Houses in Multiple Occupation Act (Northern Ireland) 2016

Powers of entry: supplementary provisions

80.—(1) A person entering premises under section 78 or 79 may be accompanied by such other persons as the person considers necessary for the purpose for which the power is being exercised.

(2) If premises are unoccupied or temporarily vacant, a person entering them under section 78 or 79 must leave them as effectively secured against trespassers as the person found them.

(3) Where any property is damaged in the exercise of any power conferred by section 78 or 79, or in the doing of anything for the purposes of which such a power is conferred, the council must compensate the person who sustained the damage, unless the damage is attributable to the fault of that person.

(4) Any question of disputed compensation under this section is to be determined by the Lands Tribunal.

(5) A person commits an offence if the person—

(a) obstructs a relevant person in the performance of anything which, by virtue section 78 or 79, the relevant person is required or authorised to do, and

(b) does not have a reasonable excuse for doing so.

(6) In subsection (5), “relevant person” means a person entering premises under section 78 or 79, or any person accompanying such a person under subsection (1).

(7) A person guilty of an offence under subsection (5) is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale.