New South Wales Consolidated Acts

HUNTER WATER ACT 1991 - SECT 25

25 Interference with works

(1) Land in or on which a work of the Corporation is installed is taken to be the subject of an agreement in the nature of a covenant in favour of the Corporation pursuant to which the owner from time to time of land in or on which the work is installed must ensure that:

(a) the work or any structure owned by, or under the control or management of, the Corporation is not wilfully or negligently destroyed, damaged or interfered with, and

(b) the Corporation and authorised persons are not delayed or obstructed in and about the taking, in relation to the work, of any of the steps referred to in section 19 (2), and

(c) no structure is placed in, on or near the work in a manner that interferes with the operation of the work, and

(d) ground is not opened to expose any pipe or other work of the Corporation without reasonable excuse, or the consent of the Corporation, and without giving the Corporation at least 2 days’ written notice of intention to open the ground unless that requirement is waived by the Corporation.

(2) A lease, including a residential tenancy agreement within the meaning of the Residential Tenancies Act 1987 , is taken to include a term requiring the lessee of land referred to in subsection (1) or any part of it to comply with the same obligations, in relation to land, as are imposed by that subsection on the owner who has leased the land to the lessee.

(3) An agreement to which subsection (1) relates is enforceable as if it were a covenant.

(4) It is a defence to proceedings by the Corporation under this section that the owner or, in a case to which subsection (2) applies, the lessee, did not know of, or could not reasonably have prevented, action taken by any person that would, if known to or capable of prevention by the owner or lessee, have resulted in a breach of this section by the owner or lessee.

(5) A person who, on land in, on or near which any work owned by the Corporation is installed, places a structure in, on or near the work in a manner that interferes with the operation of the work, must, on receiving a written notice from the Corporation requiring the removal of the structure within a period specified in the notice, remove the structure and compensate the Corporation for all loss or damage suffered by the Corporation as a result of the placement of the structure in, on or near the work.

(6) If a person fails to comply with a notice under subsection (5) within the period specified in the notice or within any extension of that period allowed by the Corporation in writing, the Corporation may remove the structure and recover from the person the cost of the removal together with compensation for all loss or damage referred to in that subsection.

(7) The provisions of this section have effect despite anything contained in section 42 of the Real Property Act 1900 .