or interest created by the lease, the rent reserved by such lease or a part thereof is, without the consent of the lessor, expressed to be—

(a) charged exclusively on the land conveyed or any part thereof in exoneration of the land retained by the assignor or other land; or

(b) charged exclusively on the land retained by the assignor or any part thereof in exoneration of the land conveyed or other land; or

(c) apportioned between the land conveyed or any part thereof and the land retained by the assignor or any part thereof;

then, without prejudice to the rights of the lessor, such charge or apportionment shall be binding as between the assignor and the assignee under the conveyance and their respective successors in title.

(4) Where—

(a) any default is made in payment of the whole .or part of a rent by the person who, by reason of such charge or apportionment as aforesaid, is liable to pay the same; or

(b) any breach occurs of any of the lessee's covenants (other than in the case of an apportionment the covenant to pay the entire rent) or conditions contained in the lease, so far as the same relate to the land retained or conveyed, as the case may be;

the lessee for the time being of any other land comprised in the lease, in whom, as respects that land, the residue of the term or interest created by the lease is vested, who—

(i) pays or is required to pay the whole or part of the rent which ought to have been paid by the defaulter aforesaid; or

(ii) incurs any costs, damages or expenses by reason of the breach of covenant or condition aforesaid;

may enter into and distrain on the land comprised in the lease in respect of which the default or breach is made or occurs, or any part of that land, and dispose according to law of any distress found, and may also take possession of the income of the same land until (so long as the term or interest created by the lease is subsisting) by means of such distress and receipt of income or otherwise, the whole or part of the rent (charged or apportioned as aforesaid) so unpaid and all costs, damages and expenses incurred by reason of the non-payment thereof or of the breach of the said covenants, and conditions, are fully paid or satisfied.

(5) The remedies conferred by this section take effect so far only as they might have been conferred by the conveyance whereby the rent or any part thereof is expressed to be charged or apportioned as aforesaid, but a trustee, personal representative, mortgagee or other person in a fiduciary position has, and shall be deemed always to have had, power to confer the same or like remedies.

(6) This section applies only if and so far' as a contrary intention is not expressed in the conveyance whereby the rent or any part thereof is expressed to be charged or apportioned as aforesaid, and takes effect subject to the terms of that conveyance and to the provisions therein contained.

(7) The remedies conferred by this section apply only where the conveyance whereby the rent or any part thereof is expressed to be charged or apportioned is made after the commencement of this" Act, and do not apply where the rent is charged exclusively as aforesaid or legally apportioned with the consent of the owner or lessor.

(8) The rule of law relating to perpetuities .does not affect the powers or remedies conferred by this section or any like powers or remedies expressly conferred, before or after the commencement of this Act, by an instrument.

191 Redemption and apportionment of rents.

(1) Where there is a rent being either—

(a) a quit rent, chief rent or other annual or periodical sum issuing out of land; or

(b) a rent reserved on a sale, or made payable under a grant or licence (not operating as an agreement for a lease or tenancy) for building purposes; or

(c) a compensation rentcharge created as the consideration for the extinguishment of manorial incidents;

the Minister shall at any time, on the requisition of the owner of the land or of any person interested therein, certify the amount of money in consideration whereof the rent may be redeemed.

Where the rent is not perpetual, the Minister may authorise the purchase of a Government annuity of an amount equal to the rent, payable during the residue of the period for which the rent would have been payable, in such names as he may think fit, and give directions as to the payment of the annuity, and the amount required to purchase that annuity shall be the redemption money.

(2) Where the rent is perpetual and was reserved on a sale, or was made payable under a grant or licence for building purposes, the redemption money shall be such sum as would (according to the average price, at the date of redemption, of such Government securities as may for the time being be prescribed by the Treasury) purchase sufficient of such Government securities to yield annual dividends equal to the amount of the yearly rent redeemed.

(3) Where the person entitled to the rent is absolutely entitled thereto in fee simple in possession, or is empowered to dispose thereof absolutely, or to give an absolute discharge for the capital value thereof, the owner of the land, or any person interested therein, may, after serving one month's notice on the person entitled to the rent, pay or tender to that person the amount certified by the Minister.

(4) If the Minister is satisfied—

(a) that any person who has been in receipt of a rent, or claims to be entitled thereto, is unable or unwilling to prove his title either to dispose thereof absolutely, or to give an absolute discharge for the capital value thereof, or neglects to apply to any competent body or person for any requisite order or consent; or

(b) that a person entitled to the rent or any part thereof cannot be found or ascertained; or

(c) that by reason of complications in the title to the rent, or the want of two or more trustees, or for any other reason a tender of the redemption money cannot be effected, or cannot be effected without incurring or involving unreasonable cost or delay;

the Minister may authorise the owner or other person interested in the land affected by the rent to pay the amount of the redemption money certified by the Minister or the Government annuity into court, to an account entitled in the matter of the rent and of the land affected.

(5) On proof to the Minister that such payment (whether into court or otherwise) or tender has been made, he shall certify that the rent is redeemed under this Act; and that certificate shall be final and conclusive, and the land shall be thereby absolutely freed and discharged from the rent.

(6) Any person claiming to be interested in the annuity or fund in court, or who would have been interested in the rent had it not been redeemed, may apply to the court for an order giving directions for the payment of the annuity or of the fund in court or any part thereof, or of the income thereof to the persons entitled to give a receipt therefor, and it shall not be necessary to serve the owner of the land or the Minister with notice of the proceedings.

(7) Where any person interested in the whole or any part of the land affected by the rent desires to effect a discharge of a part of the land, and the remainder of the land is not exonerated or indemnified from the rent by means of a charge on the aforesaid part, the Minister may, on his application, by a certificate, apportion the rent between the aforesaid part of the land and the remainder of the land affected (regard being had to the security which will be left for the payment of any part of the rent, and to any apportionment which is not binding on the owner of the rent), and any apportioned part of the rent shall be redeemable under this section, and, on such redemption, the part of the land to which the redemption applies shall be discharged from the entire rent.

(8) Every requisition under this section shall be in writing; and every certificate under this section may be in writing, sealed with the seal of the Minister.

(9) Rules may be made by the Minister for regulating proceedings to be taken under this section, and as to the manner in which costs are to be borne by the respective parties.

(10) All decisions of the Minister made under this section shall (subject only to such appeal to the court as may be prescribed by rules of court) be final.

(11) This section applies whether or not the rent is settled or is held on trust for sale, or on trust for charitable, ecclesiastical, public or other purposes, or is subject to incumbrances, and whether the rent was created before or after the commencement of this Act.

(12) This section does not apply to tithe rentcharge or a charge or other payment redeemable under the Tithe Acts, 1836 to 1918, or to a rent reserved by a lease or tenancy.

192 Apportionment of charges payable for redemption of tithe rentcharge.

An order of apportionment of a charge on land by way of annuity for redemption of tithe rentcharge may be made by the Minister under sections ten to fourteen (inclusive) of the [17 & 18 Vict. c. 97.] Inclosure Act, 1854, on the application of any person interested, according to the provisions of the Inclosure Acts, 1845 to 1882, in the land charged or any part thereof without the concurrence of any other person :

Provided that the Minister may, in any such case, on the application of any person interested in the annuity, require as a condition of making the order that any apportioned part of the annuity which does not exceed the yearly sum of two pounds shall be redeemed forthwith.