Commentary on Sections: Part 3
Section 81: Right to rent from sub-tenant
386.This section makes provision for a landlord who is entitled to use CRAR against his immediate tenant to instead serve a notice on any sub-tenant requiring that sub-tenant to pay his rent directly to him, instead of paying it to his own landlord in the usual way. Its purpose is to allow the landlord to recover, from a sub-tenant, arrears of rent that are due to him from the immediate tenant.
387.The section is intended to preserve the effect of sections 3 and 6 of the Law of Distress Amendment Act 1908 (which will be repealed by this Act, see Schedule 14) in a form that is consistent with the other provisions of CRAR.
388.Where a notice is given to a sub-tenant under this section, it must set out the amount of the arrears owed to the landlord (the superior landlord) by the immediate tenant. The notice must also require the sub-tenant to pay his rent directly to the superior landlord instead of paying it to his own landlord, until the amount of arrears specified in the notice have been paid off, or rent ceases to be payable by the sub-tenant (for example, if he moves on), or the notice is replaced or withdrawn by the superior landlord.
389.Subsection (5) enables regulations to determine when a notice given by the landlord on a sub-tenant under this section takes effect.
390.For as long as the notice has effect, the superior landlord will effectively stand in place of the sub-tenant’s landlord for the purpose of recovering, receiving or discharging any rent payable by the sub-tenant under the notice, but only for that purpose. This means that the superior landlord can recover from the sub-tenant the amount stated in the notice by using CRAR. But the superior landlord cannot recover that sum from the sub-tenant by serving another section 81 notice on an inferior sub- tenant (see section 84).
391.The superior landlord may serve more than one notice under this section, but any later notice replaces an earlier one and where the landlord serves a later notice on a different sub-tenant he must withdraw the earlier one (see section 83). This ensures that only one notice has effect at any one time.
