Business Tenancies Act (Northern Ireland) 1964

N.I. General and supplementary provisions

23 Duty of tenants and landlords of business premises to give information to each other. N.I.

(1) Any person having an estate in any business premises, being an estate in reversion expectant (whether immediately or not) on a tenancy of those premises, may serve on the tenant under such tenancy a notice in the prescribed form, requiring such tenant to notify that person—

(a) whether he occupies the premises or any part thereof wholly or partly for the purposes of a business carried on by him; and

(b) whether his tenancy has effect subject to any sub-tenancy on which his tenancy is immediately expectant and, if so, what premises are comprised in the sub-tenancy, for what term it has effect (or, if it is terminable by notice, by what notice it can be terminated), what is the rent payable thereunder, who is the sub-tenant, and (to the best of his knowledge and belief) whether the sub-tenant is in occupation of the premises or of part of the premises comprised in the sub-tenancy and, if not, what is the sub-tenant's address.

(2) A tenant of business premises, being a tenant under such a tenancy as is mentioned in section 5(1), may serve all or any of the following notices:—

(a) on his immediate landlord or the person to whom he pays the rent in respect of the premises comprised in the tenancy a notice in the prescribed form requiring such landlord or person to inform him of the nature and duration of that landlord's reversion in such premises or any part thereof and the name and address of the immediately superior landlord, if any, of that landlord;

(b) on any person whom the tenant reasonably believes to be a superior landlord or the agent of a superior landlord, a notice in the prescribed form requiring such person to inform him whether such person or any person for whom such person is agent has or has not any estate in the said premises or any part thereof, the nature, tenure and duration of such estate, if any, and the names and addresses of the persons having estates in the said premises or any part thereof immediately superior or immediately inferior to such estate.

(3) The information which any such person as is mentioned in paragraphs ( a) and ( b) of subsection (2) is required to give under that subsection shall include information whether there is a mortgagee in possession of the estate of the immediate landlord, or as the case may be, the superior landlord, in the premises and, if so, what is the name and address of the mortgagee.

(4) Where a mortgagee is in possession of an estate in the said premises or any part thereof, being an estate in reversion expectant (whether immediately or not) on the estate of the tenant the tenant may serve a notice in the prescribed form requiring the mortgagee to inform him—

(a) of the nature and duration of the estate of his mortgagor; and

(b) of the name and address of the immediate landlord, if any, of his mortgagor.

(5) It shall be the duty of any person on whom a notice is served under this section to furnish in writing within one month after the service of such notice to the person by whom such notice was so served, the information asked for by such notice so far as it is within the possession or procurement of such person.

(6) Where a notice is served under this section and the person on whom such notice is so served fails or neglects to furnish in writing, within the time limited by this section, the information he is required by this section so to furnish, the person by whom the notice was served may apply to the Lands Tribunal and on the hearing of such application the Lands Tribunal may make such order as it thinks necessary with a view to compelling such person so to furnish such information and any such order may be enforced by mandamus.

(7) In the case of a tenancy granted for a term certain the foregoing provisions of this section shall not apply to a notice served by or on the tenant more than two years before the date on which but for this Part his tenancy would come to an end by effluxion of time or could be brought to an end by notice to quit served by the immediate landlord.

(8) In this section—

• “business premises” means premises used wholly or partly for the purposes of a business;

• “mortgagee in possession” includes a receiver, appointed by the mortgagee or by a court of competent jurisdiction, who is in receipt of the rents and profits, and the expression “his mortgagor” shall be construed accordingly;

• “sub-tenant” includes a person retaining possession of any premises by virtue of the Rent Restrictions Acts after the coming to an end of a sub-tenancy, and “sub-tenancy” includes a right so to retain possession.

24 Trusts. N.I.

(1) Where a tenancy is held on trust, occupation by all or any of the beneficiaries under the trust, and the carrying on of a business by all or any of the beneficiaries, shall be treated for the purposes of section 1 as equivalent to occupation or the carrying on of a business by the tenant; and in relation to a tenancy to which this Part applies by virtue of the foregoing provisions of this subsection—

(a) references (however expressed) in this Part and in Schedule 2 to the business of, or to carrying on of business, use or occupation by, the tenant shall be construed as including references to the business of, or to carrying on of business, use or occupation by, the beneficiaries or beneficiary;

(b) the reference in section 15(2)( d) to the tenant shall be construed as including the beneficiaries or beneficiary; and

(c) a change in the persons of the trustees shall not be treated as a change in the person of the tenant.

(2) Where the landlord's estate is held on trust the references in subsection (1)( g) of section 10 to the landlord shall be construed as including references to the beneficiaries under the trust or any of them; but, except in the case of a trust arising under a will or on the intestacy of any person, the reference in subsection (3) of that section to the creation of the estate therein mentioned shall be construed as including the creation of the trust.

25 Groups of companies. N.I.

(1) For the purposes of this section two bodies corporate shall be taken to be members of a group if and only if one is a subsidiary of the other or both are subsidiaries of a third body corporate.

(2) In subsection (1) “subsidiary” has[F1 the meaning given by [F2 section 1159 of the Companies Act 2006]].

(3) Where a tenancy is held by a member of a group, occupation by another member of the group, and the carrying on of a business by another member of the group, shall be treated for the purposes of section 1 as equivalent to occupation or the carrying on of a business by the member of the group holding the tenancy; and in relation to a tenancy to which this Part applies by virtue of the foregoing provisions of this subsection—

(a) references (however expressed) in this Part and in Schedule 2 to the business of, or to use or occupation by, the tenant shall be construed as including references to the business of, or to use or occupation by, the said other member;

(b) the reference in section 15(2)( d) to the tenant shall be construed as including the said other member; and

(c) an assignment of the tenancy from one member of the group to another shall not be treated as a change in the person of the tenant.

(4) Where the landlord's estate is held by a member of a group the reference in section 10(1)( g) to intended occupation for the purposes of a business to be carried on by the landlord shall be construed as including intended occupation for the purposes of a business to be carried on by any member of the group.

F1 1990 NI 10

F2 Words in s. 25(2) substituted (1.10.2009) by Companies Act 2006 (Consequential Amendments, Transitional Provisions and Savings) Order 2009 (S.I. 2009/1941), art. 2(1), Sch. 1 para. 13 (with art. 10)

26 Provisions as to reversions. N.I.

(1) Where by virtue of any provision of this Part a tenancy (in this subsection referred to as “the inferior tenancy” ) is continued for a period such as to extend to or beyond the end of a superior tenancy, the superior tenancy shall, for the purposes of this Part and of any other enactment and of any rule of law, be deemed so long as it subsists to be an estate in reversion expectant upon the termination of the inferior tenancy, and if there is no intermediate tenancy, to be the estate in reversion immediately expectant upon the termination thereof.

(2) In the case of a tenancy continuing by virtue of any provision of this Part after the coming to an end of the estate of the immediate landlord, the person then having the reversion immediately expectant upon the coming to an end of that estate shall, from such coming to an end and so long as his term subsists, be deemed, to the extent and for the purpose of preserving the incidents to and obligations on the said estate as would have subsisted if that estate had not come to an end, to be the immediate landlord in relation to the tenancy so continued.

(3) Where by virtue of any provision of this Part a tenancy (in this subsection referred to as “the continuing tenancy” ) is continued beyond the beginning of a reversionary tenancy which was granted (whether before or after the commencement of this Act) so as to begin on or after the date on which but for this Part the continuing tenancy would have come to an end, the reversionary tenancy shall have effect as if it had been granted subject to the continuing tenancy.

(4) Where by virtue of any provision of this Part a tenancy (in this subsection referred to as “the new tenancy” ) is granted for a period beginning on the same date as a reversionary tenancy or for a period such as to extend beyond the beginning of the term of a reversionary tenancy, whether the reversionary tenancy in question was granted before or after the commencement of this Act, the reversionary tenancy shall have effect as if it had been granted subject to the new tenancy.

27 Provision as to overholding. N.I.

A tenant shall not be deemed for the purposes of section 76 of the Landlord and Tenant Law Amendment Act, Ireland, 1860 [1860 c.154] wilfully to hold over any property comprised in a tenancy by reason only of his remaining in possession thereof under or by virtue of any provision of this Part.

28 Meaning of “the landlord” in Part I and provisions as to mesne landlords. N.I.

(1) In this Part the expression “the landlord” , in relation to a tenancy (in this section referred to as “the relevant tenancy” ) means the person (whether or not he is the immediate landlord) who is the owner of that estate in the property comprised in the relevant tenancy which for the time being fulfils the following conditions, that is to say:—

(a) that it is an estate in reversion expectant (whether immediately or not) on the termination of the relevant tenancy; and

(b) that it is either the fee simple or a tenancy which will not come to an end within fourteen months or less by effluxion of time or by virtue of a notice already served being a notice served in relation to that tenancy by the immediate landlord or tenant thereof in accordance with the terms of that tenancy or a notice to determine as defined in section 3 or a notice under section 5 requesting a new tenancy;

and is not itself in reversion expectant (whether immediately or not) on an estate which fulfils these conditions.

(2) The provisions of Schedule 1 shall have effect for the purposes of the application of this Part to cases where there are several persons standing in the relation to each other of landlord and tenant.

29 Interpretation of Part I. N.I.

In this Part—

• “agricultural land” has the meaning assigned to it by section 43(1) of the Agriculture Act (Northern Ireland) 1949 [1949 c.2] ;

• “business” has the meaning assigned to it by section 1(2);

• “current tenancy” has the meaning assigned to it by section 5(1);

• “date of termination” has the meaning assigned to it by section 4(1);

• “the holding” has, subject to section 13(2), the meaning assigned to it by section 1(3);

• “notice to quit” has the meaning assigned to it by section 3(3);

• “notice to determine” has the meaning assigned to it by section 3(3);

• “premises” includes land and buildings;

• Definitions rep. by 1978 NI 20

• “tenancy” includes a tenancy created or renewed in pursuance of any enactment (including this Act), but does not include a tenancy at will, howsoever arising, or a tenancy at sufferance, or any mortgage term or any estate arising in favour of a mortgagor solely by reason of his attorning tenant to his mortgagee;

• “term certain” in relation to a tenancy means any definite period of certain duration whether or not the tenancy is renewable for further such periods.