MENU

Section 126D of Public Health Act CAP 242: Power to require removal or alteration of work in certain cases

    

(1) If any work, to which building by-laws made under section 126A are applicable, contravenes any of those by-laws, the local authority which made them, without prejudice to its right to take proceedings in respect of the contravention, may by notice require the owner either to pull down or remove the work or, if he so elects, to effect such alterations therein as may be necessary to make it comply with the by-laws.
(2) In a case where the local authority is, by any provision in this Act other than section 126C or by any rules made thereunder other than building by-laws made under section 126A, expressly required or authorized to reject plans, then, if any work to which such building by-laws are applicable is executed either without plans having been deposited, or notwithstanding the rejection of the plans, or otherwise than in accordance with any requirements subject to which the local authority passed the plans, the local authority may by notice to the owner either require him to pull down or remove the work, or if he so elects, to comply with any other requirements specified in the notice, being requirements which the local authority might have made under the provision or rule in question as a condition of passing plans.
(3) A notice under subsection (1) or subsection (2) may be served either personally or by registered post or by attaching the same to such work or by advertisement in not less than two consecutive issues of a newspaper circulating in the area in which such work is situate.
(4) Where such local authority is unable to ascertain the name and address of the owner of the work, the owner of the land upon which the work stands shall, upon being required in writing so to do by the local authority within twenty-eight days of the date of the service of such requirement, furnish the local authority with full particulars of the name and address of the owner of such work, and if the owner of the land without reasonable excuse fails to furnish the said particulars within the time prescribed and if he in furnishing the particulars makes any statement which proves to be false he shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable to a fine not exceeding one thousand shillings, and if he shall thereafter continue to withhold the said particulars he shall be liable to a further fine not exceeding thirty shillings for every day during which such offence shall continue.
(5) If a person to whom notice has been given under subsection (1) or subsection (2) fails to comply with the notice before the expiration of twenty-eight days, or such longer period as may be specified in the notice or as a subordinate court of the first class may on his application allow, the local authority which gave the notice may pull down or remove the work in question, and may if it thinks fit sell the materials thereof or effect such alterations therein as it deems necessary.
(6) The amount of any expenses incurred by a local authority under subsection (5), after giving credit for any amount realized by the sale of materials if sold, shall be a civil debt recoverable summarily by the local authority from the owner of the work and the owner of the land upon which the work is situate jointly and severally and the right of a local authority to recover any such amount, or any part thereof, from any person under this subsection shall not be barred by reason only of the local authority having obtained judgment for the same, or any part thereof, against any other person, and where any person liable therefor pays to such local authority the full amount of any such expenses, he may recover from any other person liable jointly therefor such contribution, if any, as a subordinate court of the first class may determine to be just and equitable.
(7) Any surplus in the hands of the local authority shall be paid by it to the owners of the work and the land on which the same is situate as those owners agree; and if the owners do not agree as to the division of such surplus the local authority shall be deemed by virtue of this subsection to be a trustee of the surplus for such owners, and section 63 of the Trustee Act (Cap. 167) (which relates to payment into court by trustees) shall have effect accordingly.
(8) The court, in determining for the purposes of this section the shares in which any expenses shall be contributed by, or any surplus shall be divided between, two or more persons, shall have regard to their respective interests in the work and the land on which the same is situate, the right (if any) of the owner of the work to remove the same, the respective obligations and liabilities of the parties in respect of the maintenance and repair of the work, and all the other circumstances of the case.
(9) By-laws made under section 126A may provide for compensation to be payable by the local authority to the owner or occupier of any work pulled down or removed, for such reasons or in such circumstances as may be specified in the by-laws by such local authority under section 126A(3) but, save as aforesaid, no compensation shall be payable for any work so removed or pulled down.
(10) No such notice as is mentioned in subsection (1) or subsection (2) shall be given after the expiration of twelve months from the date of the completion of the work in question, and, in any case where plans were deposited, it shall not be open to the local authority to give such a notice on the ground that the work contravenes any building by-laws made under section 126A, or, as the case may be, does not comply with its requirements under any other provision of this Act or rules made thereunder as aforesaid, if either the plans were passed by the local authority, or notice of their rejection was not given within the prescribed period from the deposit thereof, and if the work has been executed in accordance with the plans and of any requirement made by the local authority as a condition of passing the plans.
(11) Nothing in this section shall affect the right of a local authority, or of the Attorney-General, or of any other person, to apply for an injunction for the removal or alteration of any work on the grounds that it contravenes any by-law or any provision in this Act, but if the work is one in respect of which plans were deposited and the plans were passed by the local authority or notice of their rejection was not given within the prescribed period after the deposit thereof, and if the work has been executed in accordance with the plans, the court on granting the injunction shall have power to order the local authority to pay to the owner of the work such compensation as the court thinks just, but before making any such order the court shall cause the local authority, if not a party to the proceedings, to be joined as a party thereto.

« Previous:   Section 126C - Passing or rejection of plans and retention of plans, etc.          Next: »   Section 127 - Construction and regulation of buildings used for storage of foodstuffs

Disclaimer: This document is not to be taken as legal advise.

Enhance Your Research with Bookmarks and Annotations

Here's how you can use these features:

  • To bookmark this page, click the "Bookmark this Page" button below the document title.
  • To add an annotation, highlight text in the document and select "Add Annotation" from the toolbar that appears.
  • These features are great for organizing your research and keeping track of key information.
  • You can view and manage your bookmarks and annotations on your Bookmarks and Annotations page.

Cited By:

More Sections