The Race Relations (Northern Ireland) Order 1997

Goods, facilities, services and premisesN.I.

F1. . . provision of goods, facilities or servicesN.I.

21.—(1) It is unlawful for any person concerned with the provision (for payment or not) of goods, facilities or services to the public or a section of the public to discriminate against a person who seeks to obtain or use those goods, facilities or services—

(a)by refusing or deliberately omitting to provide him with any of them; or

(b)by refusing or deliberately omitting to provide him with goods, facilities or services of the same quality, in the same manner and on the same terms as are normal in his case in relation to other members of the public or (where the person so seeking belongs to a section of the public) to other members of that section.

[F1(1A) It is unlawful for any person concerned with the provision of goods, facilities or services as mentioned in paragraph (1), in relation to such provision, to subject to harassment—

(a)a person who seeks to obtain or use those goods, facilities or services, or

(b)a person to whom he provides those goods, facilities or services.]

(2) The following are examples of the facilities and services mentioned in paragraph (1)—

(a)access to and use of any place which members of the public are permitted to enter;

(b)accommodation in a hotel, boarding house or other similar establishment;

(c)facilities by way of banking or insurance or for grants, loans, credit or finance;

(d)facilities for education;

(e)facilities for entertainment, recreation or refreshment;

(f)facilities for transport or travel;

(g)the services of any profession or trade, or any local or other public authority.

F2. . . disposal or management of premisesN.I.

22.—(1) It is unlawful for a person with power to dispose of any premises to discriminate against another—

(a)in the terms on which he offers him those premises; or

(b)by refusing his application for those premises; or

(c)in his treatment of him in relation to any list of persons in need of premises of that description.

(2) Paragraph (1) does not apply to[F2 discrimination, on grounds other than those of race or ethnic or national origins, by] a person who owns an estate in the premises and wholly occupies them unless, for the purpose of disposing of the premises, he—

(a)uses the services of an estate agent; or

(b)publishes an advertisement or causes an advertisement to be published.

(3) It is unlawful for a person managing any premises to discriminate against a person occupying those premises—

(a)in the way he affords him access to any benefits or facilities, or by refusing or deliberately omitting to afford him access to them; or

(b)by evicting him, or subjecting him to any other detriment.

[F2(3A) It is unlawful for a person, in relation to such premises as are referred to in paragraph (1) or (3), to subject to harassment a person who applies for or, as the case may be, occupies such premises.]

(4) It is unlawful for any person whose licence or consent is required for the disposal of any premises comprised in a tenancy

[F2(a)discriminate against a person by withholding the licence or consent for the disposal of the premises to him, or

(b)in relation to such a licence or consent, to subject to harassment a person who applies for such a licence or consent, or from whom the licence or consent is withheld.]

(5) Paragraph (4) applies to tenancies created before as well as after the coming into operation of this Article.

(6) In this Article—

• “dispose”, in relation to premises, includes granting a right to occupy the premises, and, in relation to premises comprised in a tenancy, includes—

  (a)

  assigning the tenancy, and

  (b)

  sub-letting or parting with possession of the premises or any part of the premises;

  and “disposal” shall be construed accordingly;

• “estate agent” means a person who, by way of profession or trade, provides services for the purpose of finding premises for persons seeking to acquire them or assisting in the disposal of premises; and

• “tenancy” means a tenancy created—

  (a)

  by a lease or sub-lease,

  (b)

  by an agreement for a lease or sub-lease,

  (c)

  by a tenancy agreement, or

  (d)

  in pursuance of any statutory provision.

(7) This Article applies only in relation to premises in Northern Ireland.

Exception from Articles 21(1) and 22: small dwellingsN.I.

23.—(1) [F3In relation to discrimination on grounds other than those of race or ethnic or national origins] Where the conditions mentioned in paragraph (2) are satisfied—

(a)Article 21(1) does not apply to the provision by a person of accommodation in any premises;

(b)Article 22(1) does not apply to the disposal by a person of any premises;

(c)Article 22(4) does not apply to the withholding of any consent or licence.

(2) The conditions are that—

(a)the relevant occupier resides, and intends to continue to reside, on the premises;

(b)the relevant occupier shares accommodation on the premises with persons who reside on the premises and are not members of his household;

(c)the shared accommodation is not storage accommodation or a means of access; and

(d)the premises are small premises.

(3) For the purposes of this Article, premises are “small premises” if they fall within paragraph (4) or (5).

(4) Premises fall within this paragraph if—

(a)only the relevant occupier and members of his household reside in the accommodation occupied by him;

(b)the premises comprise, in addition to the accommodation occupied by the relevant occupier, residential accommodation for at least one other household;

(c)the residential accommodation for each other household is let, or available for letting, on a separate tenancy or similar agreement; and

(d)there are not normally more than two such other households.

(5) Premises fall within this paragraph if there is not normally residential accommodation on the premises for more than 6 persons in addition to the relevant occupier and any members of his household.

(6) For the purposes of this Article “the relevant occupier” means—

(a)in a case falling within Article 21(1), the person providing the accommodation or a near relative of his;

(b)in a case falling within Article 22(1), the person with power to dispose of the premises, or a near relative of his;

(c)in a case falling within Article 22(4) the person whose licence or consent is required for the disposal of the premises, or a near relative of his.

(7) For the purposes of this Article “near relative” means a person's spouse[F4 or civil partner], parent, child, grandparent, grandchild, or brother or sister (whether of full or half blood or[F4 by marriage or civil partnership)].

Further exceptions from Articles[F5 21] and 22N.I.

24.—(1) Articles[F5 21] and 22 do not apply—

(a)to discrimination[F5 or harassment] which is rendered unlawful by any provision of Part II or Article 18 or 19; or

(b)to discrimination which would be rendered unlawful by any provision of Part II but for any of the following provisions, namely Articles 6(3) and (5)[F5 7A(1)(b)], 8(1)(b), 9(4), 11 and 16(3).

(2) Article 21(1) does not apply to anything done by a person as a participant in arrangements under which he (for reward or not) takes into his home, and treats as if they were members of his family, children, elderly persons, or persons requiring a special degree of care and attention.

Discrimination: associations not within Article 13N.I.

25.—(1) This Article applies to any association of persons (however described, whether corporate or unincorporate, and whether or not its activities are carried on for profit) if—

(a)it has 25 or more members; and

(b)admission to membership is regulated by its constitution and is so conducted that the members do not constitute a section of the public within the meaning of Article 21(1); and

(c)it is not an organisation to which Article 13 applies.

(2) It is unlawful for an association to which this Article applies, in the case of a person who is not a member of the association, to discriminate against him—

(a)in the terms on which it is prepared to admit him to membership; or

(b)by refusing or deliberately omitting to accept his application for membership.

(3) It is unlawful for an association to which this Article applies, in the case of a person who is a member or associate of the association, to discriminate against him—

(a)in the way it affords him access to any benefits, facilities or services, or by refusing or deliberately omitting to afford him access to them; or

(b)in the case of a member, by depriving him of membership, or varying the terms on which he is a member; or

(c)in the case of an associate, by depriving him of his rights as an associate, or varying those rights; or

(d)in either case, by subjecting him to any other detriment.

(4) For the purposes of this Article—

(a)a person is a member of an association if he belongs to it by virtue of his admission to any sort of membership provided for by its constitution (and is not merely a person with certain rights under its constitution by virtue of his membership of some other association), and references to membership of an association shall be construed accordingly;

(b)a person is an associate of an association to which this Article applies if, not being a member of it, he has under its constitution some or all of the rights enjoyed by members (or would have apart from any provision in its constitution authorising the refusal of those rights in particular cases).

(5) Nothing in this Article shall render unlawful any act not involving discrimination on the ground of colour done by an association to which paragraph (6) applies.

(6) This paragraph applies to an association if the main object of the association is to enable the benefits of membership (whatever they may be) to be enjoyed by persons of a particular racial group defined otherwise than by reference to colour.

(7) In determining whether that is the main object of an association regard shall be had to the essential character of the association and to all relevant circumstances including, in particular, the extent to which the affairs of the association are so conducted that the persons primarily enjoying the benefits of membership are of the racial group in question.