3.—(1) Where a spouse is entitled to occupy the dwelling-house by virtue of a protected tenancy or a secure tenancy the court may by order direct that, as from such date as may be specified in the order, there shall, by virtue of the order and without further assurance, be transferred to, and vested in, the other spouse—
(a)the estate which the spouse so entitled had in the dwelling-house immediately before that date by virtue of the lease or agreement creating the tenancy and any assignment of that lease or agreement, with all rights, privileges and appurtenances attaching to that estate but subject to all covenants, obligations, liabilities and incumbrances to which it is subject; and
(b)where the spouse so entitled is an assignee of such lease or agreement, the liability of that spouse under any covenant of indemnity by the assignee expressed or implied in the assignment of the lease or agreement to that spouse.
(2) Where an order is made under this paragraph, any liability or obligation to which the spouse so entitled is subject under any covenant having reference to the dwelling-house in the lease, agreement or assignment being a liability or obligation falling due to be discharged or performed on or after the date so specified, shall not be enforceable against that spouse.
(3) Where the spouse so entitled is a successor within the meaning of Chapter II of Part II of the Housing (Northern Ireland) Order 1983(1), his or her spouse (or, as the case may be, former spouse) shall be deemed also to be a successor within the meaning of that Chapter.
4.—(1) Where a spouse is entitled to occupy the dwelling-house by virtue of a statutory tenancy, the court may by order direct that, as from such date as may be specified in the order, that spouse shall cease to be entitled to occupy the dwelling-house and that the other spouse shall be deemed to be the tenant or, as the case may be, the sole tenant under that statutory tenancy.
(2) The question whether the provisions of paragraphs 1 to 4, or, as the case may be, paragraphs 6 to 9 of Schedule 1 to the Rent (Northern Ireland) Order 1978(2) as to the succession by the widow or widower of a deceased tenant, or by a member of the deceased tenant’s family, to the statutory tenancy are capable of having effect in the event of the death of the person deemed by an order under this paragraph to be the tenant or sole tenant under the statutory tenancy shall be determined according as those provisions or the corresponding provisions of the Rent Restriction Acts have or have not already had effect in relation to the statutory tenancy.