The Insolvency (Northern Ireland) Order 1989

Rights of occupation of bankrupt

310.—(1) This Article applies where—

(a) a person who is entitled to occupy a dwelling house by virtue of a beneficial estate or interest is adjudged bankrupt, and

(b) any persons under the age of 18 with whom that person had at some time occupied that dwelling house had their home with that person at the time when the bankruptcy petition was presented and at the commencement of the bankruptcy.

(2) Whether or not the bankrupt’s spouse (if any) has rights of occupation under the Family Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Northern Ireland) Order 1984(1)—

(a) the bankrupt has the following rights as against the trustee of his estate—

(i) if in occupation, a right not to be evicted or excluded from the dwelling house or any part of it, except with the leave of the High Court,

(ii) if not in occupation, a right with the leave of the Court to enter into and occupy the dwelling house, and

(b) the bankrupt’s rights are a charge, having the like priority as an equitable interest created immediately before the commencement of the bankruptcy, on so much of his estate or interest in the dwelling house as vests in the trustee.

(3) The Order of 1984 has effect, with the necessary modifications, as if—

(a) the rights conferred by sub-paragraph (a) of paragraph (2) were rights of occupation under that Order,

(b) any application for leave such as is mentioned in that sub-paragraph were an application for an order under Article 4 of that Order, and

(c) any charge under sub-paragraph (b) of that paragraph on the estate or interest of the trustee were a charge under that Order on the estate or interest of a spouse.

(4) Any application for leave such as is mentioned in paragraph (2)(a) or otherwise by virtue of this Article for an order under Article 4 of the Order of 1984 shall be made to the High Court.

(5) On such an application the High Court shall make such order under Article 4 of the Order of 1984 as it thinks just and reasonable having regard to the interests of the creditors, to the bankrupt’s financial resources, to the needs of the children and to all the circumstances of the case other than the needs of the bankrupt.

(6) Where such an application is made after the expiration of one year from the first vesting (under Chapter IV) of the bankrupt’s estate in a trustee, the High Court shall assume, unless the circumstances of the case are exceptional, that the interests of the bankrupt’s creditors outweigh all other considerations.

(1)

1984 NI 14