IN TODAY’S ARTICLE, I discuss a query concerning the rights of owners of chattel houses which are located on rented land for “a long period of time”.
The rights of the owners of a house on rented land will usually be defined by the tenancy agreement with respect to the land. If there is no written agreement, then the rights of the tenant will be determined by the oral contract of tenancy, the common law where applicable, and any statutory provisions that apply to the particular kind of tenancy.
The Security of Tenure of Small Holdings Act, Chapter 237 of the Laws of Barbados, makes provisions for the tenancy of agricultural holdings and house spots as defined therein.
A house spot is defined in the act as “a parcel of land comprised in a contract of tenantry made (whether or not the contract so provides) in contemplation of the land being used solely as a site of a chattel building, and the curtilage and appurtenant thereto for the use of the tenant as a dwelling or as a place of business”.
In respect of both house spots and agricultural holdings, there are terms that are implied into contracts of tenancy. In relation to the house spots, the act provides:
“1. The tenant shall –
(a) pay the rent reserved on the rent days as agreed to by the parties;
(b) pay and defray as and when due and payable all existing and future rates, taxes, assessments and outgoings in respect of the house spot payable by the tenant under the terms of the contract of tenancy;
(c) permit the landlord, his servants and agents to enter upon the house spot to examine the state and condition thereof, and for all other reasonable purposes connected with the proper use of the house spot;
(d) not part with the possession of, mortgage or assign or sub-let or otherwise alienate the house spot or any part thereof except by will in favour of some member of his family, or except with the consent in writing of the landlord previously obtained, which consent the landlord shall not unreasonably withhold;
(e) yield up at the expiration of the tenancy, the entire house spot in such order and condition as shall be in compliance with the tenant’s obligations under the contract of tenancy.
“2. The landlord shall permit the tenant, on his paying the rent reserved and performing and observing the terms and conditions expressed or implied in the contract of tenancy, peaceably and quietly to hold and enjoy the house spot during the term of the tenancy without any interruption by the landlord or any person lawfully claiming from, under, or in trust for, the landlord.”
Additionally it should be noted that six months’ notice is usually required to terminate a tenancy of a house spot.
In respect of chattel houses on rented land for a long period of time, this fact in itself will give you no special rights except where your tenancy falls within the definition of a tenancy as defined by the Tenantries Freehold Purchase Act. In that act a tenantry is defined as:
“(a) a plantation tenantry; and (b) an area of land that is subdivided before or after November 1, 1980, into more than five lots for letting as sites for chattel buildings to be used as dwelling houses, whether the land is vested in the Crown, in a statutory board or in any person, but does not include land adjoining the foreshore.”
Where your house is a chattel house, you can be given notice to quit. This notice must usually be six months except where your rent is in arrears for a period of three months, in which case you can be given a three months’ notice by the landlord.
However, if you occupy a lot within a tenantry as defined above, it is a condition of the tenancy that you, as of right and at your option, may purchase the freehold of the lot of which you are a tenant, provided you are a qualified tenant as defined in the Tenantries Freehold Purchase Act.
• Cecil McCarthy is a Queen’s Counsel. Send your letters to Everyday Law, Nation House, Fontabelle, St Michael. Send your email to [email protected]
