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GAZETTE
SEPTEMBER 1987
Law Reform Commission-
Conveyancing and
Land Law Reforms
Shortly after it took office in
January 1987, the newly appointed
Law Reform Commission set up a
working group on conveyancing
and land law. The members of the
working group are Miss Justice
Carroll, Mary Laffoy, S.C., George
Brady, S.C., Professor James C.
Brady, Ernest B. Farrell and Rory
McEntee, Solicitors, under the
chairmanship of John F. Buckley,
a member of the Commission.
The Commission had been ask-
ed by the Government to make
recommendations in this area that
would lead to the reform of con-
veyancing law and practice in areas
where this could lead to savings for
house purchasers. The Group has
accordingly adopted as a primary
target the identification of
anomalies in the law that cause
difficulty or delays in normal house
purchase and other conveyancing
transactions. The Group is natural-
ly anxious to obtain suggestions
from practitioners and academics
to assist them in identifying
anomalies in this area of law and
difficulties which be readily be
dealt with.
The Group has already agreed to
consider at a future time certain
proposed amendments to aspects
of land law, including the
following:
1. The abolition of the fee tail
estate.
2. The repeal of the Rule in
Shel-
ly's
case.
3. The repeal of the Rule in
Whit-
by & Mitchell.
4. The modernisation of the law
governing Powers of Attorney
and the possible introduction
of an enduring Power of At-
torney.
5. The repeal of the Statute of
Uses.
6. The introduction of a trust con-
cept to co-ownership of in-
terests in land.
7. The abolition of the Rules
restricting the enforcement of
positive covenants in relation
to freehold land.
8. The introduction of a provision
permitting contracting out of
the Landlord & Tenant Act in
limited cases.
Among the topics which the
Group has already considered are:
1. The introduction of the parlia-
mentary conveyance doctrine
to clarify the title acquired by
adverse possession to lease-
hold property.
2. The exclusion from the opera-
tion of the Rules against Per-
petuities of the creation of
easements and other interests
in land, including options.
3. The introduction of a provision
to enable merger to take place
where the owner of a Lessee's
interest in portion only of land
held under Lease acquires the
fee simple reversion.
4. The clarification of the law
relating to partition, following
the decision of
O'D -v- O'D.
5. The amendment of the law re-
lating to definition of certain
terms such as "month" which,
in the absence of other defini-
tion, means "lunar" month.
6. The introduction of simpler
procedures for the severance
of joint tenancies.
7. The clarification of the re-
quirements for evidencing the
consent of Landlords to assign-
ments of Lessee's interests.
8. The release of tenant's surety
from their obligations where an
Assignment with the written
consent of the Lessor has been
obtained.
9. Confirmation that a surety for
a tenant remains bound in the
event of a transfer of the
Lessor's interest.
Conveyancing:
1. The reduction of the statutory
period of title under the Vendor
and Purchaser Acts from forty
years to twenty years.
2. The apportionment of the risk
relating to property as between
Vendor and Purchaser during
the period from contract to
completion.
3. The introduction of a time limit
for the bringing of applications
under Section 27 of the Local
Government (Planning & Devel-
opment) Act 1976.
4. The removal of the power of
Sheriffs to seize leasehold pro-
perty, which power is rarely
exercised.
5. The removal of the need to ob-
tain consent under Section 45
of the Land Act in respect of
the transfer of properties
which, though not technically
"urban" are clearly not "rural"
either.
6. The removal from the compul-
sory registration provisions
contained in the Registration of
Title Act of certain lands af-
fected by the Irish Church
Acts.
7. The amendment of the Family
Home Protection Act so as to
provide a time limit behind
which purchasers need not en-
quire as to the giving of con-
sents or the evidencing of such
consents and the clarification
that "assents" by personal re-
presentatives do not fall within
the provisions of the Act.
8. The amendment of the require-
ment that companies notify the
Companies Office of the
registration of judgement mort-
gages against companies and
the validating of the notice of
such mortgages by the judge-
ment creditor.
The Commission welcomes sug-
gestions for the reform of other
anomalies or other proposals for
change. They should be addressed
to the Commission at Ardilaun
House, 111 St. Stephen's Green,
Dublin 2.
ADMINISTRAT ION
OF ESTATES
Simple Guidelines
Copies of the Booklet are
available from the Society
at
£3.00 incl. postage
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