Ground Rents Act (Northern Ireland) 2001

Redemption

4.—(1) A rent-payer wishing to redeem a ground rent under this Act shall apply to the Land Registry in the prescribed form.

(2) At the same time as an application is made under subsection (1), the rent-payer shall lodge with the Land Registry—

(a) the redemption money;

(b) the receipt for the last payment of the ground rent or the sum of money necessary to discharge any arrears of the ground rent due and recoverable by law at the date of lodgment;

(c) such sum of money, if any, necessary to discharge any apportionment of the ground rent for the period from the last day for payment of ground rent before the date of lodgment to the date of lodgment;

(d) such evidence of title and other matter as may be prescribed; and

(e) such sum as may be prescribed to defray expenses to be incurred in obtaining a certificate under section 6.

(3) Immediately after an application is made under subsection (1), the rent-payer shall serve on the rent-owner a notice in the prescribed form to the effect that the application has been made.

(4) Subsection (3) does not apply where—

(a) the rent-payer does not know the name and address of the rent-owner or his agent; or

(b) a notice sought to be served by post is returned undelivered.

(5) Where two or more lands held under different titles subject to ground rents payable to the same rent-owner are contiguous (or, in the case of more than two, every one is contiguous to some other) and are occupied by the same rent-payer, they may, for the purposes of this Act, be treated as one land and the aggregate of the ground rents may be treated as one ground rent.

(6) Where land comprised of two or more parcels vested in separate persons is subject to a single ground rent, both or all of those persons may combine to redeem the ground rent.