Water Act 1989

43 Conditions of connection to water main

(1) Subject to the following provisions of this section and without prejudice to the provisions of sections 233 and 372 of the [1986 c. 45.] Insolvency Act 1986 (conditions of supply after insolvency), where the owner or occupier of any premises serves a notice on a water undertaker under section 42 above, the undertaker may make any one or more of the following a condition of complying with the duties to which it is subject by virtue of that notice, that is to say—

(a) that such security as the undertaker may reasonably require has been provided for the discharge of any obligations imposed by virtue of section 44(5) below on the person serving the notice;

(b) in a case where the connection required by the notice is necessary as a consequence of a disconnection made by reason of any person’s failure to pay any charges, that the person serving the notice has paid any amount owed by him to the undertaker in respect of a supply of water to those premises or in respect of expenses incurred in the making of the disconnection;

(c) that a meter for use in determining the amount of any charges which have been or may be fixed in relation to those premises by reference to volume has been installed and connected either by the undertaker or in accordance with specifications approved by the undertaker;

(d) that so much of the service pipe to the premises as does not belong to, or fall to be laid by, the undertaker and the plumbing of the premises comply with specifications approved by the undertaker for the purpose of ensuring that it will be reasonably practicable for such a meter to be so installed and connected;

(e) that a separate service pipe has been provided to each house or building on the premises or, where different parts of a building on the premises are separately occupied, to each of those parts or to any of them;

(f) that such a requirement as may be imposed under subsection (5) of section 51 below has been complied with or, in a case where such a requirement could be imposed but for there already being such a cistern as is mentioned in that subsection, that the cistern and its float-operated valve are in good repair;

(g) that there is no contravention in relation to the water fittings used or to be used in connection with the supply of water to those premises, or with the use of water in those premises, of such of the requirements of regulations under section 62 below as are prescribed for the purposes of this paragraph; and

(h) that every such step has been taken as has been specified in any notice served under section 63 below in relation to those premises on any person.

(2) A condition shall not be imposed by an undertaker under this section on a person who has served a notice under section 42 above except by a counter-notice served on that person before the end of the period of fourteen days beginning with the day after the service of the notice under that section.

(3) Where for the purposes of subsection (1)(a) above any sums have been deposited with a water undertaker by way of security for the discharge of any obligation, the undertaker shall pay interest at such rate as may be determined either—

(a) by the undertaker with the approval of the Director; or

(b) in default of a determination under paragraph (a) above, by the Director,

on every sum of 50p so deposited for every three months during which it remains in the hands of the undertaker; and an approval or determination by the Director for the purposes of this subsection may be given or made in relation to a particular case or description of cases or generally and may be revoked at any time.

(4) The power conferred on a water undertaker by virtue of paragraphs (c) and (d) of subsection (1) above shall be exercisable in relation to any premises even if the undertaker has no immediate intention, when the power is exercised, of fixing charges in relation to those premises by reference to volume, but shall not be exercisable so as to require the alteration or removal of any pipe laid or plumbing installed before 1st April 1989.

(5) Specifications approved by any water undertaker for the purposes of either of the said paragraphs (c) and (d) may be approved in relation to particular premises or, by being published in such manner as the undertaker considers appropriate, in relation to premises generally or to any description of premises.

(6) Any dispute between a water undertaker and any other person as to the terms of any condition imposed by virtue of either of the said paragraphs (c) and (d) shall be referred to the arbitration of a single arbitrator appointed by agreement between the undertaker and that person or, in default of agreement, by the Secretary of State.

(7) Where the effect of a notice served on a water undertaker under section 42 above in respect of any house is to require a service pipe to that house to be connected with a water main with which it has previously been connected, the undertaker shall not be entitled to make the reconnection subject to any such condition as is mentioned in paragraph (e) of subsection (1) above unless the undertaker would have been entitled under section 50 below to require the provision of a separate service pipe if the reconnection had already been made.

(8) In this section “meter” means any apparatus for measuring or showing the volume of water supplied to, or of effluent discharged from, any premises; and any reference in this section to the fixing of charges in relation to any premises by reference to volume is a reference to the fixing of those charges by reference to the volume of water supplied to those premises, to the volume of effluent discharged from those premises, to both of those factors or to one or both of those factors taken together with other factors.