On 20/06/2013,
you requested for the version in force on 20/06/2013
incorporating all amendments published on or before 20/06/2013.
The closest version currently available is that of 31/12/2002.
PART XII
COMPENSATION, DAMAGES, FEES, COSTS AND EXPENSES
Compensation, damages, fees, costs and expenses to be determined by Magistrate’s Court or District Court
51.
—(1) Except as otherwise provided, in all cases where compensation, damages, fees, costs or expenses are provided under this Act to be paid, the amount and, if necessary, the apportionment of the amount and any question of liability shall, in case of dispute, or failure to pay, be summarily ascertained and determined by a Magistrate’s Court or, if the amount claimed exceeds the Magistrate’s Court limit, by a District Court.
(2) In any proceeding under subsection (1), the Magistrate’s Court or the District Court may —
(a)
inquire whether those expenses ought to be borne wholly or in part by some person other than the defendant in the proceedings;
(b)
make such order concerning the expenses or their apportionment as appears to the Court to be just; and
(c)
where those expenses were incurred under section 41(1)(b) by the Director-General in carrying out any works specified in a notice, inquire whether any requirement specified in the notice was reasonable.
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(3) The Magistrate’s Court or the District Court shall not order the expenses or any part thereof to be borne by any person other than the defendant in the proceedings unless the Court is satisfied that the other person has had due notice of the proceedings and an opportunity of being heard.
(4) If the amount of compensation, damages, fees, costs or expenses is not paid by the party liable to pay it within 7 days after demand, that amount may be reported to a Magistrate’s Court or a District Court and recovered in the same way as if it were a fine imposed by a Magistrate’s Court or a District Court.
(5) An appeal shall lie to the High Court from any decision of a Magistrate’s Court or a District Court under this section, and the provisions of the Criminal Procedure Code (Cap. 68) shall apply, with the necessary modifications, to all such appeals.
51A. All fees, charges, composition fines and moneys collected under this Act shall be paid to the Agency.
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52.
—(1) Whenever default is made by an owner of any premises in the execution of any work required under this Act to be executed by him, an occupier of the premises may, with the approval of the Director-General, cause the work to be executed.
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(2) The expense of the work executed under subsection (1) shall be paid to the occupier by the owner of the premises or the amount may be deducted out of the rent from time to time becoming due from him to the owner.
(3) The occupier may, in the absence of any special agreement to the contrary, retain possession until the expense of the work executed under subsection (1) has been fully reimbursed to him.
53.
—(1) All sums payable by or recoverable from an owner of any premises in respect of costs and expenses incurred by the Agency in connection with the execution of any work which are under this Act recoverable from an owner of any premises shall, subject and without prejudice to any other rights of the Agency, be a first charge on the premises in respect of which the costs and expenses were incurred.
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(2) In addition to any other remedies conferred by this Act, any such sum may be recovered in the manner provided in this section, and the person or persons liable to pay it shall be the owner or owners at the time when the work was completed.
(3) If any such sum remains unpaid at the expiration of the prescribed time, a notice shall be served upon the person or any one of the persons, if more than one, liable to pay it, calling on him to pay that sum together with a fee of such amount as may be prescribed for the cost of the notice, within 15 days of the date of service of such notice.
(4) Without prejudice to section 66, if no person liable to pay the sum can be found, such notice shall be deemed to have been duly served —
(a)
by the posting thereof at the office of the Director-General; and
(b)
by fixing a copy thereof on some conspicuous part of the premises in respect of which the costs and expenses were incurred.
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(5) At the expiration of the period of 15 days or such further period as may be allowed by the Director-General, if any such sum or part thereof remains due and unpaid, it shall be deemed to be arrears and may be recovered as provided in section 55.
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(6) The charge mentioned in subsection (1) shall attach, and the powers and remedies conferred by subsections (2) to (5) shall become exercisable, as from the date of completion of the work.
(7) Notwithstanding any change in the ownership or occupation of the premises after the completion of the work, the charge and the powers and remedies referred to in subsection (6) may be exercised against the premises or against any movable property or crops for the time being found thereon.
(8) An occupier who, when requested by or on behalf of the Director-General to state the name of the owner of the premises, refuses or wilfully omits to disclose or wilfully mis-states the name shall, unless he shows cause to the satisfaction of the court for his refusal or mis-statement, be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $5,000.
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54.
—(1) When the Director-General has incurred costs and expenses in or about the execution of any work, which are, under this Act, payable by or recoverable from an owner, the Director-General may —
(a)
recover those costs and expenses in the manner provided in section 53; or
(b)
if he thinks fit, may make an arrangement with the owner for the payment of such instalments as will be sufficient to defray the whole amount of the costs and expenses with interest thereon at the prescribed rate, within a period not exceeding 10 years.
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(2) Upon default in payment of any instalment or interest upon the date appointed for payment thereof by any such arrangement, the whole of the balance then outstanding of that amount, together with any interest in arrears, shall immediately become due and payable and, notwithstanding any change in the ownership or occupation of the premises since the date of the arrangement, may be recovered by as provided in section 53.
55.
—(1) For the recovery of arrears, the Director-General shall have and may exercise, either successively or concurrently, in addition to any other remedies conferred by this Act the following powers:
(a)
the Director-General may issue a warrant of attachment and may seize by virtue thereof any movable property and crops of any person liable to pay the arrears and may also seize any movable property or crops to whomever it belongs which are found on the premises in respect of which the arrears are due and may, after service of the prescribed notice, sell the same by public auction in the prescribed manner;
(b)
the Director-General may, by notice of sale to be served or published in the prescribed manner, declare his intention to sell, at the expiration of 3 months from the date of the notice of sale, the premises in respect of which the arrears are due and, if, at the expiration of that period, the arrears have not been paid or satisfied, the Director-General may sell by public auction, in lots or otherwise, the whole of the premises or such portion thereof or such interest therein as he considers sufficient for the recovery of the arrears and costs.
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(2) The Director-General shall not proceed under subsection (1)(b) to sell the premises in respect of which the arrears are due, or any portion thereof or interest therein, where there is or are upon the premises and liable to be seized and sold under subsection (1)(a) any movable property or crops belonging to the owner of a value estimated by the Director-General to be sufficient to realise the sum required to satisfy the arrears and costs.
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(3) Any tenant, sub-tenant or occupier who, in order to avoid the seizure or sale of his property for arrears payable by the owner of the premises, pays the arrears and costs may thereafter, in the absence of any written agreement to the contrary, deduct the amount so paid by him from the rent due or to become due by him to his immediate landlord on account of the premises or such part thereof as is held or occupied by him, and may retain possession until that amount has been fully reimbursed to him whether by deduction from the rent or otherwise.
(4) Any tenant or sub-tenant who has reimbursed, whether by allowing a deduction from his rent or otherwise, any sub-tenant or occupier holding or occupying under him the amount so paid by that sub-tenant or occupier shall have a similar right to deduct the amount from the rent due or to become due to his immediate landlord and to retain possession until similarly reimbursed.
(5) The receipt of any authorised officer for any amount so paid by any such tenant, sub-tenant or occupier shall be deemed an acquittance in full for the like amount of rent.
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(6) If any premises in respect of which arrears are due, or any such movable property or crops as are mentioned in subsection (1) or the proceeds of sale thereof are already in the custody of the law under any process of execution whereby the Director-General is unable to exercise the remedies conferred under subsections (1) to (5), the Director-General —
(a)
may notify the Sheriff or the bailiff of the court concerned of the amount of the arrears; and
(b)
shall be entitled without obtaining a judgment to be paid that amount out of the proceeds of sale of the premises or property in priority to the judgment debtor and to the judgment creditor and to any other creditor except the Government.
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(7) A certificate from the Director-General shall, unless it is disputed by the judgment debtor, be conclusive evidence of the amount of such arrears, and, in case of dispute, the amount shall be summarily determined by a Magistrate’s Court.
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(8) Where any premises which is not registered land is sold under subsection (1)(b), the Director-General shall have the power to execute the conveyance and the purchaser of the premises shall not be concerned to inquire whether the provisions of this Act relating to the sale and the conveyance have been complied with nor otherwise to inquire into the regularity or validity of the sale and conveyance.
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(9) Section 144 of the Land Titles Act (Cap. 157) shall apply, with the necessary modifications, to any premises sold under subsection (1)(b) which is registered land.
56.
—(1) The attachment mentioned in section 55(1)(a) may be made by a person appointed for the purpose by the Director-General who shall give public notice of the attachment in the prescribed manner and shall take an inventory of the property attached.
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(2) A person appointed under subsection (1) shall be deemed to be a public servant, for the purposes of the Penal Code (Cap. 224).
(3) Such a person may break open in the day time any house or building for the purpose of effecting the attachment.
57.
—(1) The proceeds of a sale under section 55(1) and (2) shall be applied in the first place in satisfaction of the arrears together with interest thereon at the prescribed rate and costs.
(2) Where there is any surplus remaining, the Director-General shall —
(a)
if satisfied as to the right of any person claiming the surplus, pay the amount thereof to that person; or
(b)
if not so satisfied, shall hold the amount in trust for the person who may ultimately succeed in due course of law in establishing his title thereto.
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(3) If no title is established to the surplus within a period of 5 years from the date of the sale, it shall be paid into the Consolidated Fund.
58.
—(1) The purchaser at a sale held under section 55(1)(b) shall be deemed to have acquired the right offered for sale free from all encumbrances created over it and from all subordinate interests derived from it except such as are expressly reserved by the Director-General at the time of sale.
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(2) The Director-General shall notify, by an advertisement published in the Gazette, the result of the sale and the conveyance to the purchaser of the property or right offered for sale.
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59. All costs of any proceedings for the recovery of arrears may be recovered as if they formed part of the arrears.
60. If any person having any interest in any property liable to be sold at any time previous to such sale tenders to the Director-General the arrears with interest and costs, the Director-General shall thereupon desist from all further proceedings in respect of the sale.
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61.
—(1) If any person whose movable property, crop or land has been attached or offered for sale disputes the attachment or sale, he may apply to the High Court or where the arrears do not exceed the District Court’s limit, to a District Court for an order to stay the proceedings.
(2) The High Court or District Court, after hearing the Director-General and making such further inquiry as is necessary, shall make such order as is just.
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62. No application shall be entertained by the High Court or District Court under section 61 unless the applicant has deposited in Court the amount of the arrears and costs or furnished security for them to the satisfaction of the Court.
63.
—(1) Every person who sells or transfers any property in respect of which costs and expenses have been incurred by the Agency in connection with the execution of any work which are, under this Act, recoverable from the owner or owners thereof shall continue to be liable for the payment of all the costs and expenses payable in respect of the property and for the performance of all other obligations imposed by this Act upon the owner of the property which become payable or are to be performed at any time before such notice of transfer as is required by section 19 of the Property Tax Act (Cap. 254) has been given.
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(2) Nothing in subsection (1) shall affect the liability of the purchaser or transferee to pay such costs and expenses in respect of the property or affect the right of the Director-General to recover such costs and expenses or to enforce any obligation under this Act.
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64.
—(1) If the occupier of any premises prevents the owner thereof from carrying into effect in respect of the premises any of the provisions of this Act after notice of his intention to do so has been given by the owner to that occupier, a Magistrate’s Court, upon proof thereof and upon application by the owner, may —
(a)
make an order in writing, requiring the occupier to permit the owner to execute all such works with respect to the premises as are necessary for carrying into effect the provisions of this Act; and
(b)
if it thinks fit, order the occupier to pay to the owner the costs relating to the application or order.
(2) If after the expiration of 8 days from the date of the order the occupier continues to refuse to permit the owner to execute the works, the occupier shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $1,000 for every day or part thereof during which he so continues to refuse.
(3) Every such owner shall, during the continuance of such refusal, be discharged from any penalty to which he might otherwise have become liable by reason of his default in executing the works.