Minister for Justice Michael McDowell is to amend the Landlord and Tenant Act 1980 to allow tenants to sign away their rights to a new tenancy provided that the tenant has received independent legal advice on the issue.
In the past, tenants who had long leases automatically gained the right to renew their lease and in some cases to acquire an option on ownership of the property.
Ibec, which met the Minister on the issue yesterday morning, has welcomed the decision, pointing out that the entitlement frequently prevented landlords from granting long leases and gave rise to uncertainty in the business community.
The facility for prospective tenants to sign away their rights was already in place in relation to office property, but yesterday's announcement will extend it further. "The proposal to extend it to all classes of business tenancy, including existing tenancies, is a deliberate policy change to meet the dynamic market economy that exists in the State," Mr McDowell said.
"It is intended to allow greater flexibility than at present in the arrangements which business landlords and tenants choose to make between each other. At the same time, it maintains a good balance between sometimes competing interests by ensuring that tenants cannot sign away the protections at present afforded by the law without first having obtained independent legal advice on the matter."
The amendment to landlord and tenant law will be included in the Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill, due for publication during the current Dáil session.
The Minister also announced his intention to amend the Registration of Deeds and Title Bill 2004 - which is currently before the Dáil - in order to protect property in cases where the acquisition of the fee simple by a tenant was neither intended nor foreseen under the Landlord and Tenant (Ground Rents) Acts 1967 to 1987.
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