Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 2:

In page 16, line 29, after "than" to insert ", where there is no joint tenant,".

This is a minor amendment which will bring the provisions of section 12(12) of the Bill into line with section 19(4)(a) of the Bill which updates section 3(2) of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1997 to empower a housing authority to apply in specified circumstances for an excluding order against a tenant where that tenant is a joint tenant. Under current law a joint tenant may seek an excluding order against the other joint tenant of the dwelling in specified circumstances. Amendment No. 2 provides that where a possession application is being sought in the District Court on the grounds of anti-social behaviour, the court will be empowered to treat the possession application as if it were an application by a housing authority for an exclusion order under section 3 of the 1997 Act, as revised. Effectively, if the person engaged in anti-social behaviour is a joint tenant the court has the discretion to consider making an excluding order against that tenant rather than making a possession order that has the effect of putting the entire household out of the dwelling. It will remain the case following enactment of the Bill that a housing authority will not be able to seek an excluding order against a sole tenant.