Land and Conveyancing Law Reform Act 2013

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Number 30 of 2013

LAND AND CONVEYANCING LAW REFORM ACT 2013

CONTENTS

Section

1. Application of certain statutory provisions

2. Adjournment of proceedings to facilitate making of proposal for Personal Insolvency Arrangement

3. Proceedings relating to certain mortgages to be brought in Circuit Court

4. Provision in respect of certain proceedings

5. Short title and commencement

Acts Referred to

Civil Liability Act 1961 (No. 41)

Civil Partnership and Certain Rights and Obligations of Cohabitants Act 2010 (No. 24)

Conveyancing Act 1881 (44 & 45 Vict., c. 41)

Conveyancing Act 1911 (1 & 2 Geo. 5, c. 37)

Family Home Protection Act 1976 (No. 27)

Land and Conveyancing Law Reform Act 2009 (No. 27)

Personal Insolvency Act 2012 (No. 44)

Registration of Title Act 1964 (No. 16)

Number 30 of2013

LAND AND CONVEYANCING LAW REFORM ACT 201

An Act to provide that certain statutory provisions apply to mortgages of a particular class notwithstanding the repeal and amendment of those statutory provisions by the Land and Conveyancing Law Reform Act 2009 , to provide for the adjournment of legal proceedings in certain cases and to provide for related matters. [24th July, 2013]

Be it enacted by the Oireachtas as follows:

Application of certain statutory provisions

1. (1) This section applies to a mortgage created prior to 1 December 2009.

(2) As respects a mortgage to which this section applies, the statutory provisions apply and may be invoked or exercised by any person as if those provisions had not been repealed by section 8(3) and Schedule 2 of the Act of 2009.

(3) As respects a mortgage to which this section applies the amended provisions apply and may be invoked or exercised by any person as if those provisions had not been amended by section 8(1) and Schedule 1 of the Act of 2009.

(4) Subsections (1) to (3) are without prejudice to any right or entitlement which a person may otherwise have to rely on the statutory provisions or the amended provisions.

(5) This section does not apply to proceedings initiated before the coming into operation of this section.

(6) In this section—

“Act of 1964” means the Registration of Title Act 1964 ;

“Act of 2009” means the Land and Conveyancing Law Reform Act 2009 ;

“amended provisions” means section 62(2) and (6) of the Act of 1964;

“mortgage” has the same meaning as it has in the Conveyancing Act 1881 ;

“statutory provisions” means sections 2 and 18 to 24 of the Conveyancing Act 1881 , sections 3 , 4 and 5 of the Conveyancing Act 1911 and section 62(3), (7) and (8) of the Act of 1964.

Adjournment of proceedings to facilitate making of proposal for Personal Insolvency Arrangement

2. (1) This section applies to land which is the principal private residence of—

(a) the mortgagor of the land concerned, or

(b) a person without whose consent a conveyance of that land would be void by reason of—

(i) the Family Home Protection Act 1976 , or

(ii) the Civil Partnership and Certain Rights and Obligations of Cohabitants Act 2010 .

(2) In any proceedings brought by a mortgagee seeking an order for possession of land to which the mortgage relates and which land is land to which this section applies, the court, without prejudice to any other power which a court may have to adjourn proceedings, may—

(a) of its own motion, if it considers it appropriate to do so,

(b) on application being made to the court by a relevant person and, having regard to the matters specified in subsection (3), if it considers it appropriate to do so,

adjourn the proceedings for a period not exceeding 2 months to enable the relevant person—

(i) to consult with a personal insolvency practitioner with a view to the making of a proposal for a Personal Insolvency Arrangement, and

(ii) where appropriate, to instruct the personal insolvency practitioner to make a proposal for a Personal Insolvency Arrangement under the Act of 2012.

(3) The court in considering an application under subsection (2)(b) shall have regard to such matters as it considers appropriate and in particular shall have regard to the following:

(a) whether the mortgagor has participated in any process relating to mortgage arrears operated by the mortgagee concerned which has been approved or required by the Central Bank of Ireland and which process relates to the land the subject of the mortgage;

(b) whether the mortgagor has made any payments to the mortgagee in respect of monies advanced on foot of or secured by the mortgage in the 12 months immediately preceding the application and, if so, the amount of any such payments, the number and frequency of such payments, and the proportion which the amounts paid bear to the amount of any regular payments which the mortgagor was required to make under the terms of the mortgage or any associated loan agreement;

(c) whether the proceedings have been adjourned on any previous occasion at the request of the mortgagor, and, if so, the number of any such adjournments and the period of such adjournments and the reasons for such adjournments;

(d) the conduct of the parties to the mortgage in any attempt to find a resolution to the issue of dealing with arrears of payments due on foot of the mortgage; and

(e) whether, having regard to the circumstances of the case, the application for an adjournment appears to the court to be primarily for the purpose of delaying the progress of the proceedings.

(4) On the expiry of any period of adjournment granted under subsection (2), the court may grant a further adjournment of the proceedings concerned where it considers that significant progress has been made in the preparation of a proposal for a Personal Insolvency Arrangement.

(5) Where the court adjourns proceedings under this section, the court may, where it considers it appropriate to do so, direct that the proceedings stand adjourned to another venue within the same circuit of the Circuit Court.

(6) This section applies as respects mortgages created before or after the coming into operation of Part 10 of the Land and Conveyancing Law Reform Act 2009 .

(7) In this section and section 3 —

“Act of 2012” means the Personal Insolvency Act 2012 ;

“conveyance”7 has the same meaning as it has in the Family Home Protection Act 1976 ;

“mortgage” means a deed of mortgage and includes a charge;

“mortgagee” includes a person deriving title from a mortgagee and a receiver appointed by the mortgagee;

“Personal Insolvency Arrangement” has the same meaning as it has in the Act of 2012;

“personal insolvency practitioner” has the same meaning as it has in the Act of 2012;

“relevant person” means a person—

(a) who is a party to the proceedings referred to in subsection (2), and

(b) who is a person who may, under the provisions of the Act of 2012, make a proposal for a Personal Insolvency Arrangement.

Proceedings relating to certain mortgages to be brought in Circuit Court

3. (1) This section applies to land which is the principal private residence of—

(a) the mortgagor of the land concerned, or

(b) a person without whose consent a conveyance of that land would be void by reason of—

(i) the Family Home Protection Act 1976 , or

(ii) the Civil Partnership and Certain Rights and Obligations of Cohabitants Act 2010 ,

and the mortgage concerned was created prior to 1 December 2009.

(2) Subject to subsection (4), proceedings brought by a mortgagee seeking an order for possession of land to which the mortgage relates and which land is land to which this section applies shall be brought in the Circuit Court.

(3) The jurisdiction of the Circuit Court to hear and determine proceedings referred to in subsection (2) where the land concerned is land to which this section applies shall be exercised by the judge of the circuit where the land or any part of it is situated.

(4) Subsection (2) does not preclude a person initiating proceedings in the High Court where other proceedings relating to the enforcement of the mortgagee’s rights under the mortgage concerned have been commenced in that court prior to the coming into operation of this section where those other proceedings have not been determined.

Provision in respect of certain proceedings

4. (1) Where after the coming into operation of this section a mortgagee commences proceedings seeking possession of land in which they rely upon the statutory provisions or the amended provisions, the proceedings shall be deemed to be commenced within time for the purposes of section 9 of the Civil Liability Act 1961 where the conditions specified in subsection (2) are met.

(2) The conditions referred to in subsection (1) are that—

(a) prior to the coming into operation of this section the mortgagee had commenced proceedings seeking possession of land relying on the statutory provisions or the amended provisions,

(b) the proceedings concerned were commenced within the time limit applicable for the purposes of section 9 (2) of the Civil Liability Act 1961 ,

(c) the proceedings concerned were not determined before the coming into operation of this section,

(d) the mortgage concerned was created prior to 1 December 2009,

(e) the land the subject of the proceedings referred to in subsection (1) is the same land or a part of the same land as the land the subject of the proceedings referred to in paragraph (a).

(3) Subsection (1) shall only apply to proceedings issued within 6 months from the coming into operation of this section.

(4) In this section—

“Act of 2009” means the Land and Conveyancing Law Reform Act 2009 ;

“amended provisions” means section 62(2) and (6) of the Act of 1964 as those provisions stood immediately prior to the coming into operation of section 8(1) and Schedule 1 of the Act of 2009;

“mortgage” has the same meaning as it has in the Conveyancing Act 1881 ;

“mortgagee” includes a person deriving title from a mortgagee and a receiver appointed by a mortgagee;

“statutory provisions” means sections 2 and 18 to 24 of the Conveyancing Act 1881 , sections 3 , 4 and 5 of the Conveyancing Act 1911 and section 62(3), (7) and (8) of the Act of 1964.

Short title and commencement

5. (1) This Act may be cited as the Land and Conveyancing Law Reform Act 2013.

(2) Sections 2 and 3 come into operation on such day or days as the Minister for Justice and Equality may by order or orders appoint and different days may be so appointed for different purposes or provisions.