The Gazette 1990

GAZETTE

' APRIL 1990

(Contd. from page 941

be put so far as money can do it in

the same position as if his land had

not been taken from him, in other

words he gains the right to receive

a money payment not less than the

loss imposed on him in the public

interest but on the other hand no

greater".

Romer L. J. in

Harvey -v- Crawley "

Development Corporation

(1957):

"The authorities establish that any

loss sustained by a dispossessed

owner (at all events one who

occupies his house) which flows

from a compulsory acquisition may

properly be regarded as the subject

of compensation for disturbance

provided, first, it is not too remote

and, secondly, that it is the natural

and reasonable consequence of the

dispossession of the owner".

So in preparing a claim there is

a lot for the valuer to do.

1. Receive instructions.

2 . Inspect Property.

3 . Check Planning.

4 . Draft Report.

5. Reinspect and complete report/

compensation claim.

All that sounds rather simple but

there is a lot of work involved. The

actual valuation should not be that

difficult. It is the other matters that

must be considered as to what may

and may not be taken into account.

There are sixteen rules in the 1919

and 1963 Acts as well as the third

schedule of the 1966 Housing Act

to be considered. These rules are

straightforward but still need to be

considered; most have been the

subject of case law down through

the years. I would, however, draw

your attention to Rule 12 which has

come up in several recent cases

with which I have had to deal. This

is the matter of unauthorised use;

this really should emerge when the

planning is being checked. If the

owner of property has been using

all or part of his property without

proper planning permission it could

be considerably to his detriment if

the local authority ever sought to

use their compulsory purchase

powers.

On the question of disturbance

the following are the sort of items

to be considered in the case of a

private house.

1. The costs of dealing with the

Notice to Treat.

2. Costs of acquiring an alternative

premises.

3. Time and trouble of seeking an

alternative.

4. Removal costs.

5. Carpets and curtains - new for

old.

6. Post office/telephone change of

address.

7. Adaptation and repair to new

premises.

Generally speaking this is not

claimable. It is assumed that the

want of repair or decoration was

reflected in the purchase price and

that the purchaser got value for

money.

The disturbance will be of a

different nature where say part only

of a premises is taken and will

include a claim for reduction in

value under severance and injurious

affection apart from matters dealt

with under accommodation works.

He will, of course, be entitled to

compensation for the interference

with the enjoyment of his property

during the course of the works.

These general principles apply

whether the property taken is agri-

cultural, industrial or commercial

although clearly a number of items

will be different. A farmer whose

land is being traversed by a major

new road may have very serious

problems of stock management,

access to fields for cultivation,

disruption of drainage and water

supply etc. A dispossed manu-

facturer must move his enterprise

into new premises inevitably in-

volving double overheads for a

period, reduced output, temporary

loss of profitability, removal and

reinstallation of machinery, prob-

lems with staff, notification of

customers etc.

The matter of compensation is

long and complex and I have only

touched the tip of the iceberg but

I hope I have given you something

to think about.

•

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