(1) Subject to the provisions of this section, a person who holds any estate, interest or right in a relevant residential property entitling the person to -

(a) the immediate possession of such property for a period that may equal or exceed 20 years, or

(b) the receipt of rents or profits of such property for a period that may equal or exceed 20 years,

shall, for the purposes of this Act, be a liable person in relation to that property.

(1A) Where -

(a) a local authority or an approved housing body enters into a lease in relation to a relevant residential property, and

(b) the terms of the lease are such that the local authority or the approved housing body, as the case may be, would, but for this subsection, be the liable person in relation to the property,

the lessor shall be the liable person in relation to the property.

(2) If -