Local Government (Sanitary Services) Act, 1964
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Powers of sanitary authorities in relation to dangerous structures. |
3.—(1) A sanitary authority may, if they so think fit, give a notice to the owner who occupies or is entitled to occupy a dangerous structure situate in their functional area or from whom it is held by a person who is not the owner and, if he can be ascertained by reasonable inquiry, to the occupier of the structure, requiring such owner, within such period specified in the notice as the authority may consider appropriate— | |
(a) to carry out such works (including the demolition of the structure or any part of it and the clearing and levelling of the site thereof) specified in the notice as will,in the opinion of the authority, prevent the structure from being a dangerous structure, to remove any debris and to erect a wall or barrier between any open area created by the works and any road, street or public place, and | ||
(b) to terminate or modify any use of the structure or any part thereof, | ||
and such owner, his servants or agents may carry out the works specified in the notice and may, for that purpose, enter on any land. | ||
(2) (a) If, in the opinion of a sanitary authority, it is necessary to do so in the interests of the safety of any person, the authority may, by their servants or agents carry out on a dangerous structure situate in their sanitary district such works (including the demolition of the structure or any part of it and the clearing and levelling of the site thereof) as will, in the opinion of the authority, prevent the structure from being a dangerous structure and for that purpose, the authority may, by their servants or agents, enter on any land. | ||
(b) Where a sanitary authority enter or propose to enter on any land pursuant to paragraph (a) of this subsection for the purpose of carrying out works on a dangerous structure, they shall, as soon as may be, give to the owner aforesaid and, if he can be ascertained by reasonable inquiry, to the occupier, of the structure a notice stating that they have entered or propose to enter the land and specifying the works that they have carried out or propose to carry out thereon. | ||
(3) A notice given by a sanitary authority under subsection (1) of this section may require that the carrying out of the works specified in the notice be commenced forthwith and that they be carried out in accordance with such conditions (if any) specified in the notice as the authority think appropriate and in such manner as may be specified in the notice. | ||
(4) A person who having been served with a notice under subsection (1) of this section, does not comply with the terms of the notice shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding one hundred pounds. | ||
(5) Where a person upon whom a notice under subsection (1) of this section in relation to a dangerous structure has been served does not comply with the terms of the notice, the District Court may, on the application of the sanitary authority by whom the notice was given, by order— | ||
(a) (i) direct the person to carry out, within such time as the Court may consider reasonable and may specify in the order and in accordance with the terms of the notice, the works specified in the notice and authorise the sanitary authority to carry out the works aforesaid if the person does not comply with the provisions of the order, or | ||
(ii) authorise the sanitary authority to carry out the works specified in the notice, | ||
and | ||
(b) prohibit the use of the structure or any part of it or prohibit the use of the structure or any part of it for such purpose or purposes as may be specified in the order. | ||
(6) Where a person does not comply with an order of the District Court under subsection (5) of this section, he shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding one hundred pounds. | ||
(7) (a) Where any expenses or costs (including costs in relation to proceedings in the District Court under this section) incurred by a sanitary authority under this section in relation to a dangerous structure are not paid by the owner aforesaid of the structure within fourteen days after a demand in writing therefor has been given to him, the amount claimed in the demand together with interest, at the rate of five per cent per annum, from the date when the demand is given until payment may, without prejudice to any other method of recovery, be recovered from him— | ||
(i) by the sale by the authority of any materials resulting from the works carried out by the authority in relation to the structure and the retention by them of so much of the proceeds of the sale as is equal to the amount of such expenses, or | ||
(ii) as a simple contract debt in any court of competent jurisdiction. | ||
(b) Any surplus moneys arising on a sale pursuant to subparagraph (i) of paragraph (a) of this subsection shall be paid by the authority holding the moneys to the owner of the structure, or, if there is more than one owner, to each owner in such proportions as the owners may agree, or (in default of agreement) as the District Court may, on the application of any such owner, determine. | ||
(c) In making a determination under this subsection, the District Court shall have regard to the respective interests, obligations and liabilities in relation to the structure concerned of its owners. | ||
(8) (a) Where any costs or expenses incurred by a sanitary authority under this section in relation to a structure have not been paid, the District Court may, on the application of the authority, by order prohibit the repair or letting of the structure or the carrying out of any works on the site on which the structure stood, as the case may be, until payment to the authority of the amount due to the authority in respect of the expenses aforesaid and the costs of the application, and upon payment of the amount aforesaid, the order shall cease to be in force. | ||
(b) A person who does not comply with an order of the District Court under this subsection shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding one hundred pounds. | ||
(c) A sanitary authority shall keep a register containing particulars of all orders from time to time made under this subsection in relation to structures in their sanitary district and shall keep the register open for inspection at all reasonable times and, if particulars of an order under this subsection are not entered in the appropriate register, within ten days after the date of the making of the order, the order shall cease to be of any force or effect. | ||
(9) (a) If, in the opinion of a sanitary authority, it is necessary to do so in the interests of the safety of any person, theauthority may require the occupier of, or any person in, a dangerous structure or its curtilage or any structure or its curtilage in the vicinity to vacate the structure or its curtilage and to remove his property (if any) therefrom. | ||
(b) If a person does not comply with a requisition of a sanitary authority under paragraph (a) of this subsection, the District Court may, on the application of the authority, by order direct the person to comply with the requisition within such period specified in the order as the Court may think reasonable. | ||
(c) A person who does not comply with an order of the District Court under this subsection shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding one hundred pounds. | ||
(d) If, upon the making of an order under this subsection directing a person to comply with a requisition of a sanitary authority, the person does not comply with the requisition within the period specified in the order, officers of the authority may, using such force as may be necessary in the circumstances, enter the structure to which the requisition relates and remove the person and his property (if any) therefrom. | ||
(e) A sanitary authority may request a member of the Garda Síochána to assist them in the exercise of their powers under paragraph (d) of this subsection and the member shall comply with the request. | ||
(10) A sanitary authority may, if they so think fit— | ||
(a) provide other living accommodation for an occupier of a dwelling who has left a dwelling in pursuance of a requisition under subsection (9) of this section, | ||
(b) make a grant of such amount as they think proper to such occupier for the purpose of enabling him to obtain other living accommodation. | ||
(11) (a) A sanitary authority may, if they so think fit, make a grant of such amount as they think proper to any person who— | ||
(i) on or after the 1st day of June, 1963, has left or leaves a dangerous structure at the request of the authority or in pursuance of a requisition under subsection (9) of this section, | ||
(ii) immediately before such leaving carried on a trade or business in the structure, and | ||
(iii) in the opinion of the authority, by reason of such leaving, has suffered or will suffer hardship. | ||
(b) In determining the amount of a grant to a person under this subsection, a sanitary authority shall have regard to the length of the period during which the person carried on a trade or business in the structure in relation to which the grant is proposed to be made. | ||
(12) Section 274 of the Public Health (Ireland) Act, 1878 , shall not apply in relation to the exercise by a sanitary authority of any powers conferred on them by this section. |