The Property Registration Authority administers a scheme under which owners of leasehold property can purchase their Ground Rent and enlarge their interest into a freehold. (A leasehold interest is for a fixed term of years and subject to a rent whereas freehold has the capacity to last forever.)
The Landlord and Tenant (Ground Rents)(No 2) Act 1978 which came into operation on 1st July 1978 provided a new method for the purchase of ground rents on dwellinghouses. Under the 1967 Act the purchase was a matter for the parties themselves to arrange, and any difficulty or dispute arising was referrable to the County Registrar, whose award was appealable to the Circuit Court. The purchaser was liable for the landlord's costs of the transaction.The approach adopted by the 1978 (No 2) Act is, that for a prescribed fee the Property Registration Authority undertake to do the legal work of completion of the purchase of the fee simple and the Property Registration Authority was entrusted with the administration of the new scheme instead of the County Registrar.
The Property Registration Authority (PRA) is empowered to vest the fee simple in tenants of dwellinghouses, provided an application is duly made in accordance with Part III of the Act. The fee simple is vested by way of a vesting certificate which operates as a conveyance of the fee simple and of any intermediate interests, free from encumbrances.Since the scheme was introduced in 1978 over 80,000 applicants have availed of the service and have acquired a freehold title to their property.
Ground Rents Practice Direction (December 2009)
Ground Rents Purchase Scheme Explanatory Leaftlet.
Guidelines for Applications for Duplicate Vesting Certificates and Amendments to Vesting Certificates
Yearly Tenancies - Guidelines for applications under the Landlord and Tenant (Ground Rents) (No.2) Act 1978
Affidavit for Lost Vesting Certificate
Claims for (a share of )Purchase Money
Ground Rents Fees Order
Ground Rents FAQ's
Ground Rents Forms listed below:
Ground Rents Form A - Application for Vesting by Consent
Ground Rents Form B - Application for Vesting on Arbitration
Ground Rents Form C - Consent
Ground Rents Form D - Notice of Intention
Ground Rents Form G - Certificate of Title
Ground Rents Form - Claim for (a share of) Purchase Money
Ground Rents Form 5 - Notice of intention to have rent apportioned (Section 12) (See Note A)