Cases - Butler and Young v Bedford Borough Council

Record details

Name

Butler and Young v Bedford Borough Council

Date

[2003]

Citation

EWHC 1289

Legislation

Building Act 1984

Keywords

duty of care - Building act - actions and responsibilities of approved inspectors - enforcing building regulations

Summary

The High Court was asked to rule specifically on 2 questions:

1. was the borough council in question correct in its conclusion that it was entitled to treat the initial notice as invalid, it having been served at a time when the building works to which it related had been substantially commenced?
2. was the council correct in its conclusion that an initial notice had to be served and accepted (within section 47(4) or 47(3)) before any building work could lawfully be commenced, pursuant to its terms?

The judge ruled that the answer to both questions was yes.

While this ruling relates to a case where work had commenced before an initial notice was given, it appears to show that it may also be applicable to a situation where an initial notice had not been actually accepted.