Communications Act 2003

[F1 16 (1) Any agreement under Part 2 of this code is void to the extent that— U.K.

(a) it prevents or limits assignment of the agreement to another operator, or

(b) it makes assignment of the agreement to another operator subject to conditions (including a condition requiring the payment of money).

(2) Sub-paragraph (1) does not apply to a term that requires the assignor to enter into a guarantee agreement (see sub-paragraph (7)).

(3) In this paragraph references to “the assignor” or “the assignee” are to the operator by whom or to whom an agreement under Part 2 of this code is assigned or proposed to be assigned.

(4) From the time when the assignment of an agreement under Part 2 of this code takes effect, the assignee is bound by the terms of the agreement.

(5) The assignor is not liable for any breach of a term of the agreement that occurs after the assignment if (and only if), before the breach took place, the assignor or the assignee gave a notice in writing to the other party to the agreement which—

(a) identified the assignee, and

(b) provided an address for service (for the purposes of paragraph 91(2)(a)) for the assignee.

(6) Sub-paragraph (5) is subject to the terms of any guarantee agreement.

(7) A “guarantee agreement” is an agreement, in connection with the assignment of an agreement under Part 2 of this code, under which the assignor guarantees to any extent the performance by the assignee of the obligations that become binding on the assignee under sub-paragraph (4) (the “relevant obligations”).

(8) An agreement is not a guarantee agreement to the extent that it purports—

(a) to impose on the assignor a requirement to guarantee in any way the performance of the relevant obligations by a person other than the assignee, or

(b) to impose on the assignor any liability, restriction or other requirement of any kind in relation to a time after the relevant obligations cease to be binding on the assignee.

(9) Subject to sub-paragraph (8), a guarantee agreement may—

(a) impose on the assignor any liability as sole or principal debtor in respect of the relevant obligations;

(b) impose on the assignor liabilities as guarantor in respect of the assignee's performance of the relevant obligations which are no more onerous than those to which the assignor would be subject in the event of the assignor being liable as sole or principal debtor in respect of any relevant obligation;

(c) make provision incidental or supplementary to any provision within paragraph (a) or (b).

(10) In the application of this paragraph to Scotland references to assignment of an agreement are to be read as references to assignation of an agreement.

(11) Nothing in the Landlord and Tenant Amendment (Ireland) Act 1860 applies in relation to an agreement under Part 2 of this code so as to—

(a) prevent or limit assignment of the agreement to another operator, or

(b) relieve the assignor from liability for any breach of a term of the agreement that occurs after the assignment.]

Textual Amendments

F1 Sch. 3A inserted (31.7.2017 for the purpose of making regulations under Sch. 3A para. 95, 22.11.2017 but only in relation to Sch. 3A para. 106, 28.12.2017 in so far as not already in force) by Digital Economy Act 2017 (c. 30), s. 118(6), Sch. 1 (with Sch. 2); S.I. 2017/765, reg. 2(ii)(jj); S.I. 2017/1136, reg. 2; S.I. 2017/1286, reg. 2(b)