An injunction is a court order stopping someone from carrying out a certain action. A person who breaches an injunction could be put in prison.

• What is an injunction?
• Who can apply for an injunction?
• Will the court always grant an injunction?
• What happens the person the injunction is served against?
• Why should the landlord apply for an injunction?

What is an injunction?

An injunction is a court order that tells a person not to do certain things. A person who breaches an injunction will be in contempt of court and could be sent to prison.

Injunctions can be granted to stop a person from;

• breaching a term in a tenancy agreement
• carrying out further act of antisocial behaviour
• having contact with their victim
• going to areas where s/he have previously caused problems

An injunction should not be granted against a child who is under the age of 15 and has no money or assets.

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Who can apply for an injunction?

The Housing Executive, housing associations and private landlords can all apply for an injunction if someone is carrying out antisocial behaviour. They can apply for an injunction even if the person carrying out the antisocial behaviour is not their tenant.

Landlords can also apply for an interim injunction. This can be very useful in urgent cases, where you want to stop a person from continuing her/his behaviour. An interim injunction can help you while you are waiting for the full court hearing

Contact a solicitor if you need to apply for an interim injunction.

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Will the court always grant an injunction?

The court will only grant an injunction if it thinks that there is a serious risk of harm because of the behaviour. This means that the behaviour must be damaging the mental or physical health of other people in the area.

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What happens the person the injunction is served against?

The person will be told the terms of the injunction. It will usually be issued for a set period of time. If the person breaks the terms of the injunction within this period of time s/he will be guilty of contempt of court. S/he could be imprisoned for this.

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Why should the landlord apply for an injunction?

The advantages of using injunctions rather than applying for possession are:

• they can be obtained more quickly
• the defendant can't delay the proceedings
• an interim injunction doesn't require witnesses to attend court to give evidence and therefore is less likely to discourage an individual from reporting an incident
• they may prevent an eviction occurring