(1) Where a leasehold
is vested in a trustee and the property is subject to onerous covenants of
such a nature that it would not be in the interests of the beneficiaries to
retain the property, the trustee may surrender, or concur in surrendering, the
lease; and the trustee shall not be chargeable with breach of trust nor shall
the surrender be impeached by any beneficiary upon the ground only that the
covenants were not of such a nature, if the trustee has acted bona fide and on
the advice of a person whom he reasonably believed to be a competent valuer
instructed and employed independently of the lessor, whether the valuer
carried on business in the locality where the property is situate or
elsewhere.
(2) Where a freehold
is vested in a trustee and the property is of so onerous a nature that it
would not be in the interests of the beneficiaries to retain the property, if
the Crown agrees to accept the surrender of the freehold, the trustee may
surrender, or concur in surrendering, it to the Crown; and the trustee shall
not be chargeable with breach of trust nor shall the surrender be impeached by
any beneficiary upon the ground only that the property was not of such a
nature, if the trustee has acted bona fide and on the advice of a person whom
he reasonably believed to be a competent valuer, whether that valuer carried
on business in the locality where the property is situate or elsewhere.
(3) A subsequent
purchaser or the Registrar of Titles or other person registering or certifying
title shall not be concerned to inquire whether a surrender was authorised by
this section.