Family Homes and Domestic Violence (Northern Ireland) Order 1998

Cases in which court may make orderN.I.

2.—(1) This paragraph applies if one spouse[F1 or civil partner] is entitled, either in his own right or jointly with the other spouse[F1 or civil partner], to occupy a dwelling-house by virtue of a protected tenancy, a statutory tenancy or a secure tenancy.N.I.

[F1(2) The court may make a Part II order—

(a)on granting a decree of divorce, a decree of nullity of marriage or a decree of judicial separation or at any time thereafter (whether, in the case of a decree of divorce or nullity of marriage, before or after the decree is made absolute), or

(b)at any time when it has power to make a property adjustment order under Part 2 of Schedule 15 to the Civil Partnership Act 2004 with respect to the civil partnership.]

(3) On the application of the other spouse[F1 or civil partner] within three months after an occupation order is made, the court may make a Part II order.

3.—(1) This paragraph applies if one cohabitee is entitled, either in his own right or jointly with the other cohabitee, to occupy a dwelling-house by virtue of a protected tenancy, a statutory tenancy or a secure tenancy.N.I.

(2) If the cohabitees cease to[F2 cohabit], the court may make a Part II order.

(3) On the application of the other cohabitee within three months after an occupation order is made, the court may make a Part II order.

4.—(1) The court shall not make a Part II order unless the dwelling-house is or was—N.I.

(a)in the case of spouses, a matrimonial home;F3. . .

[F3(aa)in the case of civil partners, a civil partnership home; or]

(b)in the case of cohabitees, a home in which they[F4 cohabited].

(2) Where while an occupation order is in force an application is made for a Part II order, the court may make the order applied for notwithstanding that, at the time when it does so, the occupation order has ceased to have effect otherwise than by reason of its revocation; and where a Part II order is made it shall not be affected by an occupation order subsequently ceasing to have effect.