The County Court Rules 1981

ORDER 49MISCELLANEOUS STATUTES

Administration of Justice Act 1970

1.  Any action by a mortgagee for possession of a dwelling-house, being an action to which section 36 of the Administration of Justice Act 1970 applies, shall be dealt with in chambers unless the court otherwise directs.

Chancel Repairs Act 1932

2.—(1) A notice to repair under section 2 of the Chancel Repairs Act 1932 shall—

(a)identify the responsible authority by whom it is given and the chancel alleged to be in need of repair;

(b)state the repairs alleged to be necessary and the grounds on which the person to whom the notice is addressed is alleged to be liable to repair the chancel, and

(c)call upon that person to put the chancel in proper repair,

and shall be served in accordance with Order 7, rule 1.

(2) Proceedings to recover the sum required to put a chancel in proper repair shall be brought by action.

(3) An application for the leave of the court under the proviso to subsection (2) of the said section 2 may be made in accordance with Order 13, rule 1.

(4) If the court is satisfied that the defendant has a prima facie defence to the action on the merits, the court may, on an application made by the defendant in accordance with Order 13, rule 1, order the plaintiff to give security for the defendant's costs.

(5) Where judgment is given for the payment of a sum of money in respect of repairs not yet executed, the court may order that the money be paid into court and dealt with in such manner as the court may direct for the purpose of ensuring that the money is spent in executing the repairs, but nothing in this paragraph shall prejudice a solicitor's lien for costs.

Companies Acts 1948 to 1980

3.  An application to a county court under the Companies Acts 1948 to 1980(1) shall be made by petition if a like application to the High Court would be made by petition.

Consumer Credit Act 1974

4.—(1) An application to a county court under section 139(1)(a) of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 for a credit agreement to be re-opened shall be made by originating application.

(2) Where in any such proceedings in a county court as are mentioned in section 139(1)(b) or (c) of the said Act the debtor or a surety desires to have a credit agreement reopened, he shall, within 14 days after the service of the originating process on him, give notice to that effect to the proper officer and to every other party to the proceedings and thereafter the debtor or surety, as the case may be, shall be treated as having delivered a defence or answer and accordingly, if the proceedings are a default action, no judgment shall be entered under Order 9, rule 6(1).

Fair Trading Act 1973

5.—(1) In this rule a section referred to by number means the section so numbered in the Fair Trading Act 1973 and “the Director” means the Director General of Fair Trading.

(2) Proceedings in a county court under section 35, 38 or 40 shall be commenced by originating application.

(3) The respondent shall file an answer.

(4) Where in any proceedings under section 35 or 38 the Director intends to apply for a direction under section 40(2) that any order made against a body corporate (in this rule referred to as the “respondent body”) which is a member of a group of interconnected bodies corporate shall be binding on all members of the group, he shall file notice of his intention together with as many copies of the originating application and of the notice as are required for the purposes of paragraph (5).

(5) A copy of any notice under paragraph (4) shall be served on the respondent body and a copy of the notice together with a copy of the originating application and a notice of the return day shall be served on each of the bodies corporate specified in the notice under paragraph (4).

(6) The respondent body may at any time serve on the Director a notice containing particulars of any interconnected body corporate not mentioned in a notice under paragraph (4).

(7) With a view to deciding whether or in respect of which bodies notice should be given under paragraph (4) the Director may serve on the respondent body a notice requiring that body to give to him within 14 days after service of the notice particulars of any interconnected bodies corporate belonging to the same group as the respondent body and a copy of any such notice shall be filed.

(8) An application under section 40(3) shall be made on notice to the respondent body and every interconnected body belonging to the same group.

Hire-Purchase Act 1965

6.—(1) In this rule a section referred to by number means the section so numbered in the Hire-Purchase Act 1965 and “Schedule 3” means Schedule 3 to that Act.

(2) Where in an action to which section 35 applies the hirer or a guarantor named as a defendant has not been served with the summons, the court may, on the ex parte application of the plaintiff made at or before the hearing of the action, dispense with the requirement that the hirer or guarantor, as the case may be, be made a party to the action.

(3) Where such an action is brought by a person to whom a former owner's property in the goods or any of the rights or liabilities of a former owner have passed by assignment or by operation of law, the requirement that all the parties to the agreement shall be made parties to the action shall not apply to the former owner unless the court so directs.

(4) Notwithstanding anything in Order 13, rule 6, any application under section 35(3) may be heard and determined by the registrar.

(5) In an action to which section 35 applies, Order 9 shall have effect with the following modifications:—

(a)subject to sub-paragraph (b), rules 2 and 3(1) and (2) of the said Order shall apply, with the necessary modifications, in relation to a hirer who makes an offer as to conditions for the postponement of the operation of an order under section 35(4)(b) as they apply in relation to a defendant in a default action who admits the whole or part of the plaintiff's claim and desires time for payment;

(b)where the plaintiff elects to accept such an offer as is mentioned in sub-paragraph (a) and a guarantor is a party to the action, judgment shall not be entered before the return day;

(c)rule 4 of the said Order shall not apply where judgment is entered under rule 3(2) thereof;

(d)where such an offer as is mentioned in sub-paragraph (a) is made on the form appended to the summons but the plaintiff elects not to accept it, the court may, if the hirer does not attend on the return day, treat the form as evidence of the facts stated therein for the purposes of sections 35(4)(b) and 36(1).

(6) In an action in which a postponed order under section 35(4) has been made by the registrar, any application under section 38, 39 or 42 may be heard and determined by the registrar.

(7) Where an application is made in pursuance of paragraph 8(1) of Schedule 3 for the issue of a warrant of delivery, the application shall be made on notice to be served on the person in possession of the goods in the same manner as a fixed date summons and no leave to issue the warrant shall be required under Order 26, rule 5.

(8) Where, after the making of an order under section 35(4)(a) or (b), the plaintiff proposes, in pursuance of section 44(1), to make or proceed with a claim for the payment of money, he shall apply on notice to the defendant for an order for payment of the money, and, if the claim has not already been made in the action, particulars of the claim shall be given in or annexed to the notice.

(9) In this rule “guarantor” has the meaning assigned to it by section 58(1).

Housing Act 1961

7.  An application under section 33(6) of the Housing Act 1961 for an order authorising the inclusion in a lease of provisions excluding or modifying the provisions of section 32 of that Act may be heard and determined by the registrar and may, if the court thinks fit, be dealt with in chambers.

Leasehold Reform Act 1967

8.—(1) In this rule a section referred to by number means the section so numbered in the Leasehold Reform Act 1967 and “Schedule 2” means Schedule 2 to that Act.

(2) Where a tenant of a house and premises desires to pay money into court pursuant to section 11(4) or section 13(1) or (3)—

(a)he shall file in the office of the appropriate court an affidavit stating—

(i)the reasons for the payment into court,

(ii)the house and premises to which the payment relates and the name and address of the landlord, and

(iii)so far as they are known to the tenant, the name and address of every person who is or may be interested in or entitled to the money;

(b)on the filing of the affidavit the tenant shall pay the money into court and the proper officer shall enter the matter in the records of the court and send notice of the payment to the landlord and to every person whose name and address are given in the affidavit pursuant to sub-paragraph (a)(iii);

(c)any subsequent payment into court by the landlord pursuant to section 11(4) shall be made to the credit of the same account as the payment into court by the tenant and sub-paragraphs (a) and (b) shall apply as if for the references to the tenant and the landlord there were substituted references to the landlord and the tenant respectively;

(d)the appropriate court for the purposes of sub-paragraph (a) shall be the court for the district in which the property is situated or, if the payment into court is made by reason of a notice under section 13(3), any other county court specified in the notice.

(3) Where the proceedings on an application are ordered to be transferred to a leasehold valuation tribunal under section 21(3), the proper officer shall—

(a)send notice of the transfer to all parties to the application and

(b)send to the leasehold valuation tribunal copies certified by the registrar of all entries in the records of the court relating to the application, together with the order of transfer and all documents filed in the proceedings.

(4) Where an application is made under section 17 or 18 for an order for possession of a house and premises the respondent shall—

(a)forthwith after being served with the application, serve on every person in occupation of the property or part of it under an immediate or derivative sub-tenancy, a notice informing him of the proceedings and of his right under paragraph 3(4) of Schedule 2 to appear and be heard in the proceedings with the leave of the court, and

(b)within 14 days after being served with the application, file an answer stating the grounds, if any, on which he intends to oppose the application and giving particulars of every such sub-tenancy.

Licensing Act 1964

9.—(1) The provisions of this rule shall have effect where a question is referred to a county court under section 14(5) of the Licensing Act 1964.

(2) The compensation authority shall send to the proper officer of the court for the district in which the licensed premises are situate a statement of the question referred to the court and the names and addresses of the persons interested in the licensed premises.

(3) On receipt of the statement, the proper officer shall fix a day for the hearing of the matter by the judge, and give notice thereof to the persons named by the compensation authority as being interested in the licensed premises.

(4) A copy of the order made on the hearing of the matter shall be sent by the proper officer to the clerk of the compensation authority and to each of the persons referred to in paragraph (3).

Local Government Act 1972

10.—(1) In this rule a section referred to by number means the section so numbered in the Local Government Act 1972.

(2) Proceedings in a county court under section 161 shall be commenced in the court for the district in which the principal office of the body to whose accounts the application relates (in this rule referred to as “the body concerned”) is situated.

(3) An originating application for a declaration under section 161(1) shall state the facts on which the applicant intends to rely at the hearing of the application and the respondents to the application shall be the body concerned and any person against whom an order is sought under section 161(2).

(4) An appeal under section 161(6) against a decision of a district auditor shall be brought within 28 days of the receipt by the appellant of the district auditor's statement of the reasons for his decision.

(5) The request for entry of an appeal to which paragraph (4) relates shall state—

(a)the reasons stated by the district auditor for his decision;

(b)the date on which the appellant received the district auditor's statement;

(c)the facts on which the appellant intends to rely at the hearing of the appeal; and

(d)in the case of a decision not to apply for a declaration, such facts within the appellant's knowledge as will enable the court to consider whether to exercise the powers conferred on it by section 161(2).

(6) The respondents to the appeal shall be:—

(i)the district auditor who for the time being has responsibility for the audit of the accounts of the body concerned;

(ii)the body concerned; and

(iii)in the case of an appeal against a decision not to certify under section 161(4) that a sum or amount is due from any person, that person.

(7) Without prejudice to its powers under Order 15, the court may at any stage of an application or appeal under section 161 direct that any officer or member of the body concerned be joined as a respondent.

Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976

11.  A person who appeals against a notice under section 21, 23 or 35 of the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976 shall state in his notice of appeal the grounds of the appeal and where one of those grounds is that it would have been fairer to serve the notice on another person or, as the case may be, that it would be reasonable for the whole or part of the expenses to which the notice relates to be paid by some other person, that person shall be made a respondent to the appeal, unless the court on the ex parte application of the appellant otherwise directs.

Mental Health Act 1959

12.—(1) In this rule—

a section referred to by number means the section so numbered in the Mental Health Act 1959 and “Part IV” means Part IV of that Act;

“place of residence” means, in relation to a patient who is receiving treatment as an in-patient in a hospital or other institution, that hospital or institution;

“hospital authority” means the managers of a hospital as defined in section 59(1).

(2) An application to a county court under Part IV shall be made by originating application filed in the court for the district in which the patient's place of residence is situated or, in the case of an application made under section 53 for the discharge or variation of an order made under section 52, in that court or in the court which made the order.

(3) Where an application is made under section 52 for an order that the functions of the nearest relative of the patient shall be exercisable by some other person—

(a)the nearest relative shall be made a respondent to the application unless the application is made on the ground set out in subsection (3)(a) of the said section or the court otherwise orders, and

(b)the court may order that any other person, not being the patient, shall be made a respondent.

(4) On the hearing of the application the court may accept as evidence of the facts stated therein any report made by a medical practitioner and any report made in the course of his official duties by—

(a)a probation officer, or

(b)an officer of a local authority or of a voluntary organisation exercising statutory functions on behalf of a local authority, or

(c)an officer of a hospital authority:

Provided that the respondent shall be told the substance of any part of the report bearing on his fitness or conduct which the judge considers to be material for the fair determination of the application.

(5) Unless otherwise ordered, an application under Part IV shall be heard and determined in chambers.

(6) For the purpose of determining the application the judge may interview the patient either in the presence of or separately from the parties and either at the court or elsewhere, or may direct the registrar to interview the patient and report to the judge in writing.

Mobile Homes Act 1975

13.—(1) The respondent to an application under section 4 of the Mobile Homes Act 1975 for the grant of an agreement or the determination of a dispute shall file an answer.

(2) The application may be heard and determined by the registrar and may, if the court thinks fit, be dealt with in chambers.

Pilotage Act 1913

14.  Order 13, rule 11, shall have effect in relation to an assessor who is to sit with the judge on the hearing of an appeal under section 28 of the Pilotage Act 1913 as if the judge had granted an application by the appellant for the assessor to be summoned.

Post Office Act 1969

15.—(1) An application under section 30(5) of the Post Office Act 1969 for leave to bring proceedings in the name of the sender or addressee of a postal packet or his personal representatives shall be made by originating application.

(2) The respondents to the application shall be the Post Office and the person in whose name the applicant seeks to bring proceedings.

Rentcharges Act 1977

16.  Where for the purposes of section 9 of the Rentcharges Act 1977 the sum required to redeem a rentcharge is to be paid into the county court, it shall be paid into the court for the district in which the land affected by the rentcharge or any part thereof is situated.

Sex Discrimination Act 1975 and Race Relations Act 1976

17.—(1) In this rule—

(a)“the Act of 1975” and “the Act of 1976” mean respectively the Sex Discrimination Act 1975 and the Race Relations Act 1976;

(b)in relation to proceedings under either of those Acts expressions which are used in the Act concerned have the same meanings in this rule as they have in that Act;

(c)in relation to proceedings under the Act of 1976 “court” means a designated county court and “district” means the district assigned to such a court for the purposes of that Act.

(2) A plaintiff who brings an action under section 66 of the Act of 1975 or section 57 of the Act of 1976 shall forthwith give notice to the Commission of the commencement of the proceedings and file a copy of the notice.

(3) Order 13, rule 11, shall have effect in relation to an assessor who is to be summoned in proceedings under section 66(1) of the Act of 1975, subject to the following modifications:—

(a)whether or not the assessor is to be summoned pursuant to an application by one of the parties, paragraphs (4) and (8) of the said rule 11 shall be omitted;

(b)paragraph (2) of the said rule 11 shall have effect where the judge decides to exercise his power to appoint an assessor without an application being made in that behalf as it has effect where the judge grants such an application.

(4) Proceedings under section 66, 71 or 72 of the Act of 1975 or section 57, 62 or 63 of the Act of 1976 may be commenced—

(a)in the court for the district in which the defendant resides or carries on business, or

(b)in the court for the district in which the act or any of the acts in respect of which the proceedings are brought took place.

(5) An appeal under section 68 of the Act of 1975 or section 59 of the Act of 1976 against a requirement of a non-discrimination notice shall be brought in the court for the district in which the acts to which the requirements relates were done.

(6) Where the plaintiff in any action alleging discrimination has questioned the defendant under section 74 of the Act of 1975 or section 66 of the Act of 1976—

(a)either party may apply to the court under Order 13, rule 1, to determine whether the question or any reply is admissible under that section, and

(b)Order 13, rule 5, shall apply to the question and any answer as it applies to any particulars of claim or defence.

(7) Where in any action the Commission claim a charge for expenses incurred by them in providing the plaintiff with assistance under section 75 of the Act of 1975 or section 66 of the Act of 1976—

(a)the Commission shall, within 14 days after the determination of the action, give notice of the claim to the proper officer and the plaintiff and thereafter no money paid into court for the benefit of the plaintiff, so far as it relates to any costs or expenses, shall be paid out except in pursuance of an order of the court, and

(b)the court may order the expenses incurred by the Commission to be taxed or assessed as if they were costs payable by the plaintiff to his own solicitor for work done in connection with the proceedings.

(8) Where an application is made for the removal or modification of any term of a contract to which section 77(2) of the Act of 1975 or section 77(2) of the Act of 1976 applies, all persons affected shall be made respondents to the application, unless in any particular case the court otherwise directs, and the proceedings may be commenced—

(a)in the court for the district in which the respondent or any of the respondents resides or carries on business, or

(b)in the court for the district in which the contract was made.

Solicitors Act 1974

18.  Any application under Part III of the Solicitors Act 1974 may be heard and determined by the registrar and may, if the court thinks fit, be dealt with in chambers.

Trade Union Act 1913

19.—(1) Where a complainant desires to have an order of the Certification Officer under section 3 of the Trade Union Act 1913 recorded in the county court, he shall produce the order and a copy thereof to the proper officer of the court for the district in which he resides or the head or main office of the trade union is situate.

(2) The order shall be recorded by filing it, and the copy shall be sealed and dated and returned to the complainant.

(3) The sealed copy shall be treated as if it were the plaint note in an action begun by the complainant.

(4) The costs, if any, allowed for recording the order shall be recoverable as if they were payable under the order.

(5) The order shall not be enforced until proof is given to the satisfaction of the court that the order has not been obeyed and, if the order is for payment of money, of the amount remaining unpaid.

Trustee Act 1925, s. 63

20.—(1) Any person wishing to make a payment into court under section 63 of the Trustee Act 1925 shall make and file in the office of the appropriate court an affidavit setting out—

(a)a brief description of the trust and of the instrument creating it or, as the case may be, of the circumstances in which the trust arose;

(b)so far as known to him, the names and addresses of the persons interested in or entitled to the money or securities to be paid into court;

(c)his submission to answer all such inquiries relating to the application of such money or securities as the court may make or direct;

(d)his place of residence, and

(e)an address where he may be served with any notice or application relating to such money or securities.

(2) The appropriate court for the purposes of paragraph (1) shall be the court for the district in which the person or any of the persons making the payment into court resides.

(3) The costs incurred in the payment into court shall be taxed and the amount of the taxed costs may be retained by the person making the payment into court.

(4) The registrar may require, in addition to the affidavit, such evidence as he thinks proper with regard to the matter in respect of which the payment into court is made.

(5) On the making of the payment into court the proper officer shall send notice thereof to each person mentioned in the affidavit pursuant to paragraph (1)(b).

(6) An application for the investment or payment out of court of any money or securities paid into court under paragraph (1) may be made ex parte but on the hearing of the application the court may require notice to be served on such person as it thinks fit and fix a day for the further hearing.

(7) No affidavit in support of the application shall be necessary in the first instance but the court may direct evidence to be adduced in such manner as it thinks fit.

(8) The application may be heard and determined by the registrar.

(9) Paragraphs (6) to (8) are without prejudice to any provision of the County Court Funds Rules enabling or requiring the court to transfer money from a deposit to an investment account of its own motion.