36.
| (1) Notwithstanding anything in any other law, the succeeding provisions of this section shall have effect in the event of the death of the tenant of any premises. For the purposes of this sub-section, a person shall be deemed to be the tenant of any premises notwithstanding that his tenancy of such premises has been terminated by the expiry of the notice of the termination of the tenancy given by the landlord thereof, if at the time of his death he was in occupation of such premises. |
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| (2) Any person who-
| | (a) in the case of residential premises the annual value of which does not exceed the relevant amount and which has been let prior to the date of commencement of this Act-
| | | (i) is the surviving spouse or child, parent, brother or sister of the deceased tenant of the premises or was a dependant of the deceased tenant immediately prior to his death; and |
| (ii) was a member of the household of the deceased tenant (whether in those premises or in any other premises) during the whole of the period of three months preceding his death; or |
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| | (b) in the case of residential premises other than those referred to in paragraph (a)-
| | | (i) is the surviving spouse or the child (where the child is not less than eighteen years of age) of the deceased tenant; and |
| (ii) was a member of the household of the deceased tenant (whether in those premises or in any other premises) during the whole of the period of three months preceding his death; or |
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| | (c) in the case of business premises-
| | | (i) is the surviving spouse or the child of the deceased tenant, where such spouse or child carries on in such premises the business carried on by the deceased tenant; or |
| (ii) is a partner in the business, or heir to the business, carried on by the deceased tenant; or |
| (iii) is the executor or administrator of the estate of the deceased tenant, |
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| (3) The landlord of any premises referred to in sub-section (1) shall make application to the board for an order declaring which, if any, of the persons who may be deemed to be the tenants under sub-section (2) shall be the person who shall for the purposes of this Act be deemed to be the tenant of the premises. |
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| (4) Where an application is made under sub-section (3), the board shall, after notice to all persons who may be deemed to be the tenants under sub-section (2) and after due inquiry, make order declaring which, if any, of such persons shall be the person who shall for the purposes of this Act be deemed to be the tenant of the premises. |
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| (5) Any person declared under sub-section (4) as the person who shall for the purposes of this Act be deemed to be the tenant of the premises shall be so deemed with effect from the first day of the month succeeding that in which the death of the deceased tenant occurred, and the provisions of this Act shall apply accordingly. |
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| (6) Notwithstanding anything in any other provisions of this Act, the landlord of any premises referred to in sub-section (1) shall not be entitled to institute any action or proceedings for the ejectment from such premises of any person referred to in subsection (2) on the ground that the rent of such premises has been in arrear for any period ending on the date on which the board made order under subsection (4). |
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| (7) In this section, " spouse " when used with reference to any person, means the husband or wife. as the case may be, of that person, and includes in the case of marriage by habit and repute or according to custom, any contracting party to that marriage, and " child " includes a child of parents who have contracted a marriage by habit and repute or according to custom. |
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Sri Lanka Consolidated Acts