§ 41. Sir R. Thompsonasked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he is aware of the heavy administrative expenses incurred by local authorities who have served notices under Section 9 of the Housing Act, 1957, or under the Housing Act, 1961, where the owners or managers of the property fail to comply with the notice, or delay compliance until the local authority is about to carry out the work in default; and if he will introduce amending legislation to relieve ratepayers from having to pay those expenses.
§ Mr. ChannonWhere an authority carries out work because of the failure of an owner to comply with a notice under Section 9, it can recover its expenses from him. An owner who fails to comply with a notice under the Housing Act, 1961, can be prosecuted by the authority. I have no evidence of any general problem arising for authorities as a result of delays in complying with such notices.