Town and Regional Planning Act, 1934

Registration and enforcement of charges on property.

78.—(1) Whenever any sum of money becomes by virtue of this Act a charge on any land, structure, or other property, or on any estate or interest therein, the responsible authority shall enter the prescribed particulars of such charge in the register within one month after the date on which such sum so becomes such charge, and, if such responsible authority does not enter such particulars, such charge shall, at the expiration of the said month, be and be deemed always to have been unenforceable, but without prejudice to proceedings by way of action for debt for recovery of the said sum of money.

(2) Whenever the Minister is satisfied, on the application of the responsible authority, that any charge created by this Act on any land, structure, or other property, or on any estate or interest therein cannot be enforced by legal proceedings by reason of uncertainty as to the ownership of such property or such estate or interest the Minister may by order empower such responsible authority to sell the property or the estate or interest therein affected by such charge.

(3) No order shall be made by the Minister under the next preceding sub-section of this section unless or until notice of the intention to make such order has been published by advertisement at least once in each of two newspapers circulating in the district in which the property to which such order is intended to relate is situate.

(4) When an order is made by the Minister under this section empowering the responsible authority to sell any property or any estate or interest in property, it shall be lawful for such authority to sell such property or estate or interest by public auction, to bid and buy at such auction, to receive the purchase money, and to convey effectively such property or estate or interest to the purchaser thereof.

(5) When the responsible authority sells any property or any estate or interest in property under this section, such authority shall, out of the purchase money, retain the costs of such sale and (so far as such purchase money will extend) the moneys for the recovery of which such sale was held and shall pay the balance (if any) of such purchase money into the High Court under section 69 of the Lands Clauses Consolidation Act, 1845 , as amended or adapted by or under any subsequent Act as if such balance were such price or compensation as is mentioned in that section, and thereupon that section and section 70 of the said Act as so amended or adapted shall apply in relation to such balance, but no costs shall be payable by such authority to any person in respect of any proceedings for the investment, payment of income, or payment of capital of such balance.