{
  "url": "https://openlegislation.uk/draft-housing-northern-ireland-order-2003/article-28",
  "json_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/draft-housing-northern-ireland-order-2003/article-28.json",
  "legislation": "ukdsi/2003/0110443462",
  "legislation_title": "The Housing (Northern Ireland) Order 2003",
  "legislation_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/draft-housing-northern-ireland-order-2003",
  "path": "article/28",
  "kind": "article",
  "number": "28",
  "heading": "Interpretation of Part III",
  "text": "(1) In this Part—\n“dwelling” means a building or part of a building occupied or intended to be occupied as a separate dwelling, together with any yard, garden, outhouses and appurtenances belonging to it or usually enjoyed with it;\n“elderly” means aged 60 years or over;\n“house in multiple occupation” has the same meaning as in Part IV of the Order of 1992;\n“housing action area” has the same meaning as in Article 2(2) of the Order of 1981;\n“improvement” includes alteration and enlargement;\n“owner”, in relation to a dwelling, has the meaning given by Article 32, and, in relation to a house in multiple occupation, has the same meaning as in Article 2 of the Order of 1981;\n“owner’s interest”, in relation to any premises, means—\n(a) a freehold estate in possession (whether legal or equitable), or\n(b) an interest under a tenancy granted or extended for a term of years of which not less than 10 years remain unexpired at the date of the application,\nwhether held by the applicant alone or jointly with others;\n“partner”, in relation to a person, means that person’s spouse or a person other than a spouse with whom he or she lives as husband or wife;\n“rack rent” means a rent which is not less than two-thirds of the net annual value of the dwelling, or a rent which has been fixed in accordance with the Rent (Northern Ireland) Order 1978 (NI 20);\n“relevant authority” means the authority for the area in which the dwelling or building is situated; and references to an authority and to the area of an authority shall be construed in accordance with paragraphs (2), (3) and (4) of Article 2 of the Children (Northern Ireland) Order 1995 (NI 2);\n“tenancy” includes a sub-tenancy and an agreement for a tenancy or sub-tenancy;\n“tenant” includes a sub-tenant and any person deriving title under the original tenant or sub-tenant.\n(2) Subject to paragraph (3) a tenancy is a long tenancy for the purposes of this Part if—\n(a) it is a tenancy granted for a term certain exceeding 21 years, whether or not it is (or may become) terminable before the end of that term by a notice given by or to the tenant or by re-entry, forfeiture or otherwise; or\n(b) it is a tenancy granted under an equity-sharing lease within the meaning of Article 31(6) of the Order of 1981.\n(3) A tenancy is not a long tenancy for those purposes if it is an interest created by way of security and liable to termination by the exercise of a right of redemption or otherwise.\n(4) In this Part references to a person being connected with the owner of a dwelling shall be construed in accordance with Article 31.",
  "extent": null,
  "status": null,
  "version": "current",
  "annotations": [],
  "outstanding_effects": [],
  "provenance": {
    "source": "legislation.gov.uk",
    "source_url": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukdsi/2003/0110443462/article/28",
    "retrieved_at": "2026-10-30T15:25:40.645129+00:00"
  },
  "licence": "Open Government Licence v3.0",
  "licence_url": "https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/",
  "attribution": "Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives."
}