Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 10 November 2021
96. Deputy Violet-Anne Wynne asked the Minister for Housing; Local Government and Heritage if domestic violence is provided for in national legislation as an antisocial behaviour; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [54809/21]
View answer97. Deputy Violet-Anne Wynne asked the Minister for Housing; Local Government and Heritage if domestic violence is provided for under the Housing Acts 1966 to 2014 as a form of antisocial behaviour; if not, the mechanisms his Department will put in place to include same in order for perpetrators of domestic violence to be taken off local authority tenancy agreements; if so, if it is within the remit of local authorities to implement this distinction and remove perpetrators of domestic violence from tenancy agreements and reform an agreement with the survivor in order that they can reoccupy the primary residence; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [54810/21]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 96 and 97 together.
The response to Domestic, Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (DSGBV) is a cross-Departmental and multi-agency issue, with overall policy coordinated by the Department of Justice. Responsibility for the overall legal definition of domestic violence rests with my colleague the Minister for Justice.
In relation to Housing legislation, the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1997, as amended, provides for the definition of anti-social behaviour as follows:
‘ anti-social behaviour ’ includes either or both of the following, namely —
(a) the manufacture, production, preparation, importation, exportation, sale, supply, possession for the purposes of sale or supply, or distribution of a controlled drug (within the meaning of the Misuse of Drugs Acts 1977 to 2007),
(b) any behaviour which causes or is likely to cause any significant or persistent danger, injury, damage, alarm, loss or fear to any person living, working or otherwise lawfully in or in the vicinity of a house provided by a housing authority under the Housing Acts 1966 to 2014 or Part V of the Planning and Development Act 2000 or a housing estate in which the house is situate and, without prejudice to the foregoing, includes —
(i) violence, threats, intimidation, coercion, harassment or serious obstruction of any person,
(ii) behaviour which causes any significant or persistent impairment of a person’s use or enjoyment of his or her home, or
(iii) damage to or defacement by writing or other marks of any property, including a person ’ s home; '
The definition of anti-social behaviour in the Acts covers a range of behaviours that would be considered serious anti-social behaviour. Certain types of domestic violence may be covered by the definition, including behaviours directed at the person e.g. violence, threats, intimidation, coercion and harassment etc.
The Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009 provides for tenancy agreements to be drawn up between the local authority and their tenants. The tenancy agreements include the condition not to engage in anti-social behaviour.
Local authorities are responsible under the Housing Acts for the management and maintenance of their housing stock and the management of their estates, including taking appropriate measures to counter anti-social behaviour. The powers of local authorities in this area were significantly enhanced by Part 2 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2014, which provides for the issuing of a tenancy warning requiring that tenants cease any anti-social activity. Part 2 of the 2014 Act also gives local authorities the power to recover possession of their dwellings from households or individuals in serious breach of their tenancy agreements, including engaging in anti-social behaviour. In addition, the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1997 gives local authorities the power to secure court orders excluding individuals engaged in anti-social behaviour from local authority owned houses and local authority estates.
