Thomas P. Broughan
Ceist:357 Mr. Broughan asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform when he will bring a Bill on the abolition of grounds rents before Dáil Éireann. [22398/99]
Written Answers. - Ground Rents Abolition.
John V. Farrelly
Ceist:358 Mr. Farrelly asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if he has received a request from ACRA, the National Body for Residents Associations, for the abolition of ground rents; if so, his views in this regard; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22566/99]
Seán Barrett
Ceist:371 Mr. Barrett asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform when the Bill to abolish ground rents will be introduced; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22347/99]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 357, 358 and 371 together.
I have outlined to the House on a number of occasions, by way of reply to parliamentary questions, the position regarding ground rents.
Briefly, the position is that the Landlord and Tenant (Ground Rents) (No 2) Act, 1978, already provides a statutory scheme for the acquisition of the fee simple by the owners of dwellinghouses. Part 111 of the (No. 2) Act, provides a special procedure, operated at low cost by the Land Registry, whereby owner-occupiers of dwellinghouses may acquire readily and relatively inexpensively the fee simple in their property. The purchase price in most cases at present is about 13 times the ground rent. The Act contains provision for the determination of applications for the purchase of the fee simple in cases where the consent of all the necessary parties is not forthcoming. In such cases the Registrar of Titles will determine the application by arbitration. The Act also makes provision for the circumstance that the ground rent landlord cannot be found. There is also no obstacle to a tenant negotiating directly with the owner of the ground rent for its purchase without reference to the (No. 2) Act.
The Landlord and Tenant (Ground Rent Abolition) Bill 1997, has raised constitutional, technical and practical difficulties of a kind which cannot be easily overcome. If and when those difficulties can be met in a way that would substantially improve on the already good and reasonable system that exists for the purchase of ground rent, the necessary legislative details will be announced in the normal way.
I can confirm that I discussed the subject matter of the Bill at a meeting with ACRA some time ago.