Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2014

19.

Part 2 and amendment of Act of 1997

19. (1) Section 1 of the Act of 1997 is amended—

(a) by inserting the following definition before the definition of “anti-social behaviour”:

“ ‘affordable house’ means an affordable house provided under Part V of the Planning and Development Act 2000 or Part 2 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2002 or an affordable dwelling purchased under affordable dwelling purchase arrangements under Part 5 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009 as the case may be;”,

(b) by substituting the following for the definition of “excluding order”:

“ ‘excluding order’ has, where the context admits or requires, the meaning assigned to it by subsection (1) or (2) of section 3;”,

“ ‘anti-social behaviour’ includes either or both of the following, namely—

(a) the manufacture, production, preparation, importation, exportation, sale, supply, possession for the purposes of sale or supply, or distribution of a controlled drug (within the meaning of the Misuse of Drugs Acts 1977 to 2007),

(b) any behaviour which causes or is likely to cause any significant or persistent danger, injury, damage, alarm, loss or fear to any person living, working or otherwise lawfully in or in the vicinity of a house provided by a housing authority under the Housing Acts 1966 to 2014 or Part V of the Planning and Development Act 2000 or a housing estate in which the house is situate and, without prejudice to the foregoing, includes—

(i) violence, threats, intimidation, coercion, harassment or serious obstruction of any person,

(ii) behaviour which causes any significant or persistent impairment of a person’s use or enjoyment of his or her home, or

(iii) damage to or defacement by writing or other marks of any property, including a person’s home;”,

and

(d) by substituting the following definition for the definition of “relevant purchaser”:

“ ‘relevant purchaser’ means (subject to section 1A)—

(a) a person to whom a housing authority has sold a house under the Housing Acts 1966 to 2014 other than an affordable house, or

(b) a person in whom there subsequently becomes vested (other than for valuable consideration) the interest of the person referred to in paragraph (a) of this definition in the house referred to in that paragraph;”.

(2) The Act of 1997 is amended by inserting the following section after section 1:

“Person ceasing to be relevant purchaser

1A. (1) A person shall cease to be a relevant purchaser for the purposes of this Act—

(a) where the sale of the house concerned was effected by a transfer order made by way of a shared ownership lease provided for in accordance with Regulation 11 of the Housing (Sale of Houses) Regulations 1995 (S.I. No. 188 of 1995)—

(i) on the date of expiry of the lease due to the effluxion of time, or

(ii) where the purchaser purchases the reversion expectant on the termination of the lease, on the expiry of—

(I) the period of 20 years from the date the transfer order became effective, or

(II) the period from the date the transfer order became effective to the date of purchase of the reversion expectant on the termination of the lease,

whichever is the longer period,

(b) in the case that the sale of the house was effected by a transfer order made by way of a lease other than a lease referred to in paragraph (a) —

(i) on the date of expiry of the lease due to the effluxion of time, or

(ii) where the purchaser acquires the fee simple in the house from the housing authority under section 26 of the Landlord and Tenant (Ground Rents) (No. 2) Act 1978, on the expiry of—

(I) the period of 20 years from the date the transfer order became effective, or

(II) the period from the date the transfer order became effective to the date of acquisition of the fee simple,

whichever is the longer period,

(c) in the case that the house was sold under Part 3 or 4 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009 or Part 3 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2014, on the expiration of the charged period provided for by each of those Parts respectively, or

(d) in any other case, on the expiry of the period of 20 years from the date of the sale of the house.

(2) Subsection (1) shall apply to a person irrespective as to when the house (other than an affordable house) was sold by the housing authority to the person concerned and, in the definition of ‘relevant purchaser’ in section 1—

(a) the reference in paragraph (a) of that definition to the Housing Acts 1966 to 2014, and

(b) paragraph (b) of that definition,

shall be construed accordingly.”

(3) Section 2 of the Act of 1997 is amended by substituting “ Part 2 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2014 ” for “section 62 of the Housing Act, 1966,” in both places where it occurs.

(4) Section 3 of the Act of 1997 is amended—

(a) by substituting the following subsection for subsection (2):

“(2) A housing authority may, in respect of a house referred to in subsection (1), apply to the District Court for an order (in this Act referred to as an ‘excluding order’) against a person, other than the tenant, where there is no joint tenant, or relevant purchaser of the house (in this Act referred to as the ‘respondent’), whom the authority believe to be engaging in anti-social behaviour where the authority—

(a) believe that the tenant or relevant purchaser—

(i) may be deterred or prevented by violence, threat or fear, either to himself or herself or to persons associated with him or her, from pursuing an application for an excluding order, or

(ii) does not intend, for whatever other reason, to make such an application,

and

(b) consider that, in the interest of good estate management, it is appropriate, in all the circumstances, to apply for the excluding order.”,

(b) by inserting the following subsection after subsection (2):

(2A) An application under subsection (1) or (2) may not be made against a person who is under 12 years of age.”,

and

“(3) Where the court, on application to it, is of the opinion that there are reasonable grounds for believing that the respondent is or has been engaged in anti-social behaviour it may by order—

(a) in the case of a respondent who is under 18 years of age and is residing at the house in respect of which the application was made, prohibit the respondent, during the period when the order is in force—

(i) from entering or being in the vicinity of another specified house or being in or in the vicinity of any specified place or area, consisting of a place or area where one or more of the houses there are under the control and management of a housing authority, or

(ii) from doing all or any of the things referred to in subparagraph (i) unless specified conditions provided for by the order are complied with,

(b) in the case of a respondent who is under the age of 18 years and is not residing at the house in respect of which the application was made, prohibit the respondent during the period when the order is in force—

(i) from entering or being in the vicinity of that house or any other specified house or being in or in the vicinity of any specified place or area, consisting of a place or area where one or more of the houses there are under the control and management of a housing authority, or

(ii) from doing all or any of the things referred to in subparagraph (i) unless specified conditions provided for by the order are complied with,

(i) direct the respondent, if residing at the house in respect of which the application was made, to leave that house and not re- enter it or be in its vicinity during the period that the order is in force, and

(ii) whether the respondent is or is not residing at the house in respect of which the application was made, prohibit the respondent for the period during which the order is in force—

(I) from entering or being in the vicinity of that house or any other specified house or being in or in the vicinity of any specified place or area, consisting of a place or area where one or more of the houses there are under the control and management of a housing authority, or

(II) from doing all or any of the things referred to in clause (I) unless specified conditions provided for by the order are complied with.”

(5) Section 3A of the Act of 1997 is amended—

(a) by substituting the following subsection for subsection (2):

“(2) A housing authority or an approved body may, in respect of a site provided by the housing authority or the approved body under the Housing Acts 1966 to 2014, apply to the District Court for a site excluding order against a respondent whom the housing authority or the approved body believes to be engaging in anti-social behaviour and where the housing authority or the approved body—

(a) has reasonable grounds to believe that an authorised person—

(i) may be deterred or prevented by violence, threat or fear, either to himself or herself or to persons associated with him or her, from pursuing an application for a site excluding order, or

(ii) does not intend, for whatever other reason, to make such an application,

and

(b) considers that, in the interest of good estate management, it is appropriate, in all the circumstances, to apply for a site excluding order.”,

(b) by inserting the following subsection after subsection (2):

“(2A) An application under subsection (1) or (2) may not be made against a person who is under 12 years of age.”,

and

“(3) Where following an application under this section, the District Court, or the Circuit Court on appeal from the District Court, is of the opinion that there are reasonable grounds for believing that the respondent is or has been engaged in anti-social behaviour it may by order (in this Act referred to as a ‘site excluding order’)—

(a) in the case of a respondent who is under 18 years of age and is residing at the site in respect of which the application was made prohibit the respondent during the period when the order is in force—

(i) from entering or being on or being in or in the vicinity of any other specified site or being in or in the vicinity of any specified place, or

(ii) from doing all or any of the things referred to in subparagraph (i) unless specified conditions provided for by the order are complied with,

(b) in the case of a respondent who is under the age of 18 years and is not residing at the site in respect of which the application was made, prohibit the respondent, for the period during which the order is in force—

(i) from entering or being on or being in or in the vicinity of that site or any other specified site or being in or in the vicinity of any specified place, or

(ii) from doing all or any of the things referred to in subparagraph (i) unless specified conditions provided for by the order are complied with,

(i) direct the respondent, if residing at the site in respect of which the application was made, to leave that site and not re-enter it during the period that the order is in force, and

(ii) whether the respondent is or is not residing at the site in respect of which the application was made, prohibit the respondent for the period during which the order is in force—

(I) from entering or being on or being in or in the vicinity of that site or any other specified site or being in or in the vicinity of any specified place, or

(II) from doing all or any of the things referred to in clause (I) unless specified conditions provided for by the order are complied with.”

(6) Section 4 of the Act of 1997 is amended by substituting the following subsection for subsection (1):

“(1) If, on the making of an application for an excluding order relating to a house or between the making of the application and its determination, the court is of the opinion that there are reasonable grounds for believing that, if the order is not made immediately, there is an immediate risk of significant harm to any person residing, working or otherwise lawfully in or in the vicinity of such house or of a housing estate in which such house is situate, the court may by order (in this Act referred to as an ‘interim excluding order’)—

(a) in the case of a respondent who is under 18 years of age and is residing at the house in respect of which the application was made, prohibit the respondent, until further order of the court or until such other time as the court shall specify—

(ii) from doing all or any of the things referred to in subparagraph (i) unless specified conditions are complied with,

but no interim excluding order in respect of a respondent to whom this paragraph relates shall be made ex parte by virtue of subsection (3),

(b) in the case of a respondent who is under the age of 18 years and is not residing at the house in respect of which the application was made, prohibit the respondent—

(ii) from doing all or any of the things referred to in subparagraph (i) unless specified conditions provided for by the order are complied with,

but no interim excluding order in respect of a respondent to whom this paragraph relates shall be made ex parte by virtue of subsection (3),

(i) direct the respondent, if residing at the house in respect of which the application was made, to leave that house until further order of the court or until such other time as the court shall specify, and not re-enter it during the period that the order is in force, and

(ii) whether the respondent is or is not residing at the house in respect of which the application was made, prohibit the respondent—

(II) from doing all or any of the things referred to in clause (I) unless specified conditions provided for by the order are complied with.”

(7) Section 5 of the Act of 1997 is amended by substituting the following subsection for subsection (1):

“(1) (a) A respondent who is under the age of 18 years and who contravenes an excluding order or an interim excluding order, as the case may be, commits an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a class D fine or, at the discretion of the court, to detention in a children detention school (as defined in section 3 of the Children Act 2001) for a period not exceeding 3 months, or to both.

(b) A respondent (other than a respondent to whom paragraph (a) relates) who contravenes an excluding order or an interim excluding order shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to a class B fine or, at the discretion of the court, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months, or to both.”

(8) Section 12 of the Act of 1997 is amended by deleting “, on complaint being made to him or her by the tenant or the housing authority,”.

(9) Section 14 of the Act of 1997 is amended by substituting the following subsection for subsection (1):

“(1) Notwithstanding anything contained in the Housing Acts 1966 to 2014, or in an allocation scheme made under section 22 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009, a housing authority may—

(a) refuse to allocate, or defer the allocation of, a dwelling to which subsection (1) of the said section 22 refers, to a household where—

(i) the authority considers that any member of the household is or has been engaged in anti-social behaviour or that an allocation to that household would not be in the interest of good estate management, or

(ii) the household fails to provide information, including information relating to members residing together or proposing to reside together as part of the household, which is requested by the authority and which the authority considers necessary in connection with an allocation,

(b) refuse to permit a person, or defer permitting a person, to take up or resume residence or enter or be in a dwelling to which section 22(1)(a) of the said Act refers where—

(i) the authority considers that the person is or has been engaged in anti-social behaviour or that such permission would not be in the interest of good estate management, or

(ii) the tenant of the dwelling or the person concerned fails to provide information that is requested by the authority and which the authority considers necessary in connection with deciding whether to give, refuse or defer such permission.”

(10) The Act of 1997 is amended by substituting the following section for section 14A:

“Authorisation to occupy caravan on site

14A. Notwithstanding anything contained in the Housing Acts 1966 to 2014, a housing authority may refuse or defer an authorisation to a person to occupy a caravan on a site where—

(a) the authority considers that that person or a member of his or her household is or has been engaged in anti-social behaviour or that the occupation by that person or household member of a caravan on the site would not be in the interest of good estate management, or

(b) that person fails to provide information, including information relating to persons residing or to reside with that person, which is requested by the authority and which the authority considers necessary in respect of the application for such authorisation.”

(11) The Act of 1997 is amended by substituting the following section for section 18:

“Intimidation, etc.

18. (1) A person commits an offence if he or she causes or attempts to cause any threat, intimidation or harassment, coerces, obstructs, impedes, or interferes with—

(a) an officer or employee of a housing authority in respect of the exercise of a function of the authority by such officer or employee, or

(b) a member of the family or household of such an officer or employee in contemplation or as a consequence of the exercise of functions of the housing authority by the officer or employee, or

(c) any person who provides or is to provide evidence in any proceedings under this Act or Part 2 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2014.

(2) A person who commits an offence under subsection (1) is liable on summary conviction to a class A fine or, at the discretion of the court, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or to both.”

(12) The Act of 1997 is amended by substituting the following section for section 21:

“Evidence

21. Where, in any proceedings under section 3, 3A, 4 or 9 of this Act or Part 2 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2014, a member of An Garda Síochána or an officer or employee of a housing authority states that he or she believes that a person is or has been engaged in anti-social behaviour, then, if the Court is satisfied that there are reasonable grounds for such belief and that another person would be deterred or prevented by violence, threat or fear from providing evidence in that regard, the statement shall be evidence of such anti-social behaviour.”

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Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2014