Sect. 4.

Schedule 1, part 3.

Sect. 2, sub-s. 1.

Sect. 5.

vious to the commencement of the Act, the tenant will be entitled to compensation on the same terms as in the case of an improvement of the first part; that is, the landlord must consent in writing within one year from the commencement of the Act, and the tenant must not be entitled to compensation under any contract, custom, or the Act of 1875.

A tenant intending to drain after the commencement of the Act must give notice to the landlord, not more than three or less than two months before beginning the improvement, of his intention, and of the manner in which he proposes to execute the improvement. The landlord may agree with him as to the compensation payable, or may undertake to execute the improvement himself, and after executing the same in any "reasonable and proper manner which he thinks fit," may charge the tenant 5 per cent. on his outlay or an annual sum which will repay the outlay in twentyfive years with interest at the rate of 3 per cent. The landlord and tenant may further dispense with notice and come to an agreement in a lease or otherwise with regard to drainage. If the tenant executes the improvement himself, and does not make any agreement with his landlord, he becomes entitled to compensation under the Act.

Improvements mentioned in the third part of the 1st Schedule are improvements which directly tend to increase the fertility of the soil, and consist in the application of some external substance, such as manure, lime, &c., to the land. The tenant is entitled to compensation for them, whether executed before or after the commencement of the Act; but if the latter, they must have been executed within ten years, and he must not be entitled under any contract, custom, or the Act of 1875. The landlord may provide "fair and reasonable" compensation by a "particular agreement" in writing for improvements of this kind executed after the commencement of the Act, and thus exclude the operation of the Act.

The compensation due to the tenant may be dimin- Sect. 6. ished, (a), by any benefit allowed to him by the landlord in consideration of his executing the improvement, (b), by an allowance for the consumption off his holding of hay, straw., &c., removed within the last two years of his tenancy, and not compensated for by a return of manure, or, (c), by sums due to the landlord for rent or in respect of waste or for breaches of covenant, &c. It may be increased by any sum due to him from the landlord for breach of covenant or agreement by the latter. No claim can be made by a tenant for compensation for Sect. 59. any improvements, other than manures, begun within a year of the expiration of his tenancy, unless he holds. under a yearly tenancy and less than one year's notice to quit be required, in which case the improvement must not be begun after the final notice to quit.

A tenant desiring to claim compensation under the Sect. 7. Act must give two months' notice in writing with particulars to the landlord before the determination of the tenancy, and the landlord, on receiving such notice, may give a counter-notice of his intention to make a claim in respect of any waste or any breach of covenant or other agreement. An agreement may then be concluded between the parties as to the compensation payable, or failing an agreement the matter will be decided by a reference. In the case of a reference the Sects. 9, amount of compensation will be assessed by a single 10, 11. referee, or two referees, or an umpire appointed according to Sections 9, 10, and 11 of the Act. The award Sects. 16, must be ready for delivery within twenty-eight days 18. after the appointment of the single or last appointed referee, or the reference to the umpire, unless the time be extended as provided in the Act. It must be in Sects. 15, writing, must give particulars, and may award costs. If compensation is claimed under the Act, the referees or umpire may ascertain the amount of compensation allowed by Sections 3, 4, and 5 of the Act to be “substituted" by agreement for compensation under the Act, but it would seem necessary that the claim should first be made under the Act to give this power.

19.

Sect. 17.

Sect. 23.

An appeal is given to the County Court in all cases where the claim is made for over 100l., and the award may be questioned on the ground of law or fact. No further appeal is allowed except by special case from the decision of the County Court Judge. Compensation awarded will be recoverable by the ordinary processes of the County Court upon order made by the Judge. Sects. 25, The Act contains provisions to meet the cases of married women, infants, and persons of unsound mind.

Sect. 24.

26.

Sect. 56.

Sect. 29.

Sects. 3, 4, 5.

If compensation is paid by an incoming to an outgoing tenant he has the same right as against the landlord on quitting his holding as the outgoing tenant would have had, if he had remained on. A charge upon the holding may be obtained by the landlord for any compensation paid by him, and if the landlord is a trustee he will not be liable personally for compensation, but it is charged upon the holding.

It will be noticed that for "compensation under the Act" in respect of any improvements mentioned in the first and second parts of the 1st Schedule and executed after the commencement of the Act, compensation may be substituted by agreement between the landlord and tenant, and, in the case of improvements in the third part of that schedule, by a particular agreement for "fair and reasonable" compensation.

A difficulty in the Act arises with regard to these agreements. There is ample provision for ascertaining compensation under the Act, but no direct means are provided for setting up a "substituted" agreement in answer to a claim for compensation, unless compensation under the agreement is ascertainable on a reference, in which case it would seem that the referees might consider it under Section 17.

In other cases the agreement might be brought forward on an application being made for an order of the County Court under Section 24, or in the case of claims exceeding 1007. it might be urged on appeal as rendering the award invalid under Section 23. The tribunal which ascertained the existence or non-existence of an

agreement would also, it is presumed, consider its "fairness and reasonableness" if necessary. It would seem however, that a landlord, who is desirous of avoiding the trouble and expense of a reference, will be obliged, if the tenant refuses to acknowledge the agreement, to obtain an injunction to prevent the prosecution of the reference. Otherwise there is nothing to prevent any tenant, notwithstanding the agreement, putting in motion all the machinery of the Act for ascertaining compensation.

Save as above-mentioned any agreement, whereby a Sect. 55. tenant is deprived of his right to claim compensation under the Act, is to be void. The landlord and tenant may, however, contract themselves out of the other portions of the Act.

2. Notice to Quit.

The law hitherto has been that a half-year's notice Sect. 33. to quit is sufficient to determine a yearly tenancy. Now, where a half year's notice was "by law" necessary and sufficient, in all cases, whether the tenancy be under contract made before or after the commencement of the Act a year's notice will be necessary and sufficient.

The landlord and tenant may exclude this section by agreement. It will not, it is presumed, affect notices to quit given under the old law before the commencement of the Act, to expire after the Act. Otherwise no half-year's notice to quit given before January 1st, 1884, for a date after that day will be good.

Another question under the same section is whether it will be excluded by an agreement making a halfyear's notice sufficient, concluded before the commencement of the Act. It will be safer to assume, that an agreement to exclude this section should expressly refer to it, and state that it is not to apply.

In the case of Wilkinson v. Calvert (3 C. P. D. 360), it was decided under a similar but not identical section in the Act of 1875, that an agreement before the

Sect. 41.

Sect. 34.

Act for a six months' notice was a good one, but the application of the case to the present Act is doubtful (see notes to sect. 33).

A landlord may under this Act give a good notice to the tenant to quit part of his holding in order to resume the land for certain improvements, such as the erection of labourers' cottages, the planting of trees, &c., specified in Section 41; but the tenant may treat such a partial notice as a notice to quit his entire holding.

3. Fixtures.

Fixtures formerly became the property of the landlord on the determination of the tenancy. An exception was however introduced in the case of what are called "tenant's fixtures" and "trade fixtures." The latter, however, it was decided by the well-known case of Elwes v. Mawe (2 Sm. L. C. 169), do not include fixtures put up for the purpose of agriculture. By 14 & 15 Vict. c. 25, s. 3, an agricultural tenant was enabled to remove fixtures put up by him with the consent of his landlord for agricultural purposes. Now all fixtures erected after the commencement of this Act are the property of and removable by the tenant before or within a reasonable time after the determination of his tenancy. The landlord has however a right to one month's notice of removal, and may elect to purchase the fixtures.

It is to be observed that an absolute property in the fixtures (subject to the landlord's option of purchase) is thus vested in the tenant. The value of the fixtures may, if necessary, be ascertained in the same way as compensation under the Act.

Six years' arrears of rent could at the time of the passing of this Act (August 25th, 1883), be levied by distress. The old law will still apply to all arrears