any works or buildings to be used in con- The obtaining of brick earth, gravel, or sand; The making of a watercourse or reservoir; The making of any road, railway, tramroad, siding, canal, or basin, or any wharf, pier, or other work connected therewith; and the notice to quit so states, then it shall, by virtue of this Act, be no objection to the notice that it relates to part only of the holding.1 In every such case the provisions of this Act respecting compensation shall apply as on determination 2 of a tenancy in respect of an entire holding. The tenant shall also be entitled to a proportionate reduction of rent in respect of the land comprised in the notice to quit, and in respect of any depreciation of the value to him of the residue of the holding, caused by the withdrawal of that land from the holding or by the use to be made thereof, and the amount of that reduction shall be ascertained by agreement or settled by a reference under this Act, as in case of compensation (but without appeal). The tenant shall further be entitled, at any time within twenty-eight days after service of the notice to quit, to serve on the landlord a notice in writing to the effect that he (the tenant) accepts the same as a notice to quit the entire holding, to take effect at the expiration of the then current year of tenancy; and the notice to quit shall have effect accordingly. (1) Previously to the passing of this Act, a notice to quit extending to part only of the demised premises was bad: Doe d. Rodd v. Archer (r). See Woodfall's Landlord and Tenant, (12th edition), p. 319. (2) It is to be noticed, that under sect. 1 compensation is payable not on the "determination of a tenancy," but on the tenant quitting his holding" at the determination of his tenancy. 66 See Forms 13, 14. (r) 14 East, 244. E § 41. §§ 42, 43. Provision as to limited owners. Application of life. 42. Subject to the provisions of this Act in relation to Crown, duchy, ecclesiastical, and charity lands, a landlord, whatever may be his estate or interest in his holding, may give any consent, make any agreement, or do or have done to him any act in relation to improvements in respect of which compensation is payable under this Act which he might give or make or do or have done to him if he were in the case of an estate of inheritance1 owner thereof in fee, and in case of a leasehold possessed of the whole estate in the leasehold. (1) The two alternative cases of "an estate of inheritance," and of "a leasehold," do not strictly speaking include the case section to a of a tenant for life of freehold land, whose estate is not one of tenancy for inheritance. It is presumed, however, that the words "a landlord whatever may be his estate or interest in his holding," would be held to show sufficiently the intention of the Legislature to give a tenant for life the powers conferred by this section. Provision reservation of rent. 43. When, by any Act of Parliament, deed, or other in case of instrument, a lease of a holding is authorised to be made, provided that the best rent, or reservation in the nature of rent, is by such lease reserved, then whenever any lease of a holding is, under such authority, made to the tenant of the same, it shall not be necessary, in estimating such rent or reservation, to take into account against the tenant the increase (if any) in the value of such holding arising from any improvements made or paid for by him on such holding.1 Application of the section. (1) This section can only apply to cases where a lease is renewed to a tenant who has made or paid for improvements under this Act, and when the landlord instead of paying compensation has agreed to allow the tenant to hold on at a rent, which does not include the value of the improvements. landlord is thus empowered to compensate the tenant for his improvement by a rent below the full value of the land. See sect. 6, sub-sect. (1). The PART II. Distress1 8 44. and time. 44. After the commencement of this Act it shall not Limitation be lawful for any landlord 2 entitled to the rent of any hold- of distress ing to which this Act applies to distrain for rent, which of amount became due in respect of such holding, more than one year before the making of such distress, except in the case of arrears of rent in respect of a holding to which this Act applies existing at the time of the passing of this Act, which arrears shall be recoverable by distress up to the first day of January, one thousand eight hundred and eighty-five to the same extent as if this Act had not passed. Provided that where it appears that according to the ordinary course of dealing between the landlord and tenant of a holding the payment of the rent of such holding has been allowed to be deferred until the expiration of a quarter of a year or half a year after the date at which such rent legally became due, then for the purpose of this section the rent of such holding shall be deemed to have become due at the expiration of such quarter or half year as aforesaid, as the case may be, and not at the date at which it legally became due. in (1) Under 3 & 4 Will. IV. c. 27, s. 42, the landlord may The law distrain for six years' arrears of rent, and no more. This section relating to shortens the period for making a distress for rent to one year distress. the case of tenancies within the operation of the Act, that is all agricultural tenancies, whether current at or commenced after the 1st of January, 1884. Arrears existing on the 25th day of August, 1883, the date of the passing of the Act, come under the old law of distress until the 1st of January, 1885. A landlord cannot distrain till the day after the rent becomes due; see Woodfall's Landlord and Tenant (12th edition), p. 420. No distress can be made between sunset and sunrise: Tutton v. Darke (a). See Dixon, p. 265. Where an agreement for a lease provided, that the lease should contain stipulations making the rent payable in advance on (a) 5 H. & N. 647. §§ 44, 45. demand, and the tenant entered and held under the agreement, it was held that the lessee was subject to the same right of distress as if a lease had been granted, and that if under the terms of the lease a year's rent would have been payable in advance on demand, a distress for that was lawful: Walsh v. Lonsdale (b). Who may distrain. "Ordinary course of dealing." Limitation (2) The person legally entitled to the immediate reversion on a lease, is the person entitled to distrain by virtue of the common law. A mortgagee, who has given notice of the mortgage to a tenant holding land under a lease or tenancy created prior to the mortgage, may distrain for rent in arrear at the time of the notice, or becoming in arrear subsequently: Moss v. Gallimore (c). A mortgagee may also of course distrain for rent due under a lease or agreement made by himself after the mortgage, though he may not do so in the case of a lease or agreement made by the mortgagor, unless he have accepted rent from the tenant, or given him notice to pay rent and the tenant has acquiesced : Rogers v. Humphreys (d). The word "landlord" according to the definition in sect. 61, would probably include the mortgagee in these cases. (3) In many parts of the country, it is not usual to demand the rent till a quarter or half year after it becomes due. If it is the practice of the landlord to hold his rent-day at Christmas for the Michaelmas rents, that would no doubt be held to be sufficient evidence of the "ordinary course of dealing." 45. Where live stock 1 belonging to another person of distress has been taken in by the tenant of a holding to which this Act applies to be fed at a fair price 2 agreed to be paid in respect of things to be distrained. for such feeding by the owner of such stock to the tenant, such stock shall not be distrained oy the landlord for rent where there is other sufficient distress to be found, and if so distrained by reason of other sufficient distress not being found, there shall not be recovered by such distress a sum exceeding the amount of the price so agreed to be paid for the feeding, or if any part of such price has been paid exceeding the amount remaining unpaid, and it shall be lawful for the owner of such stock, at any time before it is sold, to redeem such stock by paying to the distrainer a sum equal to such price as aforesaid, and any payment so made to the distrainer shall be (b) 21 Ch. D. 9. (d) (c) 1 Dougl. 279; 1 Sm. L. C. 629. in full discharge as against the tenant of any sum of the like amount which would be otherwise due from the owner of the stock to the tenant in respect of the price of feeding: Provided always, that so long as any portion of such live stock shall remain on the said holding the right to distrain such portion shall continue to the full extent of the price originally agreed to be paid for the feeding of the whole of such live stock, or if part of such price has been bonâ fide paid to the tenant under the agreement, then to the full extent of the price then remaining unpaid.3 Agricultural or other machinery which is the bonâ fide property of a person other than the tenant, and is on the premises of the tenant nnder a bonâ fide agreement with him for the hire or use thereof in the conduct of his business, and live stock of all kinds which is the bonâ fide property of a person other than the tenant, and is on the premises of the tenant solely for breeding purposes, shall not be distrained for rent in arrear. (1) See interpretation clause, sect 61. (2) The words "at a fair price" will exclude cases where there is an absence of bona fides. (3) If the person who has agisted his stock at a certain price, withdraws a portion of such stock before the price payable by agreement for the agistment has actually been paid, the landlord may distrain upon the stock still remaining for the whole of the price thus unpaid, although some of such price is in respect of the stock withdrawn. 8 45. distress. (4) Previously to this Act the principal exceptions from dis- Exceptions tress in the case of agricultural tenancies were fixtures, things in from actual use, beasts of the plough, and tools of trade; the two latter being liable to distress, if there should not be other sufficient distress. To this list is now to be added, (a) machinery on the premises of the tenant under a bona fide agreement for hire in the conduct of his business; (b) live stock of all kinds which is the bonâ fide property of a person other than the tenant, and is on the tenant's premises solely for breeding purposes; (c), live stock agisted with the tenant at a fair price. In the latter case however if there is no other sufficient distress, the landlord may distrain for a sum not exceeding the amount agreed to be paid for the feeding, and then unpaid. The old law undoubtedly was that cattle upon land by way of |