Housing (Amendment) Act (Northern Ireland) 2011

Disclosure of information as to orders, etc. in respect of anti-social behaviour

13.—(1) Any person may disclose relevant information to a landlord under a secure tenancy if the information is disclosed for the purpose of enabling the landlord—

(a) to decide whether Ground 2A or 2B in Schedule 3A to the Housing (Northern Ireland) Order 1983 (NI 15) (withholding of consent to mutual exchange where order in force or application pending in connection with anti-social behaviour etc.) can be invoked in relation to the tenant under the tenancy;

(b) to decide whether a tenant is entitled to exercise a right under a scheme for house sales under Article 3 or 3A of the Housing (Northern Ireland) Order 1983; or

(c) to take any appropriate action in relation to the tenant in reliance on the Grounds mentioned in paragraph (a) or a scheme mentioned in paragraph (b).

(2) Any person may disclose relevant information to the Executive if the information is disclosed for the purpose of enabling the Executive to decide—

(a) whether to treat an applicant for an allocation of housing accommodation as ineligible for such an allocation by virtue of Article 22A(6) of the Housing (Northern Ireland) Order 1981 (NI 3); or

(b) whether to treat an applicant for assistance under Part 2 of the Housing (Northern Ireland) Order 1988 (NI 23) (homelessness) as ineligible for that assistance by virtue of Article 7A(5) of that Order.

(3) Any person may disclose relevant information to a registered housing association if the information is disclosed for the purpose of enabling the housing association to decide whether to allocate housing accommodation to any person.

(4) In this section—

(a) “registered housing association” has the same meaning as in Part 2 of the Housing (Northern Ireland) Order 1992 (NI 15);

(b) “relevant information” means information relating to any order or application mentioned in Ground 2A or 2B in Schedule 3A to the Housing (Northern Ireland) Order 1983 and relevant for the purposes of any of the provisions mentioned in subsection (1) or (2) or the decision mentioned in subsection (3), including (in particular) information identifying the person in respect of whom any such order or application has been made;

(c) “secure tenancy” has the meaning given by Article 25 of the Housing (Northern Ireland) Order 1983; and

(d) any reference to the tenant under a secure tenancy is, in relation to a joint tenancy, a reference to any of the joint tenants.