The second amendment is a much more important one. On Committee Stage in the Dáil I moved an instruction to the Committee empowering them to make this amendment. The revival of section 8 (1A) of the 1960 Rent Act was suggested to me by many people, including a number of Deputies in the Dáil, and quite a number of people outside. I indicated on Second Stage debate that I would consider the position between that and Committee Stage and I then put down an amendment the purpose of which is to revive for a period of one year, the spent provisions contained in section 8 (1A) of the Rent Restrictions Act, 1960. Subsection (1A) was inserted in section 8 of the 1960 Act by section 4 (1) of the Rent Restrictions (Amendment) Act, 1967, and in accordance with section 4 (3) of the 1967 Act it had a life of only two years, which expired on 8th May, 1969. The amendment will enable what may be described as "small" landlords to have certain basic rents revised during the period of one year from the date of enactment of this Bill into law.
Under the provisions of section 8 (1A) of the 1960 Rent Act, which the amendment proposes to revive, the District Court will be authorised to review the basic rent on an application by a landlord who owns not more than six controlled houses or self-contained flats with a combined valuation not exceeding £60, in case one at least of them is situate in the Dublin area, or £40 in any other case.
The landlord will be liable for the tenant's costs in the District Court, unless that court considers it proper, having regard in particular to the means of the landlord and the tenant, to order otherwise. The rent, if adjusted by the court, is to be of such amount as the court considers reasonable having regard to all the circumstances of the case, but, in particular, to the necessity of avoiding financial hardship to the tenant and the landlord. It is not to exceed the maximum rent which would be fixed on the renewal of a tenancy under Part III of the Landlord and Tenant Act, 1931. Only a landlord who owned the premises on 8th June, 1966, that is, the date of introduction of the Bill that was subsequently enacted into law as the 1967 Rent Act will benefit from the re-activation of section 8 (1A). This is not an innovation, it is the position that obtained during the original two year life of section 8 (1A).
The court will be enabled to deal privately with the whole or any part of an application under the revived provision. The parties may also agree among themselves on a new basic rent. The court may, however, alter a rent so agreed, on the application of either party within three months after the service of notice of the agreed rent, where it is established that he has become aware since the agreement that the financial circumstances of the other party at the time of the agreement were substantially better than those by reference to which the agreement was reached.
The re-activation for a period of one year of the spent provisions contained in section 8 (1A) of the Rent Restrictions Act, 1960, will give those small landlords who satisfy the necessary conditions and who are in poor financial circumstances another opportunity to have basic rents revised. Representations have been made to me and to my Department to the effect that many small landlords, who would have benefited under the provisions of section 8 (1A) during the two-year period when it was in operation, failed to do so because they were unaware of its existence.
In conclusion, I should like to say that this amendment is very important to a lot of people who are in bad financial circumstances. Unfortunately, so far as I know it did not receive publicity in the Dáil because it is not dramatic or anything like that. It just helps people. I would hope that it might be possible to report it sufficiently widely to make people aware of their rights. The main reason why I am bringing it back now and asking the Seanad to approve of it is that, although it was in existence for two years before —from May, 1967, to May, 1969—it was scarcely availed of at all. It was only at the time it expired in 1969 that people became aware of it. I am proposing to reactivate it now for a period of one year to enable those who were not in a position to avail of it or who did not know about it the last time to avail of it now. For that reason it would be of great help to many people in poor circumstances if the fact that this amendment is being made could be given as much publicity as possible.
