Housing (Amendment) Act (Northern Ireland) 2011

Registration of landlords N.I.

7  After Article 65 of the Private Tenancies Order insert—

“Registration of landlords N.I.

Registration of landlords

65A— (1) The Department may by regulations provide for the registration of landlords of dwelling-houses let under a private tenancy.

(2) Regulations under this Article may in particular make provision for—

(a) the appointment of a body or person (“the registrar”) to establish and maintain a register;

(b) the maintenance of the register, including provision as to the information which is to be included in, or excluded from, the register;

(c) imposing a requirement to register on all landlords mentioned in paragraph (1), subject to any prescribed exceptions;

(d) the procedure for registration, including provision about the information to be provided for the purposes of registration;

(e) the conditions to be satisfied for registration or continued registration;

(f) the fees (if any) payable for registration or continued registration;

(g) appeals against decisions of the registrar under the regulations;

(h) information held by the registrar which is not included in the register to be disclosed to prescribed persons for prescribed purposes.

(3) The registrar must make the register available for public inspection without charge at such place and at such times as the registrar considers appropriate.

(4) A person commits an offence if—

(a) he provides false information for the purposes of registration under this Article;

(b) not being a person registered under this Article, he lets a dwelling- house under a private tenancy;

(c) being a person registered under this Article, he fails to provide evidence of registration in prescribed circumstances.

(5) A person guilty of an offence under paragraph (4)(a) or (b) is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 4 on the standard scale.

(6) A person guilty of an offence under paragraph (4)(c) is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 2 on the standard scale.

(7) If on an application made to it by a district council, the county court is satisfied that—

(a) a person has been convicted of an offence under paragraph (4)(b), and

(b) that person is continuing after that conviction to contravene paragraph (4)(b),

the court may make an order requiring that person to register under this Article within such period not being less than 28 days from the date of the order) as the court may specify.”.