The Building Act, 1884

things, to the council on demand, and may, by an order of the council under the hand of the mayor or town clerk, be ordered to be paid.

9. Any person erecting or setting up in any public street any hoarding, or fence, or scaffolding, for any purpose whatever, and injuring or destroying any footway or roadway of any such street, or any kerbing, or watertabling, or drain, shall make good the same to the satisfaction of the surveyor, and in case the person to whom such hoarding, fence, or scaffold shall belong, or who shall have erected the same, shall neglect or fail to make good and repair to the satisfaction of the surveyor such footway, roadway, kerb, watertable, or drain, it shall be lawful for the council to cause such repairs to be done, and, by order under the hand of the mayor or town clerk, to order the costs, charges, and expenses thereof, together with any such further costs, charges, and expenses as may have been incurred by reason of such neglect, to be paid by such owner or other person as aforesaid to the council.

way to be

10. Whenever any builder or other person shall have erected the While building is first story of any building abutting on any footpath of any public in progress footstreet, or whenever any plastering operations are in progress above covered the first story of any building, such builder, other person, or plasterer, shall cause the adjoining footway to be covered, and kept covered until the completion of the work then in progress to the satisfaction of the surveyor, so that no danger or inconvenience may arise to the public from falling materials; and every builder, plasterer, or other person neglecting to comply with the written directions of the surveyor in any of the above respects shall incur a penalty not exceeding Ten pounds, to be recovered summarily as aforesaid.

which roofs shall be covered

11. No roof of any house or other building shall, after the passing Materials with of this Act, be covered with any other material than slate, tiles, metal, glass, artificial stone, cement, or shingles.

of brick or of stone

12. All partitions between separate houses or other buildings, Party-walls to be whether such houses or other buildings shall belong to one or more owners, which shall be built after the passing of this Act, shall be of brick or of stone, and shall be carried up above the roofs of such houses or buildings to such a height and in such a manner as may be directed by any by-laws or regulations of the municipality, and if any house or other building not now partitioned by such a party-wall as aforesaid shall hereafter be partially rebuilt by having the front thereof taken down, or if the said house or building shall be raised in height, then in every such case a party-wall of brick or of stone between such houses or buildings and carried up to the height and in the manner aforesaid shall be built; and every owner or builder neglecting to comply with any of the provisions of this or of the next preceding section shall incur a penalty not exceeding Twenty pounds, recoverable as aforesaid.

13. No building shall, after the passing of this Act, be erected within any municipality, the external walls of which building shall be wholly or in part of wood, canvas, thatch, or other inflammable material, or the internal partitions or ceilings whereof shall consist either wholly or in part of calico, canvas, paper, or other inflammable material, nor shall any verandah or balcony to any house or

Buildings, partiand verandahs of inflammable hibited

tions, ceilings,

materials pro

No building to project on any footway

Justices may, after notice, cause encroach

ment to be removed

Measures to be

taken in case of ruinous or dangerous buildings

The Building Act, 1884

building be roofed with canvas, or other inflammable material; and in case any building, partition, ceiling, verandah, or balcony shall be erected or constructed of material contrary to the provisions hereof, the council may at any time cause notice to be served upon the owner or occupier thereof, requiring the removal of the same within such time as the council may deem proper, and in default of such removal any two or more Justices of the Peace upon due proof of the service of such notice, and of non-compliance therewith, may order any such building, roof, verandah, or balcony, ceiling, or partition to be forthwith removed, either wholly or in part, as the case may require, under the superintendence of the surveyor, and at the expense and charges of the owner thereof, which, upon the order of the council in writing under the hand of the mayor or town clerk, shall be paid by such owner to the council.

14. No building to be hereafter erected shall encroach or project on or over any public street, nor shall any building which may now so encroach or project be rebuilt, either wholly or in part, except according to a plan, to be approved by the surveyor, whereby such building shall be placed clear of and without the distance defined for the breadth of such public street; but nothing herein contained shall prevent any person, with the consent of the surveyor, from placing an awning or verandah in front of his building, according to plans to be settled and approved by the council, provided that such awning or verandah be eight feet, at the least, in height above the footway in front of such building, and that the posts for the support thereof be placed close to the kerbstone or outer edge of such footway as the council shall direct. Provided also, that nothing herein contained shall prevent any person, with the consent in writing of the council (after plans have been submitted to and approved by the council), from placing in front of his house a balcony, with a framework constructed of iron, and securely fixed with iron brackets or other supports, to the satisfaction of the surveyor; provided that such balcony be eight feet at the least in height above the footway in front of such building, and that the posts for the support thereof be placed close to the kerbstone or outer edge of such footway, as the council shall direct.

15. If, within one month after notice by the surveyor to remove any building or part thereof hereafter erected or rebuilt which may encroach as aforesaid shall have been served on the owner or occupier thereof, the same shall not be accordingly removed, any two Justices may grant a warrant under their hands and seals to the surveyor for the time being and his assistants forthwith to cause the said building, so far as the same shall encroach upon the public street, to be taken down, and the same may be taken down accordingly and removed, and the owner or occupier shall, upon the order in writing of the council, under the hand of the mayor or town clerk, pay the costs and expenses of such taking down and removal to the council.

16. If any building or anything thereon affixed shall be deemed by the surveyor to be in a ruinous or dangerous condition so as to render either the occupiers of adjoining buildings or any other persons liable to any injury in any way therefrom, he is hereby empowered

The Building Act, 1884

to cause a hoarding or fence for preventing nearer approach thereto than may be safe to be forthwith put up, and to take any such other measure of protection as the exigency of the case in his discretion shall require; but if circumstances shall so admit, he shall cause notice in writing to be served on the owner or occupier of such ruinous or dangerous building, and if such owner or occupier cannot be found, to be fixed on the door or other conspicuous part thereof, requiring such ruinous or dangerous building or other thing to be taken down, repaired, or secured as the case may require; and if such taking down, repairing, or securing shall not be commenced within the time by such notice required, or being so commenced any delay shall take place in the completion thereof as speedily as the nature of the case may demand, the surveyor may make complaint thereof before any two or more Justices of the Peace, who are hereby empowered to order the owner, or, in his default, the occupier (if any) of such ruinous or dangerous building or other thing to take down, rebuild, repair, or otherwise secure the same, or such part thereof as shall appear to such Justices to be ruinous or dangerous, within a time to be fixed by such Justices, and to the satisfaction of the surveyor; and in case the same be not so taken down, repaired, rebuilt, or otherwise secured, within the time so limited, or if no owner or occupier can be found on whom to serve such order, the council shall with all convenient speed cause all or so much of such building or other thing as shall be in a ruinous condition, or dangerous as aforesaid, to be taken down, repaired, rebuilt, or otherwise secured in such manner as shall be requisite, in which case all expenses of putting up such hoard or fence and of taking down, repairing, rebuilding, or securing such building or other thing as the case may be, shall be paid upon the order of the council, by writing under the hand of the mayor or town clerk, by such owner or occupier to the council.

17. If any building shall be taken down either wholly or in part under the provisions herein contained, the council in their discretion may sell the materials thereof, or so much thereof as shall be taken down; and the money to arise from such sale shall be applicable so far as the same may extend to the reimbursement to the council of any outlay and expenditure which shall have been incurred by reason of every such taking down respectively, or incidental thereto, and the surplus, if any, shall be paid to the owner of the property taken down, on demand; but if the money to arise from any such sale of materials shall be insufficient to satisfy and defray the expenses incurred by the council in any such taking down, then the owner of the property shall be liable to make good the deficiency to the council and to pay the same as the council, by any order in writing under the hand of the mayor or town clerk, shall direct.

Council may sell materials of down in payincurred

buildings pulled

ment of expenses

sewers and

drains

18. Every house or other building hereafter to be erected or Houses to have rebuilt within any municipality shall have such covered drain or drains leading to such sewer or other place, having such a fall and constructed of such materials as the council of the municipality shall, by written notice as aforesaid to the owner or builder, direct; and such council may, in the case of there not being any sufficient drain from any house or other building (whether erected at any time before

VOL. II.

H

Houses to have

privies

Houses to have ashpits

Power to

Council to pro

vide public convenie no es

Public buildings

The Building Act, 1884

or after the coming into operation of this Act), cause notice in writing to be given to the owner to construct a drain or drains of such nature and description as such council shall think necessary and shall specify in such notice; and if such drains, at the expiration of the time to be named in any such notice as aforesaid for the completion thereof, shall not have been constructed, the council may cause such drain to be constructed at the expense of such owner; and such expense shall be paid upon the order of the council by writing under the hand of the mayor or town clerk, by the owner to the council.

19. Every house or other building shall have attached to it such water-closets, earth-closets or privies, with proper doors, coverings, drains, and cesspools, and so constructed as shall be in the opinion of the council sufficient for such house or building. If at any time it shall be made to appear to the council that any house or building, whether built at any time before or after the coming into operation of this Act, has not a sufficient water-closet, earth-closet, or privy, with proper doors, coverings, drains, cesspools; and the owner, on notice in writing to that effect from such council, shall not erect such sufficient water-closet, earth-closet, or privy, with proper doors, coverings, drains, and cesspools, within the time to be named in such notice, such council may cause a privy or water-closet, or earth-closet, with proper doors, coverings, drains, and cesspools, to be erected at the expense of such owner; and such expense shall be paid, upon the order of the council by writing under the hand of the mayor or town clerk, by the owner to the council; and every owner of a house or building violating the provisions of this or of the next preceding section shall incur a penalty not exceeding Five pounds, recoverable as aforesaid.

20. Every house or other building hereafter to be erected or rebuilt within any municipality shall have such a pit or place for the deposit of ashes and other refuse or rubbish of such a size and character as the council shall by written notice as aforesaid to the owner or builder order. Provided that the said pit or place shall be constructed of incombustible materials and carried up on all sides with the same material two feet at least above the surface of the ground. If such pit or place as aforesaid shall not have been constructed within the time to be named by the written notice aforesaid, the council may cause the said pit or place to be constructed at the expense of the owner, and such expense shall be paid, upon the order of the council by writing under the hand of the mayor or town clerk, by the owner to the council.

21. It shall be lawful for the council to provide public urinals, water-closets, privies, and like conveniences, in situations where they deem such accommodation to be required, and to supply such conveniences with water, and to maintain and keep the same in good order, and to defray the expenses thereof, and to pay any damage occasioned to any person by the erection thereof, out of the general revenues of the council.

22. Every public building which shall be built in any municipality to be constructed after this Act shall come into operation shall be constructed with

The Building Act, 1884

doors opening outwards from the said building, and so that there may be rapid and easy exit from such building in the event of fire, panic, or any other similar cause.

23. Whenever a public building is being constructed, it shall be the duty of the surveyor to inform the Director of Public Works of the fact, and the Director of Public Works shall, by the report of the surveyor or other person, or by personal inspection, make himself acquainted with the condition of the building, with regard to its means of exit and to its stability; and if the Director shall be satisfied that the said public building is properly constructed, so as to afford rapid and easy exit from the same, in the event of fire, panic, or other similar cause, and is of sufficient stability as to its floors, galleries, staircases, and other parts thereof, he shall give to the owner of such building a certificate under his hand, to the effect that the said building is properly constructed for use as a public building.

24. If the Director of Public Works shall be of opinion, from the report of the surveyor or other person, or from personal inspection, that any public building in any municipality, whether built before or after the coming into operation of this Act, is improperly constructed so as not to afford rapid and easy exit from the same, or that it is not then of sufficient stability as aforesaid, the Director shall cause a notice to be served upon the owner, or occupier of the building, to the effect that the same is not fit to be used as a public building and stating in what particulars the said building is not fit to be so used, and the said building shall not be used by the public or for public purposes until it has been made fit to be so used, and until the Director has granted a certificate as aforesaid.

25. If any public building built after the coming into operation of this Act shall be used by the public or for any public purpose whatever, before the Director of Public Works shall have given such a certificate as aforesaid, or if any public building, whether built before or after the coming into operation of this Act, shall be so used after such a notice by the Director of Public Works, as in the last preceding section mentioned, has been served upon the owner or occupier of such building and before a certificate that the building is fit for use as a public building has been granted as aforesaid, the owner and occupier thereof shall be each liable to a penalty not exceeding Twenty pounds for every time he or they shall so permit the building to be used, to be recovered summarily as aforesaid.

26. If it shall be deemed by the council to be expedient for the public safety, with a view to the prevention of fire, that any public or other place within any municipality shall be brought under the operation of the next following three sections in order to remove all or any buildings therein, the external walls of which shall be wholly or partially of wood, or the coverings of the roofs of which shall be wholly or partially of thatch, canvas, or other inflammable material, the council may, either separately or in conjunction with any insurance companies or other persons, cause any such public or other place to be surveyed by three competent surveyors or architects, of whom the surveyor shall be one, another of whom shall be nominated by the Director of Public Works, and the third by the fire insurance companies established

to removal