{"id":2484,"date":"2025-07-13T16:58:05","date_gmt":"2025-07-13T15:58:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.no53legal.uk\/nws\/?p=2484"},"modified":"2025-07-13T21:44:21","modified_gmt":"2025-07-13T20:44:21","slug":"occupation-orders","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.no53legal.uk\/nws\/archives\/2484","title":{"rendered":"Occupation Orders"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Occupation Orders<\/h2>
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\"Broken<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Securing Safety and Housing Rights<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

An occupation order is a type of injunction issued by the Family Court under the Family Law Act 1996. It regulates who can live in, enter, or be excluded from a family home, often in situations involving domestic abuse, relationship breakdown, or disputes over shared property.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Who Can Apply<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

You may apply if you are an \u201cassociated person\u201d with the respondent, including:<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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<\/path><\/svg><\/span>A current or former spouse or civil partner<\/span><\/div>\n\n\n\n
<\/path><\/svg><\/span>A cohabitant or former cohabitant<\/span><\/div>\n\n\n\n
<\/path><\/svg><\/span>Someone engaged to be married or in a civil partnership<\/span><\/div>\n\n\n\n
<\/path><\/svg><\/span>A parent of a shared child<\/span><\/div>\n\n\n\n
<\/path><\/svg><\/span>A relative or someone with a close personal relationship<\/span><\/div>\n\n\n\n
<\/path><\/svg><\/span>You must also have a legal or beneficial interest in the property, or matrimonial home rights<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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What the Order Can Do<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

An occupation order can:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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<\/path><\/svg><\/span>Exclude someone from the home entirely<\/span><\/div>\n\n\n\n
<\/path><\/svg><\/span>Restrict access to certain areas or times<\/span><\/div>\n\n\n\n
<\/path><\/svg><\/span>Enforce the right to remain in the property<\/span><\/div>\n\n\n\n
<\/path><\/svg><\/span>Prevent harassment or threats within the home<\/span><\/div>\n\n\n\n
<\/path><\/svg><\/span>Protect children and vulnerable adults from harm<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Legal Tests and Court Considerations<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The court applies the balance of harm test:<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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<\/path><\/svg><\/span>Will the applicant or child suffer significant harm if the order is not made?<\/span><\/div>\n\n\n\n
<\/path><\/svg><\/span>Will the respondent or child suffer greater harm if the order is made?<\/span><\/div>\n\n\n\n
<\/path><\/svg><\/span>If the applicant’s harm outweighs the respondent’s, the court must issue the order.<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Even if the test isn\u2019t met, the court may still grant the order based on:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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<\/path><\/svg><\/span>Housing needs and resources<\/span><\/div>\n\n\n\n
<\/path><\/svg><\/span>Financial circumstances<\/span><\/div>\n\n\n\n
<\/path><\/svg><\/span>Health, safety and wellbeing of all parties<\/span><\/div>\n\n\n\n
<\/path><\/svg><\/span>Conduct of both parties<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Types of Occupation Orders<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Family Law Act provides different sections depending on the applicant\u2019s status:<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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<\/path><\/svg><\/span>S33: for those entitled to occupy (e.g. owners or tenants)<\/span><\/div>\n\n\n\n
<\/path><\/svg><\/span>s25-38: for ex partners, cohabitants, or those without legal entitlement<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Duration and Enforcement<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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<\/path><\/svg><\/span>Orders may last up to 6 months and are extendable<\/span><\/div>\n\n\n\n
<\/path><\/svg><\/span>Breach may lead to arrest if a power of arrest is attached to the order<\/span><\/div>\n\n\n\n
<\/path><\/svg><\/span>Without a power of arrest, the applicant must apply for a warrant<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Advice<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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<\/path><\/svg><\/span>Gather strong evidence: photos, messages, police reports<\/span><\/div>\n\n\n\n
<\/path><\/svg><\/span>Seek legal advice as soon as possible: legal aid may be available<\/span><\/div>\n\n\n\n
<\/path><\/svg><\/span>Consider whether a combined NMO\/OO is necessary for broader protection.<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Contact Us<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Occupation Orders Securing Safety and Housing Rights An occupation order is a type of injunction issued by the Family Court under the Family Law Act 1996. It regulates who can live in, enter, or be excluded from a family home, often in situations involving domestic abuse, relationship breakdown, or disputes over shared property. Who Can […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"zakra_page_container_layout":"customizer","zakra_page_sidebar_layout":"customizer","zakra_remove_content_margin":false,"zakra_sidebar":"customizer","zakra_transparent_header":"customizer","zakra_logo":0,"zakra_main_header_style":"default","zakra_menu_item_color":"","zakra_menu_item_hover_color":"","zakra_menu_item_active_color":"","zakra_menu_active_style":"","zakra_page_header":true,"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[177],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2484","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-abuse-injunctions"],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":false,"thumbnail":false,"medium":false,"medium_large":false,"large":false,"1536x1536":false,"2048x2048":false,"mailpoet_newsletter_max":false},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"Lea_NSW","author_link":"https:\/\/www.no53legal.uk\/nws\/archives\/author\/admin"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"Occupation Orders Securing Safety and Housing Rights An occupation order is a type of injunction issued by the Family Court under the Family Law Act 1996. It regulates who can live in, enter, or be excluded from a family home, often in situations involving domestic abuse, relationship breakdown, or disputes over shared property. Who Can…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.no53legal.uk\/nws\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2484","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.no53legal.uk\/nws\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.no53legal.uk\/nws\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.no53legal.uk\/nws\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.no53legal.uk\/nws\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2484"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/www.no53legal.uk\/nws\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2484\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2508,"href":"https:\/\/www.no53legal.uk\/nws\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2484\/revisions\/2508"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.no53legal.uk\/nws\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2484"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.no53legal.uk\/nws\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2484"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.no53legal.uk\/nws\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2484"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}