Commentary on Sections Part 3 — Buildings of special architectural or historic interest Chapter 5 — Acquisition and preservation of buildings of special interest Section 146 — Further provision about recovery of costs of preservation work
549.Section 146 makes additional provision about the recovery of costs incurred by a local authority or the Welsh Ministers in undertaking urgent works. The recovery of costs may, in practice, prove to be a protracted process, so subsection (1) provides that any recoverable sums carry interest at a rate specified in regulations made by the Welsh Ministers. Interest is applied from the time the notice requiring the owner to meet the costs of urgent works under section 145(1) becomes operative (subsection (7)) until all outstanding amounts are recovered by the relevant authority.
550.Under subsection (2), the costs and any interest are recoverable as a debt. A local authority, or, as the case may be, the Welsh Ministers, would, therefore, be able to employ all available mechanisms for the recovery of a debt, including a claim in the county court.
551.Furthermore, from the time the section 145(1) notice becomes operative, the costs and any accrued interest become a charge on the land on which the listed building stands. This is a legal charge — a debt secured by the property — and a local land charge and will remain in place until the costs and interest are entirely recovered (subsections (3) and (4)).
552.For the purposes of enforcing the charge, subsection (5) gives the recovering authority the same powers and remedies as a mortgagee by deed under the Law of Property Act 1925 (c. 20). The authority may appoint a receiver if one month or more has passed since the charge took effect. The recovering authority also has powers to lease or sell land to recover sums, but such measures are likely to be rarely used.