DSBA PROPERTY COMMITTEE – LOOKING BACK AND LOOKING AHEAD With another difficult year coming to a close, we have asked the members of the DSBA
Name
Property Law Committee to comment on either some of their highlights over the past
year or issues to watch out for in 2022. We hope you enjoy the selection below.
Topic
ackie Buckley
We welcome the introduction of the Companies (Rescue Process for Small and Micro Companies) Act 2021 which was enacted on 22 uly 2021. We expect it to be commenced shortly. t is designed to be a more suitable rescue process for small and micro companies which currently account for more than 9 of Companies. The Process Advisor prepares a Rescue Plan after interacting with creditors. The Act also allows for the repudiation of onerous contracts, including Leases. As Tenants in many sectors remain in a precarious position with outstanding rent arrears, once commenced, the legislation will provide a way forward for many Companies.
Ethna Ryan
The Land and Conveyancing Bill 2021, signed into law on 26th of ovember 2021, has repealed sections 33 to 39 of the Land and Conveyancing Law Reform Act 2009. The repealed sections had imposed an obligation on the user of an undocumented easement or profit prendre to register the right either by way of Court order or through the Property Registration authority by the 30th of ovember 2021 to avoid losing any rights acquired by long use. The establishment of such rights will, once the bill is enacted, revert to the law that applied prior to 2009 where such rights were in the main, verified by way of statutory declaration. Special arrangements have been made in respect of State-owned land with the prescription period being 30 years against State-owned land and 60 years where the land is foreshore. The Bill is welcomed to avoid the increase in litigation the current legislation deadline would have undoubtedly caused on our already pressured courts services.
Marissa O’ eeffe
LPT The inance (Local Property Tax) (Amendment) Act 2021 introduced certain changes in relation to LPT that is due in 2022. These apply to property valued on 1 ovember 2021. The revaluation of homes had been deferred on many occasions resulting in one valuation period from 2013-2021. The new valuation period is due to apply to LPT for 2022-2025. omeowners were obliged to submit a self-assessed valuation of their property and submit an LPT return by 7 ovember 2021. nlike PPR charges, under s.124 of the inance (Local Property Tax) Act 2012, there is no time limit on the charge. NPPR The Local overnment (Charges) Act 2009 affected and continues to affect the sale of non-principal private residences ( PPR) in respect of the PPR charge which applied from 31 uly 2009 to 31 March 2013. Whilst any unpaid PPR is a charge on property under the Act, however, the Act also provided for the expiration of the charge after 12 years. The Department of ousing, Local overnment and eritage advised that there will be a phased expiry of PPR charges, late payment fees and the charge on property. rom 1 August 2021, the amount due for same will reduce every year until the liability and charge on property expires completely on 1 April 2025. The 2009 Act is due to be repealed on 31 March 2025.
Roisin Bennett
iven the ongoing challenges that Covid-19 causes for our business and personal lives, we would like to remind practitioners that the Law Society has a range of wellness resources available in the wellbeing hub on www.lawsociety.ie. One such resource is LegalMind which is an independent and low cost mental health support available for Law Society members, their partners and dependants. The service is completely confidential and available 24 7 365 days per year. To access this service, designed just for solicitors, call LegalMind any time on their freephone number 1 00 1 41 77 or send an SMS WhatsApp to 0 73690010 (standard rates apply) and receive a text back that day from one of LegalMind’s case managers.
Marcus ennedy
ESG ES or to give its full name, Environmental, Social and Corporate overnance, is a prevalent theme across the real estate market. Most investors and tenants now have ES policy documents which inform the nature of the property they transact on. This can translate through to an outright obligation on a developer to deliver, for example, minimum standards of BERs, LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) or BREEAM (Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method) certification. n managed estates, it has become a feature for a landlord management company to implement Energy Management Plans and maintain environmental performance data with the cost being recovered, in the usual manner, through a service charge. Commercial leases can include an entitlement for a landlord to refuse consent to tenant alterations where the works would be of such a nature as to adversely affect the environmental performance of the premises
Elaine
Force Majeure/Covid clauses The accepted meaning of force majeure’ in contract law is a clause that removes liability for events that could not be anticipated which prevent parties from fulfilling obligations. Practitioners should note that pandemics may not be regarded as unforeseen natural and unavoidable catastrophes following the impact that the Coronavirus has had. The implications of force majeure clauses need careful consideration. We have seen a narrowing and more restrictive drafting and interpretation of force majeure clauses. All contracts and leases should now contain a “Covid” clause to limit liability in the event of government restrictions being in place which prevent a party from fulfilling their contractual obligation.
iven
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