2.— (1) In this Act—

“Act of 1988” means the Housing Act 1988;

“Act of 1992” means the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1992;

“Act of 1997” means the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1997;

“Act of 2002” means the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2002;

“affordable housing” means F1[affordable dwellings within the meaning of section 4 of the Affordable Housing Act 2021 purchased under Part 2 of that Act] or affordable housing provided under Part V of the Planning and Development Act 2000 or Part 2 of the Act of 2002, as the case may be;

“allocation scheme” has the meaning given to it by section 22;

“anti-social behaviour” has the same meaning as in section 1 of the Act of 1997;

“approved body” means a body standing approved of for the purposes of section 6 of the Act of 1992;

“caravan” has the same meaning as in section 13 of the Act of 1988;

“Chapter 4 tenancy agreement” has the meaning given to it by section 25 and references to “Chapter 4 tenancy” shall be construed accordingly;

F2[“chief executive” means, as respects a local authority, a chief executive as provided for by Chapter 2 of Part 14 (as amended by the Local Government Reform Act 2014) of the Local Government Act 2001;]

“development plan” has the same meaning as in section 2 of the Planning and Development Act 2000;

“dwelling” includes any building or part of a building occupied or intended for occupation as a normal place of residence and includes any out-office, yard, garden or other land appurtenant thereto or usually enjoyed therewith and includes a house, flat, apartment, maisonette or hostel;

“estate management” has the same meaning as in section 1 of the Act of 1997;

“executive function” has the same meaning as in section 2 of the Local Government Act 2001;

“homelessness action plan” has the meaning given to it by section 37;

“homelessness consultative forum” has the meaning given to it by section 38;

“homeless person” means a person who is regarded by a housing authority as being homeless within the meaning of section 2 of the Act of 1988 and “homeless” and “homeless household” shall be construed accordingly;

“joint homelessness consultative forum” shall be read in accordance with section 38;

“household” means, subject to sections 20 and 84 , a person who lives alone or 2 or more persons who live together;

“housing action programme” has the meaning given to it by section 18;

F3[…]

“housing services” shall be read in accordance with section 10;

“housing services plan” has the meaning given to it by section 14;

“housing strategy” has the same meaning as in section 93 of the Planning and Development Act 2000;

“housing support” shall be read in accordance with section 10 (a);

F4[“local authority” means a local authority for the purposes of the Local Government Act 2001 (as amended by the Local Government Reform Act 2014);]

F3[…]

“market rent” has the same meaning as in section 24 of the Residential Tenancies Act 2004;

“material improvements” F1[means improvements made to a dwelling sold under an incremental purchase arrangement under Part 3];

whether for the purposes of extending, enlarging, repairing or converting the dwelling, but does not include decoration, or any improvements carried out on the land including the construction of the dwelling;

“Minister” means the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government;

“prescribed” means prescribed by regulations made by the Minister under this Act;

“Principal Act” means the Housing Act 1966;

“public private partnership arrangement” has the same meaning as in section 3 of the State Authorities (Public Private Partnership Arrangements) Act 2002;

“refurbishment” in relation to a dwelling or other building, includes the enlargement, improvement, adaptation or reconstruction of such dwelling or other building;

“rental accommodation availability agreement” has the meaning given to it by section 24;

“rent scheme” has the meaning given to it by section 31;

F4[“reserved function” means a reserved function for the purposes of the Local Government Act 2001 (as amended by the Local Government Reform Act 2014);]

“social housing assessment” has the meaning given to it by section 20;

“social housing support” shall be read in accordance with section 19.

(2) F3[…]