The Allocation of Housing and Homelessness (Eligibility) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2006

Citation and commencement N.I.

1.  These Regulations may be cited as the Allocation of Housing and Homelessness (Eligibility) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2006 and shall come into operation on 1st November 2006.

Commencement Information

I1 Reg. 1 in operation at 1.11.2006, see reg. 1

Interpretation N.I.

2.—(1) In these Regulations—

F1 [F2 ...

“the Accession Regulations 2006” means the Accession (Immigration and Worker Authorisation) Regulations 2006;]

[F3 “the Accession Regulations 2013” means the Accession of Croatia (Immigration and Worker Authorisation) Regulations 2013(1);”]

“the EEA Regulations” means the [F4 Immigration (European Economic Area) Regulations 2016 and references to the EEA Regulations are to be read with Schedule 4 to the Immigration and Social Security Co-ordination (EU Withdrawal) Act 2020(Consequential, Saving, Transitional and Transitory Provisions) Regulations 2020] .

(2) For the purposes of these Regulations—

(a) “jobseeker”, “self–employed person” and “worker” have the same meaning as for the purposes of the definition of a “qualified person” in regulation 6(1) of the EEA Regulations(2); and

[F5 (ab) “frontier worker” means a person who is a frontier worker within the meaning of regulation 3 of the Citizens' Rights (Frontier Workers) (EU Exit) Regulations;]

(b) subject to paragraph (3), references to the family member of a jobseeker, self–employed person[F6 , worker or frontier worker] shall be construed in accordance with regulation 7 of [F7 the EEA Regulations] .

(3) For the purposes of regulations 3(2)(d) [F8 and (j)] and 4(2)(d) [F8 and (j)] “family member” does not include a person who is treated as a family member by virtue of regulation 7(3) of the EEA Regulations.

Textual Amendments

F1 Words in reg. 2(1) omitted (31.8.2013) by virtue of Allocation of Housing and Homelessness (Eligibility) (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2013 (S.R. 2013/189), regs. 1, 2(2)(a) (with reg. 3)

F2 Words in reg. 2(1) substituted (1.3.2007) by The Allocation of Housing and Homelessness (Eligibility) (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2007 (S.R. 2007/34), regs. 1, 2(2) (with reg. 3)

F3 Words in reg. 2(1) inserted (31.8.2013) by Allocation of Housing and Homelessness (Eligibility) (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2013 (S.R. 2013/189), regs. 1, 2(2)(b) (with reg. 3)

F4 Words in reg. 2(1) substituted (31.12.2020) by The Immigration and Social Security Co-ordination (EU Withdrawal) Act 2020 (Consequential, Saving, Transitional and Transitory Provisions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020 (S.I. 2020/1309), regs. 1(2), 72(2)(a)

F5 Reg. 2(2)(ab) inserted (31.12.2020) by The Immigration and Social Security Co-ordination (EU Withdrawal) Act 2020 (Consequential, Saving, Transitional and Transitory Provisions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020 (S.I. 2020/1309), regs. 1(2), 72(2)(b)

F6 Words in reg. 2(2)(b) substituted (31.12.2020) by The Immigration and Social Security Co-ordination (EU Withdrawal) Act 2020 (Consequential, Saving, Transitional and Transitory Provisions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020 (S.I. 2020/1309), regs. 1(2), 72(2)(c)(i)

F7 Words in reg. 2(2)(b) substituted (31.12.2020) by The Immigration and Social Security Co-ordination (EU Withdrawal) Act 2020 (Consequential, Saving, Transitional and Transitory Provisions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020 (S.I. 2020/1309), regs. 1(2), 72(2)(c)(ii)

F8 Words in reg. 2(3) inserted (31.12.2020) by The Immigration and Social Security Co-ordination (EU Withdrawal) Act 2020 (Consequential, Saving, Transitional and Transitory Provisions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020 (S.I. 2020/1309), regs. 1(2), 72(2)(d)

Modifications etc. (not altering text)

C1 Reg. 2 applied (with modifications) (31.12.2020) by The Citizens' Rights (Application Deadline and Temporary Protection) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020 (S.I. 2020/1209), regs. 1(1), 3(3), 4(4), 11(l)

Commencement Information

I2 Reg. 2 in operation at 1.11.2006, see reg. 1

Persons from abroad who are ineligible for an allocation of housing accommodation N.I.

3.—(1) A person who is not subject to immigration control is to be treated as a person from abroad who is ineligible for an allocation of housing accommodation under the Housing (Northern Ireland) Order 1981 if—

(a) subject to paragraph (2), he is not habitually resident in the United Kingdom, the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man or the Republic of Ireland;

(b) his only right to reside in the United Kingdom—

(i) is derived from his status as a jobseeker or the family member of a jobseeker; or

(ii) is an initial right to reside for a period not exceeding three months under regulation 13 of the EEA Regulations; or

[F9 (iii) is a derivative right to reside to which he is entitled under [F10 regulation 16(1)] of the EEA Regulations, but only in a case where the right exists under that regulation because the applicant satisfies the criteria in [F11 regulation 16(5)] of those Regulations; or

F12 (iv) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .]

[F13 (c) his only right to reside in the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man or the Republic of Ireland is a right equivalent to one of those mentioned in sub-paragraph (b)(i), (ii) or (iii)]

would otherwise be deprived of the genuine enjoyment of the substance of their rights as a European Union citizen.

[F14 (1A) For the purposes of determining whether the only right to reside that a person has is of the kind mentioned in paragraph (1)(b) or (c), a right to reside by virtue of having been granted

[F15 (a) limited leave to enter or remain in the United Kingdom under the Immigration Act 1971 by virtue of Appendix EU to the immigration rules made under section 3(2) of that Act; or

(b) leave to enter the United Kingdom by virtue of an entry clearance that was granted under Appendix EU (Family Permit) to the immigration rules made under section 3(2) of that Act

is to be disregarded.]]

(2) The following are not to be treated as persons from abroad who are ineligible for an allocation of housing accommodation pursuant to paragraph 1(a)—

(a) a worker;

(b) a self–employed person;

[F16 (c) a person who is treated as a worker for the purpose of the definition of “qualified person” in regulation 6(1) of the EEA Regulations pursuant to either—

(i) regulation 6 of the Accession Regulations 2006 (right of residence of an accession State national subject to worker authorisation); or

(ii) regulation 5 of the Accession Regulations 2013 (right of residence of an accession State national subject to worker authorisation);]

(d) a person who is the family member of a person specified in sub–paragraphs (a)–(c);

(e) a person with a right to reside permanently in the United Kingdom by virtue of regulation [F17 15(1)(c)] , (d) or (e) of the EEA Regulations;

(f) a person who left the territory of Montserrat after 1st November 1995 because of the effect on that territory of a volcanic eruption; F18 ...

(g) a person who is in the United Kingdom as a result of his deportation, expulsion or other removal by compulsion of law from another country to the United Kingdom [F19 and]

[F20 (h) a person who—

(i) arrived in the United Kingdom on or after 28th February 2009 but before 18th March 2011;

(ii) immediately before arriving in the United Kingdom had been resident in Zimbabwe; and

(iii) before leaving Zimbabwe, had accepted an offer, made by Her Majesty’s Government, to assist that person to settle in the United Kingdom.]

[F21 (i) a frontier worker; F22 ...

(j) a person who—

(i) is a family member of a person specified in sub-paragraph (i); and

(ii) has a right to reside by virtue of having been granted limited leave to enter or remain in the United Kingdom under the Immigration Act 1971 by virtue of Appendix EU to the immigration rules made under section 3 of that Act.]

[F23 (k) a person who left Afghanistan in connection with the collapse of the Afghan government that took place on 15th August 2021.]

[F24 (l) a person who was residing in Ukraine immediately before 1st January 2022 and who left Ukraine in connection with the Russian invasion which took place on 24th February 2022.]

[F25 (m) a person who was residing in Sudan before 15th April 2023 and who left Sudan in connection with the violence which rapidly escalated on 15th April 2023 in Khartoum and across Sudan.]

[F26 (n) a person who was residing in Israel, the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, East Jerusalem, the Golan Heights or Lebanon immediately before 7th October 2023 and who left Israel, the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, East Jerusalem, the Golan Heights or Lebanon in connection with the Hamas terrorist attack in Israel on 7th October 2023 or the violence which rapidly escalated in the region following the attack.]

Textual Amendments

F9 Reg. 3(1)(b)(iii)(iv) inserted (14.1.2013) by Allocation of Housing and Homelessness (Eligibility) (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2012 (S.R. 2012/429), regs. 1, 2(2) (with reg. 3)

F10 Words in reg. 3(1)(b)(iii) substituted (31.12.2020) by The Immigration and Social Security Co-ordination (EU Withdrawal) Act 2020 (Consequential, Saving, Transitional and Transitory Provisions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020 (S.I. 2020/1309), regs. 1(2), 72(3)(a)

F11 Words in reg. 3(1)(b)(iii) substituted (31.12.2020) by The Immigration and Social Security Co-ordination (EU Withdrawal) Act 2020 (Consequential, Saving, Transitional and Transitory Provisions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020 (S.I. 2020/1309), regs. 1(2), 72(3)(b)

F12 Reg. 3(1)(b)(iv) omitted (31.12.2020) by virtue of The Immigration and Social Security Co-ordination (EU Withdrawal) Act 2020 (Consequential, Saving, Transitional and Transitory Provisions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020 (S.I. 2020/1309), regs. 1(2), 72(3)(c)

F13 Reg. 3(1)(c) substituted (31.12.2020) by The Immigration and Social Security Co-ordination (EU Withdrawal) Act 2020 (Consequential, Saving, Transitional and Transitory Provisions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020 (S.I. 2020/1309), regs. 1(2), 72(3)(d)

F14 Reg. 3(1A) inserted (7.5.2019) by The Allocation of Housing and Homelessness (Eligibility) (Amendment) (Northern Ireland) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (S.R. 2019/86), regs. 1, 3(a) (with reg. 5)

F15 Words in reg. 3(1A) substituted (31.12.2020 immediately after IP completion day) by The Immigration (Citizens' Rights etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020 (S.I. 2020/1372), regs. 1(2)(a)(3)(d), 21(2)

F16 Reg. 3(2)(c) substituted (31.8.2013) by Allocation of Housing and Homelessness (Eligibility) (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2013 (S.R. 2013/189), regs. 1, 2(3) (with reg. 3)

F17 Word in reg. 3(2)(e) substituted (7.5.2019) by The Allocation of Housing and Homelessness (Eligibility) (Amendment) (Northern Ireland) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (S.R. 2019/86), regs. 1, 3(b) (with reg. 5)

F18 Word in reg. 3(2)(f) omitted (18.5.2009) by virtue of The Allocation of Housing and Homelessness (Eligibility) (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2009 (S.R. 2009/161), regs. 1, 2(2)

F19 Word in reg. 3(2)(g) inserted (18.5.2009) by The Allocation of Housing and Homelessness (Eligibility) (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2009 (S.R. 2009/161), regs. 1, 2(3)

F20 Reg. 3(2)(h) inserted (18.5.2009) by The Allocation of Housing and Homelessness (Eligibility) (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2009 (S.R. 2009/161), regs. 1, 2(4)

F21 Reg. 3(2)(i)(j) inserted (31.12.2020) by The Immigration and Social Security Co-ordination (EU Withdrawal) Act 2020 (Consequential, Saving, Transitional and Transitory Provisions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020 (S.I. 2020/1309), regs. 1(2), 72(3)(e)

F22 Word in reg. 3(2)(i) omitted (7.10.2021) by virtue of The Allocation of Housing and Homelessness (Eligibility) (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2021 (S.R. 2021/254), regs. 1, 2(2)(a)

F23 Reg. 3(2)(k) inserted (7.10.2021) by The Allocation of Housing and Homelessness (Eligibility) (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2021 (S.R. 2021/254), regs. 1, 2(2)(b)

F24 Reg. 3(2)(l) inserted (22.3.2022) by The Allocation of Housing and Homelessness (Eligibility) (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2022 (S.R. 2022/128), regs. 1, 2(2)

F25 Reg. 3(2)(m) inserted (15.5.2023) by The Allocation of Housing and Homelessness (Eligibility) (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2023 (S.R. 2023/79), regs. 1(1), 2(2)

F26 Reg. 3(2)(n) inserted (27.10.2023) by The Allocation of Housing and Homelessness (Eligibility) (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2023 (S.R. 2023/182), regs. 1(1), 2(2)

Modifications etc. (not altering text)

C2 Reg. 3 applied (with modifications) (31.12.2020) by The Citizens' Rights (Application Deadline and Temporary Protection) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020 (S.I. 2020/1209), regs. 1(1), 3(3), 4(4), 11(l)

Commencement Information

I3 Reg. 3 in operation at 1.11.2006, see reg. 1

Persons from abroad who are ineligible for housing assistance N.I.

4.—(1) A person who is not subject to immigration control is to be treated as a person from abroad who is ineligible for housing assistance under Part II of the Housing (Northern Ireland) Order 1988 if—

(a) subject to paragraph (2), he is not habitually resident in the United Kingdom, the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man or the Republic of Ireland;

(b) his only right to reside in the United Kingdom—

(i) is derived from his status as a jobseeker or the family member of a jobseeker; or

(ii) is an initial right to reside for a period not exceeding three months under regulation 13 of the EEA Regulations; or

[F27 (iii) is a derivative right to reside to which he is entitled under [F28 regulation 16(1)] of the EEA Regulations, but only in a case where the right exists under that regulation because the applicant satisfies the criteria in [F29 regulation 16(5)] of those Regulations; or

F30 (iv) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .]

[F31 (c) his only right to reside in the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man or the Republic of Ireland is a right equivalent to one of those mentioned in sub-paragraph (b)(i),(ii) or (iii)]

would otherwise be deprived of the genuine enjoyment of the substance of their rights as a European Union citizen.

[F32 (1A) For the purposes of determining whether the only right to reside that a person has is of the kind mentioned in paragraph (1)(b) or (c), a right to reside by virtue of having been granted

[F33 (a) limited leave to enter or remain in the United Kingdom under the Immigration Act 1971 by virtue of Appendix EU to the immigration rules made under section 3(2) of that Act; or

(b) leave to enter the United Kingdom by virtue of an entry clearance that was granted under Appendix EU (Family Permit) to the immigration rules made under section 3(2) of that Act

is to be disregarded.]]

(2) The following are not to be treated as persons from abroad who are ineligible for housing assistance pursuant to paragraph 1(a)—

(a) a worker;

(b) a self–employed person;

[F34 (c) a person who is treated as a worker for the purpose of the definition of “qualified person” in regulation 6(1) of the EEA Regulations pursuant to either—

(i) regulation 6 of the Accession Regulations 2006 (right of residence of an accession State national subject to worker authorisation); or

(ii) regulation 5 of the Accession Regulations 2013 (right of residence of an accession State national subject to worker authorisation);]

(d) a person who is the family member of a person specified in sub–paragraphs (a)–(c);

(e) a person with a right to reside permanently in the United Kingdom by virtue of regulation [F35 15(1)(c)] , (d) or (e) of the EEA Regulations;

(f) a person who left the territory of Montserrat after 1st November 1995 because of the effect on that territory of a volcanic eruption; F36 ...

(g) a person who is in the United Kingdom as a result of his deportation, expulsion or other removal by compulsion of law from another country to the United Kingdom [F37 and]

[F38 (h) a person who—

(i) arrived in the United Kingdom on or after 28th February 2009 but before 18th March 2011;

(ii) immediately before arriving in the United Kingdom had been resident in Zimbabwe; and

(iii) before leaving Zimbabwe had accepted an offer made by Her Majesty’s Government to assist that person to settle in the United Kingdom.]

[F39 (i) a frontier worker; F40 ...

(j) a person who—

(i) is a family member of a person specified in sub-paragraph (i); and

(ii) has a right to reside by virtue of having been granted limited leave to enter or remain in the United Kingdom under the Immigration Act 1971 by virtue of Appendix EU to the immigration rules made under section 3 of that Act.]

[F41 (k) a person who left Afghanistan in connection with the collapse of the Afghan government that took place on 15th August 2021.]

[F42 (l) a person who was residing in Ukraine immediately before 1st January 2022 and who left Ukraine in connection with the Russian invasion which took place on 24th February 2022.]

[F43 (m) a person who was residing in Sudan before 15thApril 2023 and who left Sudan in connection with the violence which rapidly escalated on 15th April 2023 in Khartoum and across Sudan.]

[F44 (n) a person who was residing in Israel, the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, East Jerusalem, the Golan Heights or Lebanon immediately before 7th October 2023 and who left Israel, the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, East Jerusalem, the Golan Heights or Lebanon in connection with the Hamas terrorist attack in Israel on 7th October 2023 or the violence which rapidly escalated in the region following the attack.]

Textual Amendments

F27 Reg. 4(1)(b)(iii)(iv) inserted (14.1.2013) by Allocation of Housing and Homelessness (Eligibility) (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2012 (S.R. 2012/429), regs. 1, 2(4) (with reg. 3)

F28 Words in reg. 4(1)(b)(iii) substituted (31.12.2020) by The Immigration and Social Security Co-ordination (EU Withdrawal) Act 2020 (Consequential, Saving, Transitional and Transitory Provisions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020 (S.I. 2020/1309), regs. 1(2), 72(4)(a)

F29 Words in reg. 4(1)(b)(iii) substituted (31.12.2020) by The Immigration and Social Security Co-ordination (EU Withdrawal) Act 2020 (Consequential, Saving, Transitional and Transitory Provisions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020 (S.I. 2020/1309), regs. 1(2), 72(4)(b)

F30 Reg. 4(1)(b)(iv) omitted (31.12.2020) by virtue of The Immigration and Social Security Co-ordination (EU Withdrawal) Act 2020 (Consequential, Saving, Transitional and Transitory Provisions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020 (S.I. 2020/1309), regs. 1(2), 72(4)(c)

F31 Reg. 4(1)(c) substituted (31.12.2020) by The Immigration and Social Security Co-ordination (EU Withdrawal) Act 2020 (Consequential, Saving, Transitional and Transitory Provisions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020 (S.I. 2020/1309), regs. 1(2), 72(4)(d)

F32 Reg. 4(1A) inserted (7.5.2019) by The Allocation of Housing and Homelessness (Eligibility) (Amendment) (Northern Ireland) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (S.R. 2019/86), regs. 1, 4(a) (with reg. 5)

F33 Words in reg. 4(1A) substituted (31.12.2020 immediately after IP completion day) by The Immigration (Citizens' Rights etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020 (S.I. 2020/1372), regs. 1(2)(a)(3)(d), 21(2)

F34 Reg. 4(2)(c) substituted (31.8.2013) by Allocation of Housing and Homelessness (Eligibility) (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2013 (S.R. 2013/189), regs. 1, 2(4) (with reg. 3)

F35 Word in reg. 4(2)(e) substituted (7.5.2019) by The Allocation of Housing and Homelessness (Eligibility) (Amendment) (Northern Ireland) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (S.R. 2019/86), regs. 1, 4(b) (with reg. 5)

F36 Word in reg. 4(2)(f) omitted (18.5.2009) by virtue of The Allocation of Housing and Homelessness (Eligibility) (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2009 (S.R. 2009/161), regs. 1, 2(5)

F37 Word in reg. 4(2)(g) inserted (18.5.2009) by The Allocation of Housing and Homelessness (Eligibility) (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2009 (S.R. 2009/161), regs. 1, 2(6)

F38 Reg. 4(2)(h) inserted (18.5.2009) by The Allocation of Housing and Homelessness (Eligibility) (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2009 (S.R. 2009/161), regs. 1, 2(7)

F39 Reg. 4(2)(i)(j) inserted (31.12.2020) by The Immigration and Social Security Co-ordination (EU Withdrawal) Act 2020 (Consequential, Saving, Transitional and Transitory Provisions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020 (S.I. 2020/1309), regs. 1(2), 72(4)(e)

F40 Word in reg. 4(2)(i) omitted (7.10.2021) by virtue of The Allocation of Housing and Homelessness (Eligibility) (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2021 (S.R. 2021/254), regs. 1, 2(3)(a)

F41 Reg. 4(2)(k) inserted (7.10.2021) by The Allocation of Housing and Homelessness (Eligibility) (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2021 (S.R. 2021/254), regs. 1, 2(3)(b)

F42 Reg. 4(2)(l) inserted (22.3.2022) by The Allocation of Housing and Homelessness (Eligibility) (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2022 (S.R. 2022/128), regs. 1, 2(3)

F43 Reg. 4(2)(m) inserted (15.5.2023) by The Allocation of Housing and Homelessness (Eligibility) (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2023 (S.R. 2023/79), regs. 1(1), 2(3)

F44 Reg. 4(2)(n) inserted (27.10.2023) by The Allocation of Housing and Homelessness (Eligibility) (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2023 (S.R. 2023/182), regs. 1(1), 2(3)

Modifications etc. (not altering text)

C3 Reg. 4 applied (with modifications) (31.12.2020) by The Citizens' Rights (Application Deadline and Temporary Protection) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020 (S.I. 2020/1209), regs. 1(1), 3(3), 4(4), 11(l)

Commencement Information

I4 Reg. 4 in operation at 1.11.2006, see reg. 1

Revocation N.I.

5.  Subject to regulation 6, the Regulations specified in column (1) of the Schedule are revoked.

Commencement Information

I5 Reg. 5 in operation at 1.11.2006, see reg. 1

Transitional provisions N.I.

6.  The revocations made by these Regulations shall not have effect in relation to an applicant whose application for—

(a) an allocation of housing accommodation under the Housing (Northern Ireland) Order 1981; or

(b) housing assistance under Part II of the Housing (Northern Ireland) Order 1988,

was made before 1st November 2006.

Commencement Information

I6 Reg. 6 in operation at 1.11.2006, see reg. 1

Peter Hain

One of Her Majesty’s Principal Secretaries of State

Northern Ireland Office

28th September 2006