Planning Act (Northern Ireland) 2011

Execution and cost of works required by enforcement notice

146.—(1) Where any steps required by an enforcement notice to be taken are not taken within the period allowed for compliance with the notice, a person authorised in writing by the council may—

(a) enter the land and take the steps; and

(b) recover from the person who is then the owner of the land any expenses reasonably incurred by it in doing so and those expenses shall be a civil debt recoverable summarily.

(2) Any expenses incurred by the owner or occupier of any land for the purposes of complying with an enforcement notice in respect of any breach of planning control, and any sums paid by the owner of any land under subsection (1), in respect of expenses incurred by the council in taking steps required to be taken by such a notice, shall be deemed to be incurred for the use and at the request of the person by whom the breach of planning control was committed.

(3) The council may sell any materials which have been removed by it from any land when taking steps under subsection (1) if, before the expiration of 3 days from their removal, they are not claimed and taken away by their owner.

(4) Where the council sells any materials under subsection (3), it must pay the proceeds to the person to whom the materials belonged after deducting the amount of any expenses recoverable by it from that person.

(5) Subsections (3) and (4) do not apply to refuse removed by the council.

(6) Where the council claims to recover any expenses under this section from a person as being the owner of the land in respect of which the expenses were incurred and that person proves that—

(a) that person is receiving the rent of that land merely as agent or trustee for some other person; and

(b) has not, and since the date of the service of a demand for payment has not had, on behalf of that other person sufficient money to discharge the whole demand of the council,

that person’s liability shall be limited to the total amount of the money which that person has or has had as mentioned in paragraph (b), but the council where it is, or would be, debarred by this subsection from recovering the whole of any such expenses from an agent or trustee may recover the whole of any unpaid balance thereof from the person on whose behalf the agent or trustee receives the rent.

(7) Any expenses recoverable by the council under this section shall, until recovered, be deemed to be charged on and payable out of the estate in the land in relation to which they have been incurred, of the owner of the land and of any person deriving title from the owner.

(8) The charge created by subsection (7) shall be enforceable in all respects as if it were a valid mortgage by deed created in favour of the council by the person on whose estate the charge has been created (with, where necessary, any authorisation or consent required by law) and the council may exercise the powers conferred by sections 19, 21 and 22 of the Conveyancing Act 1881 (c. 41) on mortgagees by deed accordingly.

(9) Any person who wilfully obstructs a person acting in the exercise of powers under subsection (1) shall be guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale.