Public Health Act 1875

General Provisions as to Urban Rates.

218 Estimate to be prepared before making rates.

Every urban authority, before proceeding to make a general district rate or private improvement rate under this Act, shall cause an estimate to be prepared of the money required for the purposes in respect of which the rate is to be made, showing—

• The several sums required for each of such purposes ; and

• The rateable value of the property assessable ; and

• The amount of rate which for those purposes it is necessary to make on each pound of such value ;

and the estimate so made shall forthwith, after being approved of by the urban authority, be entered in the rate book, and be kept at their office, open to public inspection during office hours thereat ; but it shall not be deemed part of the rate, nor in any respect affect the validity of the same.

219 Rates to be open to inspection.

Any person interested in or assessed to any rate made under this Act may inspect the same, and any estimate made previously thereto, and may take copies of or extracts therefrom without fee or reward ; any person who, having the custody of any such estimate or rate, refuses to allow or does not permit such inspection, or such copies or extracts to be taken, shall be liable to a penalty not exceeding five pounds.

220 Description of owner or occupier in rates.

Where the name of any owner or occupier liable to be rated under this Act is not known to the urban authority it shall be sufficient to assess and designate him in the rate as "the owner" or " the occupier " of the premises in respect of which the assessment is made, without further description.

221 Rates may be amended.

An urban authority may from time to time amend any rate made in pursuance of this Act, by inserting therein the name of any person claiming and entitled to have his name inserted, or by inserting the name of any person who ought to have been assessed, or by striking out the name of any person who ought not to have been assessed, or by raising or reducing the sum at which any person has been assessed, if it appears to the urban authority that he has been under-rated or over-rated, or by making any other alteration which will make the rate conformable to the provisions of this Act; and no such amendment shall be held to avoid the rate.

Provided, that any person who may feel himself aggrieved by any such amendment shall have the same right of appeal therefrom as he would have had if the matter of amendment had appeared on the rate originally made, and with respect to him an amended rate shall he considered to have been made at the time when he first received notice of the amendment; and an amended rate shall not he payable by any person the amount of whose rate is increased by the amendment, or whose name is thereby newly inserted until seven days after such notice has been given to him.

222 Publication and collection of rates.

All rates made or collected under this Act shall be published in the same manner as poor rates, and shall commence and be payable at such time or times, and shall be made in such manner and form, and be collected by such persons, and either together or separately, or with any other rate or tax, as the urban authority may from time to time appoint: Provided that no publication shall be required of any private- improvement rate.

223 Evidence of rates.

The production of the books purporting to contain any rate or assessment made under this Act shall, without any other evidence whatever, be received as prima facie evidence of the making and validity of the rates mentioned therein.

224 Power to make deduction from rate in certain cases.

Where it appears to an urban authority that any premises were sufficiently drained before the construction of any new sewer laid down by them, they may deduct from the amount of rates otherwise chargeable in respect of such premises such a sum for such time as they may under all the circumstances of the case deem just.

225 Power to reduce or remit rates.

An urban authority may reduce or remit the payment of any rate on account of the poverty of any person liable to the payment thereof.

226 Saving for existing agreements.

Nothing in this part of this Act shall alter or affect any lease contract or agreement made or entered into between the landlord and tenant of any premises.

227 Limit in local Act not to apply to rate for purposes of this Act.

Any limit imposed on or in respect of any rate by any local Act of Parliament shall not apply to any rate required to be levied for the purpose of defraying any expenses incurred by an urban authority in the execution of this Act.

228 Quota of rates to be paid by the universities, &c.

Nothing in this Act shall be deemed to alter or interfere with any liability existing at the time of the passing of this Act of the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge respectively to contribute towards the expenses of paving and pitching repairing lighting and cleansing under the powers of any local Act under which the Oxford and Cambridge commissioners respectively act, the several streets and places within the jurisdiction of such commissioners respectively.

If any difference arises between either of the said universities and the urban authority with respect to the proportion and manner in which the universities shall contribute towards any expenses under this Act, and to which the university is not liable under any such local Act, the same shall be settled by arbitration in manner provided by this

All rates, contributions, and sums of money which may become payable under this Act by the said universities respectively, and their respective halls and colleges, may be recovered from such universities halls and colleges in the same manner in all respects as rates contributions and sums of money may now be recovered from them by virtue of any such local Act.