Key Takeaways From Our Recent Property & Litigation Seminar

GROUND RENTS

By Eve Mulconry and James Lawless

• Acquiring the freehold: Where certain statutory criteria are satisfied, tenants of long leases have a right to acquire the freehold. The tenant can seek to agree the terms for the acquisition with the freehold owner, failing which it can use the procedure set out by statute. The first step in the statutory procedure is for the tenant to serve a Notice of Intention to Acquire the Fee Simple on the landlord.
• Contested applications: The matter is heard in the first instance by the County Registrar. The decision of the County Registrar can be appealed to the Circuit Court, with a further right to appeal to the High Court. An appeal to the Circuit Court/ High Court is a de novo appeal (i.e. effectively a new hearing). The tenant has to prove title at every hearing, and new evidence can be introduced at every hearing.