Council works in default & cost recovery: EPA 1990 s. 81
Where an abatement notice is not complied with, local authorities can abate the nuisance, recover expenses from the owner, or bring High Court proceedings.
Official text
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EPA 1990 s. 81 — United Kingdom
Subject to subsection (1A) below, where more than one person is responsible for a statutory nuisance section 80 above shall apply to each of those persons whether or not what any one of them is responsible for would by itself amount to a nuisance. In relation to a statutory nuisance within section 79(1)(ga) above for which more than one person is responsible (whether or not what any one of those persons is responsible for would by itself amount to such a nuisance), section 80(2)(a) above shall apply with the substitution of “any one of the persons” for “the person”. In relation to a statutory nuisance within section 79(1)(ga) above caused by noise emitted from or caused by an unattended vehicle or unattended machinery or equipment for which more than one person is responsible, section 80A above shall apply with the substitution— in subsection (2)(a), of “any of the persons” for “the person” and of “one such person” for “that person”, in subsection (2)(b), of “such a person” for “that person”, in subsection (3), of “any of the persons” for “the person” and of “one such person” for “that person”, in subsection (5), of “any person” for “the person”, and in subsection (7), of “a person” for “the person” and of “such a person” for “that person”. Where a statutory nuisance which exists or has occurred within the area of a local authority, or which has affected any part of that area, appears to the local authority to be wholly or partly caused by some act or default committed or taking place outside the area, the local authority may act under section 80 above as if the act or default were wholly within that area, except that any appeal shall be heard by a magistrates’ court or in Scotland, the sheriff having jurisdiction where the act or default is alleged to have taken place. Where an abatement notice has not been complied with the local authority may, whether or not they take proceedings for an offence or, in Scotland, whether or not proceedings have been taken for an offence, under section 80(4) above, abate the nuisance and do whatever may be necessary in execution of the notice. Any expenses reasonably incurred by a local authority in abating, or preventing the recurrence of, a statutory nuisance under subsection (3) above may be recovered by them from the person by whose act or default the nuisance was caused and, if that person is the owner of the premises, from any person who is for the time being the owner thereof; and the court or sheriff may apportion the expenses between persons by whose acts or defaults the nuisance is caused in such manner as the court consider or sheriff considers fair and reasonable. If a local authority is of opinion that proceedings for an offence under section 80(4) above would afford an inadequate remedy in the case of any statutory nuisance , they may, subject to subsection (6) below, take proceedings in the High Court or, in Scotland, in any court of competent jurisdiction, for the purpose of securing the abatement, prohibition or restriction of the nuisance, and the proceedings shall be maintainable notwithstanding the local authority have suffered no damage from the nuisance. In any proceedings under subsection (5) above in respect of a nuisance falling within paragraph (g) or (ga) of section 79(1) above, it shall be a defence to prove that the noise was authorised by a notice under section 60 or a consent under section 61 (construction sites) of the Control of Pollution Act 1974. The further supplementary provisions in Schedule 3 to this Act shall have effect.
Section 81 is the section that answers "the notice has been ignored, now what". Subsection (3) lets the local authority, whether or not it also prosecutes, abate the nuisance itself and do whatever is necessary to execute the notice. Subsection (4) then lets it recover the expenses reasonably incurred from the person by whose act or default the nuisance was caused - and, if that person is the owner of the premises, from whoever is the owner for the time being, which is how a cost can follow the building into the hands of a later owner. Where more than one person caused it, the court may apportion the expenses as it considers fair and reasonable.
Subsection (1) deals with shared responsibility at the other end: where more than one person is responsible for a statutory nuisance, section 80 applies to each of them "whether or not what any one of them is responsible for would by itself amount to a nuisance". That matters where several flats, several machines or several traders each contribute something tolerable and the combination is not.
Subsection (2) removes a jurisdictional problem: if the nuisance affects the authority's area but the act or default is outside it, the authority may act as though the act were wholly within its area. Subsection (5) is the heavy remedy - where the authority is of the opinion that a prosecution under section 80(4) "would afford an inadequate remedy", it may take High Court proceedings for an injunction, and it may do so even though the authority itself has suffered no damage. That is the route used against a persistent operator for whom fines have become a cost of business.
When it applies
An abatement notice has been ignored and the council is deciding whether to do the works and bill the owner.
You have bought a property and the council is now seeking expenses it incurred abating a nuisance before you bought it.
Several neighbouring businesses each contribute noise and none of them individually would be a nuisance.
The source of the smell is in the next borough but the effect is entirely in yours.
A repeat offender has been fined more than once and the council is considering an injunction.
What this section does not say
×It does not give an individual the power to do the works and send the bill. Subsections (3) and (4) are powers of the local authority.
×It is not compensation for the neighbours. What subsection (4) recovers is the authority's own expenses of abating the nuisance.
×It does not create a new offence. The offence stays in section 80(4); section 81 is about what else can be done.
×The High Court route in subsection (5) is not available to the person affected. It is the local authority that must form the opinion that prosecution would be an inadequate remedy.
Worked examples
Invented situations, written to show how the wording bites. They are not real cases, not judgments and not precedent, and nothing here predicts what would happen in yours.
Illustrative example
Someone buys the freehold of a small terraced house. Months later a bill arrives from the council for clearing an accumulation of rubbish from the yard, work done under an abatement notice served on the previous owner.
How the wording applies
Subsections (3) and (4) let the authority do the work and recover its expenses from the person by whose act or default the nuisance was caused - and where that person is the owner, from whoever is the owner for the time being. That last phrase is the whole of the problem: the fact it turns on is whether the nuisance was one attributable to the owner as owner, in which case the cost follows the building, rather than to something a departed occupier did. What is being recovered is the council's own expenditure, not compensation to anyone.
How the parties settled it
The seller agrees to meet the clearance cost out of retained sale proceeds and the buyer agrees to deal with the council directly and to make no further claim about the state of the yard.
Illustrative example
Three small workshops share a yard behind a row of houses. None of them on its own makes enough noise to trouble anybody, but running together from early morning they make the gardens unusable, and each says the complaint has nothing to do with them.
How the wording applies
Subsection (1) is written for exactly this: where more than one person is responsible, section 80 applies to each of them whether or not what any one is responsible for would by itself amount to a nuisance. The fact the argument turns on is the combined effect at the receiving end rather than each workshop's own contribution, which is why 'we are the quietest of the three' is not an answer.
How the parties settled it
The three workshops agree a shared start time no earlier than eight, stagger the noisiest tasks, and nominate one of them as the point of contact for the residents, who agree to give that contact a week to fix anything before escalating.
Say what is happening. A neutral mediator hears your side and the other party's, and walks you both to a written agreement. In the advanced settings you can ask for the decision to be reasoned on the Acts of Parliament that apply in England and Wales.
We copy this text from the official publisher and re-check it against that source on every page load, but we cannot guarantee it is complete, current or free of error, and we accept no liability for any reliance on it. An amendment can take effect before a consolidation catches up. The publisher's own copy is linked below; where the two differ, it is the official one that counts.
This page reproduces the text of EPA 1990 s. 81 in force at the date shown and explains it in general terms. It is not legal advice and takes no account of the circumstances of your case, which can change the answer completely. For a live dispute, for limitation periods, and before taking any step in court, consult a qualified lawyer in England and Wales.