Water Industry Act 1991

216 Provisions relating to the service of documents. E+W

(1) Any document required or authorised by virtue of this Act to be served on any person may be served—

(a) by delivering it to him or by leaving it at his proper address or by sending it by post to him at that address; or

(b) if the person is a body corporate, by serving it in accordance with paragraph (a) above on the secretary or clerk of that body; or

(c) if the person is a partnership, by serving it in accordance with paragraph (a) above on a partner or a person having the control of management of the partnership business.

(2) For the purposes of this section and section 7 of the M1 Interpretation Act 1978 (which relates to the service of documents by post) in its application to this section, the proper address of any person on whom a document is to be served shall be his last known address, except that—

(a) in the case of service on a body corporate or its secretary or clerk, it shall be the address of the registered or principal office of the body;

(b) in the case of service on a partnership or a partner or a person having the control or management of a partnership business, it shall be the principal office of the partnership;

and for the purposes of this subsection the principal office of a company registered outside the United Kingdom or of a partnership carrying on business outside the United Kingdom is its principal office within the United Kingdom.

(3) If a person to be served by virtue of this Act with any document by another has specified to that other an address within the United Kingdom other than his proper address (as determined in pursuance of subsection (2) above) as the one at which he or someone on his behalf will accept documents of the same description as that document, that address shall also be treated as his proper address for the purposes of this section and for the purposes of the said section 7 in its application to this section.

(4) Where under any provision of this Act any document is required to be served on the owner, on a lessee or on the occupier of any premises then—

(a) if the name or address of the owner, of the lessee or, as the case may be, of the occupier of the premises cannot after reasonable inquiry be ascertained; or

(b) in the case of service on the occupier, if the premises appear to be or are unoccupied,

that document may be served either by leaving it in the hands of a person who is or appears to be resident or employed on the land or by leaving it conspicuously affixed to some building or object on the land.

[F1 (4A) Any document required or authorised by virtue of this Act to be served on any person may be served by electronic means.

(4B) But a document may be served by electronic means on a person who is a consumer only if—

(a) the person has consented in writing to the receipt of documents by electronic means (and has not withdrawn that consent), and

(b) the document is sent to the number or address most recently specified by the person for that purpose.

(4C) For the purposes of subsection (4B) “consumer” means a person who is liable to pay charges in respect of—

(a) the supply of water to any premises, or

(b) the provision of sewerage services to any premises,

but does not include a water undertaker, a water supply licensee, a sewerage undertaker, a sewerage licensee, or the Authority.]

(5) This section shall not apply to any document in relation to the service of which provision is made by rules of court.

Textual Amendments

F1 S. 216(4A)-(4C) inserted (10.5.2022 for specified purposes) by Environment Act 2021 (c. 30), ss. 87, 147(3)(4) (with s. 144); S.I. 2022/518, regs. 1(2), 2(f)

Modifications etc. (not altering text)

C1 S. 216 extended (01.12.1991) by Statutory Water Companies Act 1991 (c. 58, SIF 130), ss. 15(4), 17(2).

Marginal Citations

M1 1978 c. 30.