The Housing (Northern Ireland) Order 2003

Conditions as to occupation: HMO grants

81.—(1) It is a condition of an HMO grant that throughout the grant condition period—

(a) the house is occupied or available for residential occupation in accordance with the intention stated in the certificate of future occupation that accompanied the application (see Article 57(2)); and

(b) that the house is not so occupied as to cause a breach of any direction given by the Executive under Article 85 of the Order of 1992 (power to limit number of occupants of house).

(2) It is also a condition of the grant that if at any time within the grant condition period the Executive serves notice on the owner of the house requiring him to do so, he will within the period of 21 days beginning on the date on which the notice was served furnish to the Executive a statement showing how the condition in paragraph (1)(a) is being fulfilled.

(3) A condition under this Article—

(a) shall be a statutory charge and binding on any person who is for the time being an owner of the house; and

(b) is enforceable against all other persons to whom any part of the house is let or licensed as if it were a condition of the terms of every tenancy or licence of part of the house; and

any amount of grant and interest which is repayable under paragraph (4) shall, until recovered, be deemed to be a charge on the house.

(4) In the event of a breach of a condition under this Article, the owner for the time being of the house shall on demand pay to the Executive the amount of the grant, together with interest on that amount as from the certified date, at such reasonable rate as the Executive may determine.

(5) The Executive may determine not to make such a demand or may demand a lesser amount.

(6) The terms of any tenancy of any part of the house shall be deemed to include a duty on the part of the tenant, if required to do so by the owner of the house, to furnish him with such information as he may reasonably require to enable him to comply with a notice under paragraph (2).