Bankruptcy (Amendment) Act 2015

Amendment of section 85 of Act of 1988

10. Section 85 (amended by section 157 of the Act of 2012) of the Act of 1988 is amended—

(a) by the substitution of the following subsections for subsections (1) and (2):

“(1) Subject to subsection (2) and section 85A, every bankruptcy shall, on the 1st anniversary of the date of the making of the adjudication order in respect of that bankruptcy, unless prior to that date the bankruptcy has been discharged or annulled, stand discharged.

(2) (a) Where an adjudication order in respect of a bankruptcy would, but for section 10 of the Bankruptcy (Amendment) Act 2015, expire on any day during the period of 6 months from the commencement of that section, the bankruptcy concerned shall, subject to section 85A, stand discharged on that day unless it has otherwise been discharged or annulled.

(b) Where an adjudication order in respect of a bankruptcy would, but for section 10 of the Bankruptcy (Amendment) Act 2015, expire at any time after the expiration of 6 months from the commencement of that section, the bankruptcy concerned shall, subject to section 85A, stand discharged on the later of—

(i) 6 months after that commencement, or

(ii) one year from the date that the adjudication order was made,

unless it has otherwise been discharged or annulled.”,

(b) in subsection (3), by the substitution of “Subject to subsection (3A), where a bankruptcy is discharged” for “Where a bankruptcy is discharged”, and

(c) by the insertion of the following subsections after subsection (3):

“(3A) Subject to subsections (3B) to (3F), where on the 3rd anniversary of the date of the making of the adjudication order in respect of a bankruptcy—

(a) the unrealised property of the bankrupt referred to in subsection (3) includes an estate or interest in what was, at the date of the making of the adjudication order, the family home, shared home or principal private residence of the bankrupt, and

(b) in the case of the family home or shared home, the Official Assignee has not applied to the Court for an order for sale of that home,

that estate or interest shall, on that 3rd anniversary, stand re-vested in the bankrupt without the need for any conveyance, assignment or transfer.

(3B) Subject to subsections (3E) and (3F), where prior to the 3rd anniversary of the date of the making of the adjudication order in respect of a bankruptcy the Official Assignee—

(a) has applied to the Court for an order for sale in respect of what was at the date of that adjudication the family home or shared home of the bankrupt, and

(b) that application is dismissed by the Court,

the Court shall, unless it does not consider it just to do so in all the circumstances, make an order that the estate or interest of the bankrupt in that family home or shared home shall stand re-vested in the bankrupt from such date as is specified in the order without the need for any conveyance, assignment or transfer.

(3C) Subject to subsections (3E) and (3F), subsection (3A) shall not apply where at any time after the date of the making of the adjudication order in respect of the bankruptcy but prior to the 3rd anniversary of that date—

(a) the Official Assignee and the bankrupt have entered into an agreement in writing, for consideration or otherwise, that any estate or interest of the bankrupt in what was, at the date of adjudication, the family home, shared home or principal private residence of that bankrupt will not re-vest in that bankrupt, or

(b) on application by the bankrupt or the Official Assignee, the Court, where it considers it just to do so, makes an order that any estate or interest of the bankrupt in what was, at the date of adjudication, the family home, shared home or the principal private residence of that bankrupt will not re-vest in that bankrupt.

(3D) Subsection (3A) shall not apply where, on application by the Official Assignee at any time after the date of the making of the adjudication order in respect of that bankruptcy but prior to the 3rd anniversary of that date, the Court substitutes for that 3rd anniversary such longer period as the Court considers just in all the circumstances.

(3E) Where the Court makes an order under subsection (3D), subsections (3A), (3B) and (3C) shall apply subject to the modification that each reference to the 3rd anniversary in those subsections shall be taken to be a reference to the longer period substituted by the Court under subsection (3D) for such 3rd anniversary.

(3F) Where an order of adjudication in bankruptcy was made more than 2 years and six months prior to the day of coming into operation of section 10 of the Bankruptcy (Amendment) Act 2015, subsections (3A), (3B) and (3C) shall apply subject to the modification that each reference to the 3rd anniversary in those subsections shall be taken to be a reference to the day falling 6 months after the day of coming into operation of that section.

(3G) Where an estate or interest in a family home, shared home or principal private residence has re-vested in a bankrupt in accordance with this section, the Official Assignee shall, on the application of the bankrupt, issue a certificate in such form as may be prescribed confirming that the estate or interest has re-vested in that bankrupt.”,

and

(d) by the substitution of the following subsection for subsection (6):

“(6) (a) In this section and in sections 85A to 85D, ‘bankrupt’ includes personal representatives and assigns.

(b) In this section, ‘family home’ and ‘shared home’ have the same meaning as they have in section 61.”.