The Landlord and Tenant Law Amendment Act, Ireland, 1860 (23 & 24 Vict c 154) or the Landlord and Tenant Law Amendment (Ireland) Act 1860, better known as Deasy's Act, was an

Act of Parliament Acts of Parliament, sometimes referred to as primary legislation, are texts of law passed by the Legislature, legislative body of a jurisdiction (often a parliament or council). In most countries with a parliamentary system of government, acts of ...

preceding the agrarian unrest in

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

in the 1880s, the "

Land War The Land War ( ga, Cogadh na Talún) was a period of agrarian agitation in rural Ireland (then wholly part of the United Kingdom) that began in 1879. It may refer specifically to the first and most intense period of agitation between 1879 and 18 ...

". The Act was named after its promoter

Rickard Deasy Rickard Deasy PC (1812 – 6 May 1883) was an Irish lawyer and judge. He was born at Phale Court, Enniskean, County Cork, the second son of Rickard Deasy, a wealthy brewer, and his wife Mary Anne Caller. He was educated at the Trinity Colleg ...

, the

Attorney-General for Ireland The Attorney-General for Ireland was an Irish and then (from the Act of Union 1800) United Kingdom government office-holder. He was senior in rank to the Solicitor-General for Ireland: both advised the Crown on Irish legal matters. With the ...

in the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

government of

Lord Palmerston Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston, (20 October 1784 – 18 October 1865) was a British statesman who was twice Prime Minister of the United Kingdom in the mid-19th century. Palmerston dominated British foreign policy during the period ...

. Deasy's Act amended the

Landlord and Tenant (Ireland) Act 1826 The Assignment and Sub-letting of Land (Ireland) Act 1826, also known as the Landlord and Tenant (Ireland) Act 1826,''Land law in Ireland''; Andrew Lyall; was an Act of Parliament enacted during that year of the reign of George IV. It was subs ...

. The 1860 Act was itself amended by the

Irish Land Acts The Land Acts (officially Land Law (Ireland) Acts) were a series of measures to deal with the question of tenancy contracts and peasant proprietorship of land in Ireland in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Five such acts were introduced by ...

. The Act made

contract law A contract is a legally enforceable agreement between two or more parties that creates, defines, and governs mutual rights and obligations between them. A contract typically involves the transfer of goods, services, money, or a promise to tran ...

the basis for tenancies and abolished any

feudal Feudalism, also known as the feudal system, was the combination of the legal, economic, military, cultural and political customs that flourished in Middle Ages, medieval Europe between the 9th and 15th centuries. Broadly defined, it was a wa ...

rents paid by services to a landlord, or by payments in kind.

Section 4

Section 4 remains the most important part of Deasy's act still in force. It provides that all leases of over twelve months must be evidenced in writing in order to be enforced.

Continuing effect

The

Law Reform Commission A law commission, law reform commission, or law revision commission is an independent body set up by a government to conduct law reform; that is, to consider the state of laws in a jurisdiction and make recommendations or proposals for legal chang ...

in 2003 stated the act "continues as the foundation of the law of landlord and tenant in Ireland". In 2011 the Minister for Justice published a draft scheme of a bill to modernise landlord and tenant law, however the bill was never introduced to the

Oireachtas The Oireachtas (, ), sometimes referred to as Oireachtas Éireann, is the Bicameralism, bicameral parliament of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The Oireachtas consists of: *The President of Ireland *The bicameralism, two houses of the Oireachtas ...

References

External links

*
Landlord and Tenant Law Amendment Act, Ireland 1860

Irish Statute Book The Irish Statute Book, also known as the electronic Irish Statute Book (eISB), is a database produced by the Office of the Attorney General of Ireland. It contains copies of Acts of the Oireachtas and statutory instruments.

; text of Act as in force c.1910 {{UK legislation United Kingdom Acts of Parliament 1860 1860 in law

Acts of Parliament Acts of Parliament, sometimes referred to as primary legislation, are texts of law passed by the legislative body of a jurisdiction (often a parliament or council). In most countries with a parliamentary system of government, acts of parliament ...

Landlord–tenant law Acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom concerning Ireland