If you own a house or if you think you own a house, take a good look at your lease.
Early in 1967, The Landlord and Tenant (Ground Rents) Act was passed giving tenants the right to buy out the freehold.
Any house owner in the state will be entitled to buy out the freehold of his property by offering the landlord a sum equalling 13.2 times his annual ground rent.
However, the law is so complicated that the tenant has to examine the property title to see what kind of lease they hold. It could be a building lease, an occupancy lease, or a broken lease. This is normally quite a simple process, for example with a new house. However, there are cases where it is not straightforward.
The Proby Estate which is owned by Mr Peter Proby, is an estate covering a large area across Sandycove, Dun Laoghaire, Stillorgan and Blackrock. In the 19th century, leases were granted to builders whose successors would normally have building leases. However, the original leases expired in approximately 1905 when they were then renewed. However, over time it has become difficult to prove the precise status of these renewed leases. It seems that they were not building leases. As these 1905 leases are now themselves expiring, where does it leave the residents.
What is the position of the people who live in the houses concerned?
Patrick Boland is the owner of number 5 Ballygihen Avenue which he bought in 1956 at a cost of £1,550. At that time, the lease had a further nine years to run at a ground rent of £15 a year. Mr Boland believed that he would have the right to buy out the ground rent or at least a renewal of lease. However, when the lease expired, the landlord Mr Proby had the house valued at £5,000. As Mr Boland did not have a building lease, he was not entitled to buy out under the 1967 act. Mr Proby offered Mr Boland a 21 year lease at £240 a year. The alternative was to rebuy the house at £5,000. Mr Boland did not accept either option. On Good Friday in 1966, Mr Proby served notice on Mr Boland. Mr Boland fought this notice in court on six occasions but he was defeated by the flaw in the act and he had to purchase the freehold for £3,000, two hundred times the ground rent.
Mrs Torens and her sister have been living at number 3 Ballygihen Avenue since their mother bought the house in 1921. Their ground rent is £16 a year. Their lease expired in March 1965. They were offered a 21 year lease at £240 per annum with the tenant responsible for all outgoings. If Mrs Torens or her sister were living in the house, Mr Proby would take £32 to be later reduced to £29. They did not accept Mr Proby's offer arguing that it was a case of confiscation.
Mrs Breen lives in Burdett Avenue and also pays ground rent to the Proby Estate. She originally paid £17 ground rent but now it is £100 on a 21 year lease. She agreed to pay the increase as she feared the landlord might confiscate the property.
Mr Vincent Pentany has lived at number 4 Ballygihen Avenue for 21 years. His lease expired in March 1965. In 1964, he served notice of his intention to renew the lease. In August 1965, he received a reply outlining the new lease at £240 a year for 21 years.
Mr Claud Proby, who is agent for his brother Peter Proby's estate in Ireland, defends their position describing the controversial stories as "inaccurate rumours".
What we are endeavouring to do in the case of all long standing tenants of the estate who may have bought houses thinking they had rights of renewal is to give them tenancies for life at low rents.
Mr Proby explains the difference between a building and an occupational lease. Nowadays about 98 per cent of all leases are building leases and the remaining are occupational. With a building lease the landlord owns the ground but the tenant owns the bricks and mortar. With an occupational lease, the landlord owns both the ground and the bricks and mortar. Mr Proby believes that all future building would cease if there were no occupational leases. He says that between only three and five per cent of his tenants are affected by this confusion.
At the present time, somebody who buys a house, unless they are a trained lawyer, has no means of knowing whether the lease is a building lease or an occupational lease.
Mr Proby has sympathy for anyone who bought a lease many years ago thinking that they had rights of renewal when in fact they do not.
The 1967 act set out to enable any householder in the state to buy out the freehold. However, for some living on the Proby Estate this is not an option and they find themselves at the mercy of the landlord. There may too by other landlord estates where residents have fallen through the cracks in the law.
If you think you own a house, I'd take a good look at your lease.
This episode of 'Seven Days' was broadcast on 20 October 1967. The reporter is David Thornley.
