J. MILLARD TAWES, Governor                       1583

and the tenant may plead this section in bar of the recovery of any
larger or greater amount of rent.

39J. Limitations of actions.

Whenever there has been no demand or payment for more than
twenty consecutive years of any specific rent reserved out of a par-
ticular lot or any part of a particular lot under any form of lease,
such rent shall be conclusively presumed to have been extinguished
and the landlord shall not thereafter set up any claim thereto or to
the reversion in the lot out of which it issued, or have the right to
institute any suit, action or proceeding whatsoever to recover said
rent or said lot; but in case such landlord shall be under any legal
disability when such period of twenty years of nondemand or non-
payment shall expire, he shall have two years after the removal of
such disability within which to assert his rights; provided, however,
that coverture shall not be considered a disability within the pro-
visions of this section and Section 39-I and that no retroactive effect
shall be given to said sections, and the period of limitations herein
prescribed shall begin to run only from April 8, 1884.

39K. Termination of tenancy for fire or other unavoidable accident.

In all leases made after the first day of June, 1904, whenever the
improvements on property rented for a term of not more than seven
years shall become untenantable by reason of fire or other unavoid-
able accident, the tenancy shall be thereby terminated, and all lia-
bility for rent thereunder shall cease upon payment proportionately
to the day of fire or unavoidable accident.

39L. Right of tenant to remove fixtures erected by him not impaired
by new lease.

The right of a tenant to remove fixtures erected by him under one
demise or term shall not be lost or in any manner impaired by reason
of his acceptance of a new lease of the same premises without any
intermediate surrender of possession.

39M. Effect of covenant to surrender premises in good repair.

A covenant or promise by the lessee to leave, restore, surrender
or yield up the premises in good repair shall not have the effect to
bind him to erect similar buildings or pay for such buildings as may
be destroyed by fire or otherwise without negligence or fault on his
part, unless otherwise expressly provided by written agreement or
covenant that he shall be so bound.

Sec. 2. And be it further enacted, That all laws or parts of laws,
public general or public local, inconsistent with the provisions of this
Act, are hereby repealed to the extent of any such inconsistency.

Sec. 3. And be it further enacted, That, if any provision of this
Act or the application thereof to any person or circumstances is held
invalid, such invalidity shall not affect the other provisions or any
other application of this Act which can be given effect without the
invalid provision or application, and to this end the provisions of this
Act are hereby declared to be severable.