Public Health Acts Amendment Act 1907

45 Testing of drains on report of defects

(1) If the medical officer, surveyor, or inspector of nuisances reports to the local authority that he has reasonable grounds for believing that any drains of any building are so defective as to be injurious or dangerous to health, the local authority may authorise their medical officer, surveyor, or inspector of nuisances to apply the smoke or coloured water test, or other similar test (not including a test by water under pressure), to the drains, subject to the condition that either the consent of the owner or occupier of the building must be given to the application of the test, or an order of a court of summary jurisdiction having jurisdiction in the place where the building is situated must be obtained, authorising the application of the test.

(2) If on the application of the test the drains are found to be defective, the local authority may, by notice specifying generally the defect, require the owner of the premises to do all works necessary for remedying it within a reasonable time named in the notice, and if the owner fails so to do the work the local authority may themselves do the work, and the expense of so doing the work may either be recovered from the owner of the building summarily as a civil debt or may be declared by the local authority to be private improvement expenses, and may be recoverable accordingly.

(3) The owner and occupier of any building shall give all reasonable facilities for the application of any test which has been consented to or authorised in pursuance of this section, and, if the owner or occupier fails to do so, he shall be liable in respect of each offence to a penalty not exceeding forty shillings and to a daily penalty not exceeding twenty shillings.