Jersey Law 4/1946
DWELLING-HOUSES
(RENT CONTROL) (JERSEY) LAW, 1946.
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A LAW to make provision with regard to
the rent of dwelling-houses, sanctioned by Order of His Majesty in Council of
the
24th day of
SEPTEMBER, 1946.
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(Registered on the
19th day of October, 1946).
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STATES OF JERSEY.
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The 25th day of April, 1946.
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THE STATES,
subject to the sanction of His Most Excellent Majesty in Council, have adopted
the following Law: -
ARTICLE 1
INTERPRETATION
(1) In this Law, unless the
context otherwise requires, the following expressions have the meanings hereby
respectively assigned to them, that is to say –
[“the
Committee” means the Housing Committee;]
“contract
to which this Law applies”, “lessor” and “lessee”
have the meanings respectively assigned to them by Article 2 of this Law;
“prescribed”
means prescribed by regulations made under Article 7 of this Law;
“the
register” means the register kept in pursuance of Article 5 of this Law;
“services”
includes attendance, the provision of heating or lighting, the supply of hot
water and any other privilege or facility connected with the occupancy of a
house or part of a house;
“the
tribunal” means the tribunal appointed in pursuance of Article 3 of this
Law.
(2) Where separate sums are
payable by the lessee of any premises to the lessor for any two or more of the
following namely –
(a) occupation of the premises;
(b) use of furniture; and
(c) services;
the expression
“rent” shall, in relation to those premises, mean the aggregate of
those sums and, where such sums are payable under separate contracts, those
contracts shall be deemed to be one contract.
ARTICLE 2
APPLICATION
This Law shall
apply to any contract, whether parol or in writing, and in the case of a
contract in writing whether or not passed before the Royal Court, whereby one
person (in this Law referred to as the “lessor”) grants to another
person (in this Law referred to as the “lessee”) the right to
occupy as a residence a house or part of a house in consideration of a rent
whether or not such rent includes payment for the use of furniture or for
services and, in the case of a contract with regard to part of a house, whether
or not the lessee is entitled, in addition to exclusive occupation thereof, to
the use in common with any other person of other rooms or accommodation in the
house:
Provided that
nothing in this Law shall apply to a house or part of a house –
(a) let in conjunction with land
exceeding two vergées in area; or
(b) forming part of premises used for
commercial or industrial purposes and let in conjunction therewith; or
(c) let at a rent which includes
payment in respect of board unless the value of the board to the lessee does
not form a substantial proportion of the whole rent; or
[(d) in respect of which the States or
any administration of the States is either the lessor or the lessee.]
ARTICLE 3
RENT CONTROL TRIBUNAL
(1) For the purposes of
this Law, the States shall appoint a tribunal, to be called the Rent Control
Tribunal, consisting of a chairman and two other members.
[(2) The States shall appoint one
or more persons to act in the place of any member of the tribunal who is unable
to act by reason of absence or incapacity, and the remaining members or member
of the tribunal shall, as the occasion arises, designate which of those persons
shall act in the place of the member or members unable to act.]
(3) The members and acting
members of the tribunal shall receive such travelling expenses and other
allowances as the Committee may determine.
(4) The Committee may
appoint a clerk and such other officers and servants as it thinks fit of the
tribunal, and there shall be paid to them such salaries and allowances as the
Committee thinks fit.
(5) The allowances of
members and acting members of the tribunal, the salaries and allowances of the
clerks and other officers and servants appointed as aforesaid, and such other
expenses of the tribunal as the Committee may determine, shall be defrayed out
of the General Revenues of the States.
[ARTICLE 4
REFERENCE TO TRIBUNAL OF CONTRACTS FOR LETTING
(1) Where a contract to
which this Law applies has, whether before or after the coming into force of
this Law, been entered into, shall be lawful for the lessor or the lessee or
the Committee to refer the contract to the tribunal, and, where any such
contract is so referred to it, the tribunal may, by a notice in writing served
on the lessor, require him to give to the tribunal, within such period (which
shall not be less than seven days from the date of the service of the notice)
as may be specified in the notice, such as information as the tribunal may
reasonably require regarding such of the prescribed particulars relating to the
contract as are specified in the notice.
(2) Where any contract to
which this Law applies is referred to the tribunal, the tribunal shall consider
it, and, after making such enquiry as the tribunal thinks fit and giving to
each party an opportunity of being heard, or, in his option, of submitting
representations in writing, shall approve the rent payable under the contract
or reduce or increase it to such a sum as the tribunal may, in all the
circumstances think reasonable, and shall notify the parties and the Committee
of its decision in each case:
Provided that
where the contract has been referred to the tribunal by the Committee, the
Committee may withdraw the reference at any time before the contract is
considered by the tribunal.
(3) Where the rent payable
for any premises has been entered in the register in accordance with the
provisions hereinafter contained, it shall be lawful for the lessor or the
lessee or the Committee to refer the case to the tribunal for reconsideration
of the rent so entered on the ground of change of circumstances, and the
provisions of paragraph (2) of this Article shall apply on any such reference
as they apply on a reference under paragraph (1) of this Article.]
ARTICLE 5
REGISTER OF RENTS
(1) The Committee shall
prepare and keep up to date a register for the purposes of this Law and shall
make the register available for inspection in such place and in such manner as
the Committee may determine.
(2) The register shall be
so prepared and kept up to date as to contain with regard to any contract
referred to the tribunal in pursuance of Article 4 of this Law entries of
–
(a) the prescribed particulars with
regard to the contract;
(b) a specification of the premises to
which the contract relates; and
(c) the rent as approved, reduced or
increased by the tribunal.
(3) It shall be the duty of
the tribunal, when notifying the Committee under paragraph (2) of Article 4 of
this Law of its decision in a case, to furnish such particulars as are
requisite for enabling the Committee to discharge its functions under the
foregoing provisions of this Article.
ARTICLE 6
RENTS IN EXCESS OF REGISTERED RENTS AND PREMIUMS ILLEGAL
(1) Where the rent payable
for any premises is entered in the register under the provisions of this Law,
it shall not be lawful to require or receive –
(a) on account of rent for those
premises in respect of any period subsequent to the date of such entry, payment
of any sum in excess of the rent so entered; or
(b) as a condition of the grant,
renewal or continuance of a contract to which this Law applies relating to the
premises, payment of any fine, premium or other like sum, or any consideration,
in addition to the rent.
(2) Where any payment or
consideration has been made or received in contravention of paragraph (1) of
this Article, the amount or value thereof shall be recoverable by the person by
whom it was made or given.
ARTICLE 7
REGULATIONS
(1) The States may make
regulations –
(a) with regard to the tenure of office
of the chairman and other members of the tribunal;
(b) with regard to proceedings before
the tribunal under this Law;
(c) for prescribing anything which is
required by this Law to be prescribed; and
(d) generally for carrying the
provisions of this Law into effect.
(2) Regulations made by the
States under this Article may be amended by subsequent regulations and shall
remain in force until repealed.
ARTICLE 8
OFFENCES
(1) A person who requires
or receives any payment or any consideration in contravention of Article 6 of
this Law shall be guilty of an offence and be liable to a fine not exceeding
one hundred pounds sterling, or to imprisonment, with or without hard labour,
for a term not exceeding six months, or to both such fine and such
imprisonment, and, without prejudice to any other method of recovery, the Court
by which he is found guilty may order the amount paid or the value of the
consideration given to be repaid to the person by whom the payment was made or
the consideration given.
(2) If the lessor under a
contract to which this Law applies fails without reasonable cause, within the
time limited in that behalf, to comply with the provisions of any notice served
under paragraph (1) of Article 4 of this Law, he shall be guilty of an offence
and be liable to a fine not exceeding twenty pounds sterling, or to
imprisonment, with or without hard labour, for a term not exceeding three
months, or to both such fine and such imprisonment.
ARTICLE 9
EVIDENCE
(1) A copy of an entry in
the register certified under the hand of an officer duly authorised in that
behalf by the Committee shall be receivable in evidence of that entry in all
courts and in any proceedings.
(2) Any person requiring
such a certified copy as aforesaid shall be entitled to obtain it on payment of
the prescribed fee.
ARTICLE 10
REVOCATION
The Adjustment of
Rent (Jersey) Law, 1940, is hereby revoked:
Provided that the
revocation of the said Law shall not affect the previous operation thereof, or
any right acquired or liability incurred thereunder, or any agreement or order
in force thereunder until the end of the period current at the time of the
coming into force of this Law in respect of which rent under the said agreement
or order has been paid or is payable.
ARTICLE 11
SHORT TITLE
This Law may be
cited as the Dwelling-Houses (Rent Control) (Jersey) Law, 1946.