Page:Mrs Beeton's Book of Household Management.djvu/2176

1966 £20 a year, for any term not exceeding seven years, the landlord may give the tenant a statutory notice that unless within seven days of such notice the premises are given up to him, he will apply to two justices of the peace (or to the stipendiary magistrate, in a town), and on such application the justices (or magistrate) may, if the claim be proved, issue to the constables of the district a warrant commanding them, within a period to be named (but not less than twenty-one, nor more than thirty, days from the date of the warrant), to enter, by force if necessary, and give possession to the landlord.

Upon forfeiture of the lease.—Where there has been a forfeiture of the lease for non-payment of rent, a special means of recovering the premises is available to the landlord under the particular circumstances stated below. Otherwise, where there has been a forfeiture for breach of covenant, the premises are recoverable in the same way as in cases where the tenancy has been terminated by a notice to quit (as to which, see above), except that there appears to be some doubt whether the remedy in the County Court is not limited to an action of ejectment, that is to say, whether the more summary method of bringing an action for recovery of possession can be resorted to.

Upon forfeiture of lease for non-payment of rent, in certain cases.—Where the rent of any premises, of which the value or rent does not exceed £100 a year, is half a year in arrear, and the landlord has a right by law to re-enter for non-payment of the rent, he may, without any formal demand for the rent, enter a plaint in the County Court for the recovery of the premises; and upon proof that the rent remains unpaid and that there is no sufficient distress, an order may be made that possession be given up at a certain date (but not less than four weeks from the time the case is heard), unless within that period the rent and all costs incurred be paid.

Fixtures.

What are fixtures.—That which is attached to the soil so as to become part of the freehold, or is affixed to an original building so as to be incorporated in it, is deemed to be "a fixture." Whether a building, etc., has been so attached to the soil is a question of fact. That it rests on the ground is not, in itself, sufficient; for instance, if a conservatory be erected upon dwarf walls, with a wooden course or coping upon which the conservatory stands, the conservatory down to and including the wooden course is not a fixture. Whether an article has been so affixed to a building as to become incorporated with it is a question of fact. That it has not been so incorporated may be shown either from the mode in which, or the object for which, it was affixed.

Tenants' right to remove limited to certain cases.—That which is, in fact, a fixture cannot, in the absence of agreement or custom to the contrary, be removed by the tenant at the end of his term, if put up either by the landlord or by a previous tenant, or by the tenant himself during a previous tenancy; nor can the tenant remove it even if put up by him during his tenancy, unless it be within one or other of the exceptions given below. Thus he is not entitled to remove any tree or plant growing in the soil, though planted by himself; but he may, of course, take any fruit, vegetables or flowers that have sufficiently matured to be reasonably fit for use or decoration.

Fixtures removable by Tenant.—1. Fixtures for trade purposes: thus a gardener may remove all the plants which form his stock-in-trade, and his glass-houses. The exemption does not, however, extend to buildings of a permanent or substantial character, except in the case of a holding which is expressly let as a market garden, in respect to which particular privileges are given by statute.

2. Fixtures for agricultural purposes: the right of removal with regard to which, in the case of ordinary agricultural holdings, has been the subject of special statutes. There are also special statutory provisions enabling the tenant to remove fixtures in the case of: (a) holdings, which it is agreed in writing shall be let or treated as market gardens; (b) allotments let by a district or parish council; (c) small holdings let by a county council.