54.—(1) A tenant shall not be entitled to compensation for improvements in respect of an improvement made before the passing of the Act of 1931 in contravention of the lease or other contract of tenancy under which the tenement was held.

(2) A tenant shall not be entitled to compensation for improvements in respect of an improvement made after the passing of the Act of 1931 (whether before or after the commencement of this Act) unless a notice under section 12 (1) of the Act of 1931 or an improvement notice was served or, where no such notice was served, if the landlord, or where appropriate, a superior landlord, satisfies the Court that—

(a) he has been prejudiced by the notice not having been served, or

(b) the improvement is in contravention of any covenant contained in the contract of tenancy, or

(c) the improvement injures the amenity or convenience of the neighbourhood.

(3) A landlord shall not be entitled to compensation for improvements in respect of an improvement made after the passing of the Act of 1931 (whether before or after the commencement of this Act) in respect of which a notice under section 12 (1) of the Act of 1931 or an improvement notice was served unless the notice or a copy thereof was served under section 12 (3) of the Act of 1931 or under section 48 (4) of this Act or, where no such notice was served, if the superior landlord satisfies the Court that—

(a) he has been prejudiced by such service not having been effected, or

(b) the improvement is a contravention of any covenant in the contract of tenancy under which the landlord holds the tenement, or

(c) the improvement injures the amenity or convenience of the neighbourhood.

(4) Neither subsection (2) nor (3) applies to an improvement which is—

(a) a work in relation to which section 17 (5) of the Act of 1931 applied, or

(b) any other work executed in pursuance of an order of a sanitary authority under the Local Government (Sanitary Services) Acts, 1878 to 1964, or of a housing authority under the Housing Act, 1966,

but the tenant shall not be entitled to compensation in respect of such work unless—

(i) in the case of a work specified in paragraph (a), the tenant served on the landlord a notice under section 13 (1) of the Act of 1931 and became entitled under that Act to execute the work as an improvement, or

(ii) in the case of a work specified in paragraph (b), the tenant served on the landlord a work notice in respect of the work and became entitled under this Act to execute the work as an improvement:

Provided that the failure to serve notice shall not deprive the tenant of his right (if any) to compensation in respect of the work if the tenant satisfies the Court that the landlord did not suffer loss or damage by reason of the failure.