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Duty of local authority as to closing of dwelling-house unfit for human habitation.
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32. [1]
—(1) It shall be the duty of every local authority to cause to be made from time to time inspection of their district, with a view to ascertain whether any dwelling-house therein is in a state so dangerous or injurious to health as to be unfit for human habitation, and, if on the representation of the medical officer, or of any officer of such authority, or information given, any dwelling-house appears to them to be in such state, to forthwith take proceedings against the owner or occupier for closing the dwelling-house under the enactments set out in the Third Schedule to this Act.
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(2) Any such proceedings may be taken for the express purpose of causing the dwelling-house to be closed whether the same be occupied or not, and upon such proceedings the court of summary jurisdiction may impose a penalty not exceeding twenty pounds, and make a closing order, and the forms for the purposes of this section may be those in the Fourth Schedule to this Act,[2]
or to the like effect, and the enactments respecting an appeal from a closing order shall apply to the imposition of such penalty as well as to a closing order.
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(3) Where a closing order has been made as respects any dwelling-house the local authority shall serve notice of the order on every occupying tenant of the dwelling-house, and within such period as is specified in the notice, not being less than seven days after the service of the notice, the order shall be obeyed by him and he and his family shall cease to inhabit the dwelling-house, and in default he shall be liable to a penalty not exceeding twenty shillings a day during his disobedience to the order. Provided that the local authority may make to every such tenant such reasonable allowance on account of his expenses in removing, as may have been authorised by the court making the closing order, which authority the Court is hereby authorised to give, and the amount of the said allowance shall be a civil debt due from the owner of the dwelling-house to the local authority, and shall be recoverable summarily.
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