PART I.

Preliminary and General.

1. —(1) This Act may be cited as the Rent Restrictions Act, 1946.

(2) This Act shall continue in operation until the 31st day of December, 1950.

2. —(1) In this Act—

the expression “the Act of 1923” means the Increase of Rent and Mortgage Interest (Restrictions) Act, 1923 (No. 19 of 1923);

the expression “the Act of 1926” means the Increase of Rent and Mortgage Interest (Restrictions) Act, 1926 (No. 24 of 1926);

the expression “basic rent” means—

(a) in relation to controlled (1923 Act) premises, the basic rent of the premises determined under section 8 or section 9 (as the case may be) of this Act,

(b) in relation to controlled (non-1923 Act) premises, the basic rent of the premises determined under section 14 , section 15 or section 16 (as the case may be) of this Act;

the expression “business premises” means premises used for the purposes of any business, trade or profession or for the public service;

the expression “controlled premises” means any premises to which, by virtue of section 3 of this Act, this Act applies;

the expression “controlled (1923 Act) premises” means controlled premises to which, by virtue of section 7 of this Act, Chapter 1 of Part II of this Act applies;

the expression “controlled (non-1923 Act) premises” means controlled premises to which, by virtue of section 13 of this Act, Chapter 2 of Part II of this Act applies;

the expression “District Justice” means a Justice of the District Court;

the word “dwelling” means a house let as a separate dwelling, or a part, so let, of any house, whether or not the tenant shares with any other persons any portion thereof or any accommodation, amenity or facility in connection therewith;

the word “landlord”, when used in relation to any premises, includes any person from time to time deriving title under the original landlord of the premises, and also includes any person, other than the tenant, who is or would but for this Act be entitled to possession of the premises;

the expression “lawful addition” means—

(a) in relation to the basic rent of controlled (1923 Act) premises, any sum which is, by virtue of section 11 of this Act, a lawful addition to the basic rent,

(b) in relation to the basic rent of controlled (non-1923 Act) premises, any sum which is, by virtue of section 17 of this Act, a lawful addition to the basic rent;

the expression “lawful rent” means—

(a) in relation to controlled (1923 Act) premises, the sum declared by section 12 of this Act to be the lawful rent of the premises,

(b) in relation to controlled (non-1923 Act) premises, the sum declared by section 18 of this Act to be the lawful rent of the premises;

the word “let” includes sublet;

the expression “the Minister” means the Minister for Justice;

the expression “non-statutory tenant” means a tenant who is not a statutory tenant;

the expression “the operative date” means the date of the passing of this Act;

the expression “the Order of 1944” means the Emergency Powers (No. 313) Order, 1944 (S. R. & O., No. 29 of 1944), as amended by the Emergency Powers (No. 313) Order, 1944 (Amendment) Order, 1945 (S. R. & O., No. 188 of 1945);

the word “premises” means any premises being a dwelling or business premises;

the word “prescribed” means prescribed by the Minister by regulations made under this Act;

the word “rates” means, in relation to any premises, the rates (including water rates) which are made by a local authority (being the council of a county, the corporation of a county or other borough, the council of an urban district or the commissioners of a town) in respect of the premises for the service of any local financial year and which by any Act are, or but for any Act would be, chargeable on the occupier of the premises;

the expression “standard rent” has the same meaning as it has in the Act of 1923;

the expression “statutory tenancy” means the interest of a statutory tenant in the premises in relation to which the expression is used;

the expression “statutory tenant” means a person being either—

(a) a person who retains possession of any controlled premises after his contractual tenancy therein (not being a tenancy to which section 45 of this Act applies) has terminated, or

(b) a person who retains possession of any controlled premises under subsection (2) or subsection (3) of section 39 of this Act, or

(c) a person who retains possession of any controlled premises under subparagraph (iii) of paragraph (a) or under paragraph (b) of subsection (5) of section 40 of this Act, or

(d) a person who retains possession of any controlled premises under section 57 of this Act;

the word “tenant”, unless the context otherwise requires, includes in relation to any premises a statutory tenant, and includes any person from time to time deriving title under the original tenant, and also includes a subtenant.

(2) References in this Act to an order for the recovery of possession of any premises shall be construed as including references to an order for the ejectment of a tenant therefrom.

(3) References in this Act to any enactment shall be construed as references to that enactment as amended by any subsequent enactment.

3. —(1) Subject to subsection (2) of this section, this Act applies to every premises.

(2) This Act does not apply to—

(a) premises the rateable valuation whereof exceeds—

(i) in case the premises are situate in the county borough of Dublin or the borough of Dún Laoghaire, sixty pounds,

(ii) in any other case, forty pounds,

(b) premises erected after, or in course of being erected on, the 7th day of May 1941,

(c) a dwelling provided by a local authority under the Labourers Acts, 1883 to 1941, or under the Housing of the Working Classes Acts, 1890 to 1931, and of which a local authority is for the time being the landlord, or

(d) business premises in any market or fair where the rent or conditions of tenancy are controlled or regulated by or under any statute or charter,

(e) business premises let for a term of years or let from year to year under a tenancy, notice to determine which (otherwise than for breach of a term of the tenancy) must be a notice of not less than three months,

(f) a dwelling let at a rent (hereinafter called the reserved rent) which includes payments for board, attendance or the use of furniture, or for the supply to the dwelling of heat, hot water, fuel, electricity or any other commodity or for the rendering of any services in connection with the dwelling, unless, on apportionment of the reserved rent by the Court, the portion of the reserved rent which, in the opinion of the Court, is attributable to the dwelling alone equals or exceeds three quarters of the reserved rent, in which case the rent of the dwelling shall be taken, for the purposes of this Act, to be the portion of the reserved rent so attributable to the dwelling alone,

(g) any dwelling or business premises let together with land other than the site of the dwelling or business premises, if the rateable valuation of the land exceeds the lesser of the following:—

(i) half the rateable valuation of the site including the building or buildings thereon, or

(ii) (I) in case the dwelling or business premises are situate in the county borough of Dublin or the borough of Dún Laoghaire, fifteen pounds,

(II) in any other case, ten pounds.

4. —The application of this Act to a dwelling shall not be excluded by reason only of the fact that part of it is used for the purposes of any business, trade or profession.

5. —(1) The enactments mentioned in the Schedule to this Act are hereby repealed to the extent specified in the third column of that Schedule.

(2) The repeal, effected by subsection (1) of this section, of the proviso to paragraph (b) of subsection (1) of section 2 of the Act of 1923 shall have effect as from the date of the passing of the Act of 1923 but such repeal shall not—

(a) entitle a landlord to recover from a tenant any sums which have been recovered from the landlord before the 1st day of October, 1945, by means of a deduction from rent or otherwise or any rent which has not been paid by reason of such deductions having been made therefrom, or

(b) affect the right to enforce any judgment of a court of competent jurisdiction given before the 1st day of October, 1945, or render recoverable any sum paid under such judgment.

(3) References in any Act to the Increase of Rent and Mortgage Interest (Restrictions) Acts, 1923 to 1930, or to any of those Acts shall be construed as references to this Act.

6. —The expenses incurred by the Minister in the administration of this Act shall, to such extent as may be sanctioned by the Minister for Finance, be paid out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas.