Housing Act 1996

178 Meaning of associated person. E+W

(1) For the purposes of this Part, a person is associated with another person if—

(a) they are or have been married to each other;

[F1 (aa) they are or have been civil partners of each other;]

(b) they are cohabitants or former cohabitants;

(c) they live or have lived in the same household;

(d) they are relatives;

(e) they have agreed to marry one another (whether or not that agreement has been terminated);

[F2 (ea) they have entered into a civil partnership agreement between them (whether or not that agreement has been terminated);]

(f) in relation to a child, each of them is a parent of the child or has, or has had, parental responsibility for the child.

(2) If a child has been adopted or [F3 falls within subsection (2A) ] , two persons are also associated with each other for the purposes of this Part if—

(a) one is a natural parent of the child or a parent of such a natural parent, and

(b) the other is the child or a person—

(i) who has become a parent of the child by virtue of an adoption order or who has applied for an adoption order, or

(ii) with whom the child has at any time been placed for adoption.

[F4 (2A) A child falls within this subsection if—

(a) an adoption agency, within the meaning of section 2 of the Adoption and Children Act 2002, is authorised to place him for adoption under section 19 of that Act (placing children with parental consent) or he has become the subject of an order under section 21 of that Act (placement orders), or

(b) he is freed for adoption by virtue of an order made—

(i) in England and Wales, under section 18 of the Adoption Act 1976,

(ii) in Scotland, under section 18 of the Adoption (Scotland) Act 1978, or

(iii) in Northern Ireland, under Article 17(1) or 18(1) of the Adoption (Northern Ireland) Order 1987.]

(3) In this section—

• [F5 “adoption order” means an adoption order within the meaning of section 72(1) of the Adoption Act 1976 or section 46(1) of the Adoption and Children Act 2002;]

• “child” means a person under the age of 18 years;

• [F6 “civil partnership agreement” has the meaning given by section 73 of the Civil Partnership Act 2004;]

• [F7 “cohabitants” means [F8 two people who, although not married to, or civil partners of, each other, are living together as if they were a married couple or civil partners]

  and “former cohabitants” shall be construed accordingly;]

• “parental responsibility” has the same meaning as in the M1 Children Act 1989; and

• “relative”, in relation to a person, means—

  (a)

  the father, mother, stepfather, stepmother, son, daughter, stepson, stepdaughter, grandmother, grandfather, grandson or granddaughter of that person or of that person’s [F9 spouse, civil partner, former spouse or former civil partner ], or

  (b)

  the brother, sister, uncle, aunt, niece or nephew (whether of the full blood or of the half blood or by [F10 marriage or civil partnership ]) of that person or of that person’s [F9 spouse, civil partner, former spouse or former civil partner ],

  and includes, in relation to a person who is living or has lived with another person as [F11 if they were a married couple or civil partners], a person who would fall within paragraph (a) or (b) if the parties were married to [F12 , or civil partners of,] each other.

Textual Amendments

F1 S. 178(1)(aa) inserted (5.12.2005) by Civil Partnership Act 2004 (c. 33), s. 263(2), Sch. 8 para. 61(2); S.I. 2005/3175, art. 2(1), Sch. 1

F2 S. 178(1)(ea) inserted (5.12.2005) by Civil Partnership Act 2004 (c. 33), s. 263(2), Sch. 8 para. 61(3); S.I. 2005/3175, art. 2(1), Sch. 1

F3 Words in s. 178(2) substituted (30.12.2005) by Adoption and Children Act 2002 (c. 38), s. 148(1), Sch. 3 para. 90 (with Sch. 4 paras. 6-8); S.I. 2005/2213, art. 2(o)

F4 S. 178(2A) inserted (30.12.2005) by Adoption and Children Act 2002 (c. 38), s. 148(1), Sch. 3 para. 91 (with Sch. 4 paras. 6-8); S.I. 2005/2213, art. 2(o)

F5 Words in s. 178(3) substituted (30.12.2005) by Adoption and Children Act 2002 (c. 38), s. 148(1), Sch. 3 para. 92 (with Sch. 4 paras. 6-8); S.I. 2005/2213, art. 2(o)

F6 Words in s. 178(3) inserted (5.12.2005) by Civil Partnership Act 2004 (c. 33), s. 263(2), Sch. 8 para. 61(4); S.I. 2005/3175, art. 2(1), Sch. 1

F7 Words in s. 178(3) substituted (5.12.2005) by Civil Partnership Act 2004 (c. 33), s. 263(2), Sch. 8 para. 61(5); S.I. 2005/3175, art. 2(1), Sch. 1

F8 Words in s. 178(3) substituted (2.12.2019) by The Civil Partnership (Opposite-sex Couples) Regulations 2019 (S.I. 2019/1458), reg. 1(2), Sch. 3 para. 20(4)(a)

F9 Words in s. 178(3) substituted (5.12.2005) by Civil Partnership Act 2004 (c. 33), s. 263(2), Sch. 8 para. 61(6); S.I. 2005/3175, art. 2(1), Sch. 1

F10 Words in s. 178(3) substituted (5.12.2005) by Civil Partnership Act 2004 (c. 33), s. 263(2), Sch. 8 para. 61(7); S.I. 2005/3175, art. 2(1), Sch. 1

F11 Words in s. 178(3) substituted (2.12.2019) by The Civil Partnership (Opposite-sex Couples) Regulations 2019 (S.I. 2019/1458), reg. 1(2), Sch. 3 para. 20(4)(b)(i)

F12 Words in s. 178(3) inserted (2.12.2019) by The Civil Partnership (Opposite-sex Couples) Regulations 2019 (S.I. 2019/1458), reg. 1(2), Sch. 3 para. 20(4)(b)(ii)

Modifications etc. (not altering text)

C1 S. 178 applied (1.10.2015) by Deregulation Act 2015 (c. 20), ss. 34(4), 115(7) (with s. 41); S.I. 2015/994, art. 11(h)

Marginal Citations

M1 1989 c. 41.