Fire Precautions Act 1971

9 Right of appeal as regards matters arising out of ss. 5 to 8

(1) A person who is aggrieved—

(a) by anything mentioned in a notice served under section 5(4) of this Act as a step which would have to be taken as a condition of the issue of a fire certificate with respect to any premises, or by the period allowed by such a notice for the taking of any steps mentioned in it; or

(b) by the refusal of the fire authority to issue a fire certificate with respect to any premises; or

(c) by the inclusion of anything in, or the omission of anything from, a fire certificate issued with respect to any premises by the fire authority; or

(d) by the refusal of the fire authority to cancel or to amend a fire certificate issued with respect to any premises; or

(e) by any direction given in pursuance of section 8(4)(6) of this Act; or

(f) by anything mentioned in a notice served under section 8(5) of this Act with respect to any premises as a step which must be taken if the fire authority are not to become entitled to cancel the fire certificate relating to the premises, or by the period allowed by such a notice for the taking of any steps mentioned in it; or

(g) by the amendment or cancellation in pursuance of section 8(6), (7) or (9) of this Act of a fire certificate issued with respect to any premises,

may, within twenty-one days from the relevant date, appeal to the court; and on any such appeal the court may make such order as it thinks fit.

(2) In this section " the relevant date " means—

(a) in relation to a person aggrieved by any such refusal, direction, cancellation or amendment as is mentioned in subsection (1) above or by any matter mentioned in paragraph (a) or (f) of that subsection, the date on which he was first served by the fire authority with notice of the refusal, direction, cancellation, amendment or matter in question ;

(b) in relation to a person aggrieved by the inclusion of anything in, or the omission of anything from, a fire certificate issued with respect to any premises, the date on which the inclusion or omission was first made known to him;

and for the purposes of paragraph (b) above a person who is served with a fire certificate or a copy of, or of any part of, a fire certificate shall be taken to have had what the certificate or that part of it does and does not contain made known to him at the time of the service on him of the certificate or copy.

(3) Where an appeal is brought under this section against the refusal of the fire authority to issue a fire certificate with respect to any premises or the cancellation or amendment in pursuance of section 8(7) or (9) of this Act of a fire certificate issued with respect to any premises, a person shall not be guilty of an offence under section 7(1) or (2) of this Act by reason of the premises in question being put to a designated use or used as a dwelling at a time between the relevant date and the final determination of the appeal.

(4) Where an appeal is brought under this section against the inclusion in a fire certificate of anything which has the effect of making the certificate impose a requirement, a person shall not be guilty of an offence under section 7(4) of this Act by reason of a contravention of that requirement which occurs at a time between the relevant date and the final determination of the appeal.

(5) Where an appeal is brought under this section against—

(a) the inclusion in a fire certificate, in pursuance of subsection (5) of section 6 of this Act, of a provision making any person responsible for contraventions of any requirement imposed by the certificate; or

(b) the omission from a fire certificate of a provision which, if included in pursuance of that subsection, would prevent any person from being, as the occupier of any premises, responsible under that subsection for contraventions of any requirement imposed by the certificate,

that person shall not be guilty of an offence under section 7(4) of this Act by reason of a contravention of that requirement which occurs at a time between the relevant date and the final determination of the appeal.