The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005

Service of notices etc.

48.—(1) Any notice required or authorised by or by virtue of this Order to be served on any person may be served on him either by delivering it to him, or by leaving it at his proper address, or by sending it by post to him at that address.

(2) Any such notice may—

(a)in the case of a body corporate, be served on or given to the secretary or clerk of that body; and

(b)in the case of a partnership, be served on or given to a partner or a person having control or management of the partnership business.

(3) For the purposes of this article, and of section 7 of the Interpretation Act 1978(1) (service of documents by post) in its application to this Order, the proper address of any person is his last known address, except that—

(a)in the case of a body corporate or their secretary or clerk, it is the address of the registered or principal office of that body;

(b)in the case of a partnership or person having control or the management of the partnership business, it is the principal office of the partnership,

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

(4) If the person to be served with or given any such notice has specified an address in the United Kingdom other than his proper address as the one at which he or someone on his behalf will accept notices and other documents, that address is also to be treated for the purposes of this article and section 7 of the Interpretation Act 1978 as his proper address.

(5) Without prejudice to any other provision of this article, any such notice required or authorised to be served on or given to the responsible person in respect of any premises (whether a body corporate or not) may be served or given by sending it by post to him at those premises, or by addressing it by name to the person on or to whom it is to be served or given and delivering it to some responsible individual who is or appears to be resident or employed in the premises.

(6) If the name or the address of the responsible person on whom any such notice is to be served cannot after reasonable inquiry be ascertained by the person seeking to serve it, the document may be served by addressing it to the person on whom it is to be served by the description of “responsible person” for the premises (describing them) to which the notice relates, and by delivering it to some responsible individual resident or appearing to be resident on the premises or, if there is no such person to whom it can be delivered, by affixing it or a copy of it to some conspicuous part of the premises.

(7) Any notice required or authorised to be given to or served on the responsible person or enforcing authority may be transmitted to that person or authority—

(a)by means of an electronic communications network (within the meaning given by section 32 of the Communications Act 2003(2)); or

(b)by other means but in a form that nevertheless requires the use of apparatus by the recipient to render it intelligible.

(8) Where the recipient of the transmission is the responsible person, the transmission has effect as a delivery of the notice to that person only if he has indicated to the enforcing authority on whose behalf the transmission is made his willingness to receive a notice transmitted in the form and manner used.

(9) An indication to an enforcing authority for the purposes of paragraph (8)—

(a)must be given to the authority in any manner it requires;

(b)may be a general indication or one that is limited to notices of a particular description;

(c)must state the address to be used and must be accompanied by any other information which the authority requires for the making of the transmission;

(d)may be modified or withdrawn at any time by a notice given to the authority in any manner it requires.

(10) Where the recipient of the transmission is the enforcing authority, the transmission has effect as a delivery of the notice only if the enforcing authority has indicated its willingness to receive a notice transmitted in the form and manner used.

(11) An indication for the purposes of paragraph (10)—

(a)may be given in any manner the enforcing authority thinks fit;

(b)may be a general indication or one that is limited to notices of a particular description;

(c)must state the address to be used and must be accompanied by any other information which the responsible person requires for the making of the transmission;

(d)may be modified or withdrawn at any time in any manner the enforcing authority thinks fit.

(12) If the making or receipt of the transmission has been recorded in the computer system of the enforcing authority, it must be presumed, unless the contrary is proved, that the transmission—

(a)was made to the person recorded in that system as receiving it;

(b)was made at the time recorded in that system as the time of delivery;

(c)contained the information recorded on that system in respect of it.

(13) For the purposes of this article—

“notice” includes any document or information; and

“transmission” means the transmission referred to in paragraph (7).