Land Compensation Act 1973

Part I — Compensation for Depreciation Caused by use of Public Works

Right to compensation

1

• (1) Where the value of an interest in land is depreciated by physical factors caused by the use of public works, then, if—

• (a) the interest qualifies for compensation under this Part of this Act; and

• (b) the person entitled to the interest makes a claim after the time provided by and otherwise in accordance with this Part of this Act,

compensation for that depreciation shall, subject to the provisions of this Part of this Act, be payable by the responsible authority to the person making the claim (hereafter referred to as “the claimant”).

• (2) The physical factors mentioned in subsection (1) above are noise, vibration, smell, fumes, smoke and artificial lighting and the discharge on to the land in respect of which the claim is made of any solid or liquid substance.

• (3) The public works mentioned in subsection (1) above are—

• (a) any highway;

• (b) any aerodrome; and

• (c) any works or land (not being a highway or aerodrome) provided or used in the exercise of statutory powers.

• (4) The responsible authority mentioned in subsection (1) above is, in relation to a highway, the appropriate highway authority and, in relation to other public works, the person managing those works.

• (5) Physical factors caused by an aircraft arriving at or departing from an aerodrome shall be treated as caused by the use of the aerodrome whether or not the aircraft is within the boundaries of the aerodrome; but, save as aforesaid, the source of the physical factors must be situated on or in the public works the use of which is alleged to be their cause.

• (6) Compensation shall not be payable under this Part of this Act in respect of the physical factors caused by the use of any public works other than a highway unless immunity from actions for nuisance in respect of that use is conferred (whether expressly or by implication) by an enactment relating to those works or, in the case of an aerodrome and physical factors caused by aircraft, the aerodrome is one to which section 77(2) of the Civil Aviation Act 1982(immunity from actions for nuisance) for the time being applies.

• (7) Compensation shall not be payable under this Part of this Act in respect of physical factors caused by accidents involving vehicles on a highway or accidents involving aircraft.

• (8) Compensation shall not be payable under this Part of this Act on any claim unless the relevant date in relation to the claim falls on or after 17th October 1969.

• (9) Subject to section 9 below, “the relevant date” in this Part of this Act means—

• (a) in relation to a claim in respect of a highway, the date on which it was first open to public traffic;

• (b) in relation to a claim in respect of other public works, the date on which they were first used after completion.

Advance payments: land subject to mortgage

2

• (1) An interest qualifies for compensation under this Part of this Act if it was acquired by the claimant before the relevant date in relation to the claim and the requirements of subsection (2) or, as the case may be, subsection (3) below are satisfied on the date on which notice of the claim for compensation in respect of that interest is served.

• (2) If and so far as the interest is in land which is a dwelling, the said requirements are—

• (a) that the interest is an owner’s interest; and

• (b) where the interest carries the right to occupy the land, that the land is occupied by the claimant in right of that interest as his residence.

• (3) If and so far as the interest is not in such land as aforesaid, the said requirements are—

• (a) that the interest is that of an owner-occupier; and

• (b) that the land is or forms part of either—

• (i) a hereditament the annual value of which does not exceed the prescribed amount; or

• (ii) an agricultural unit.

• (4) In this section “owner’s interest” in relation to any land, means the legal fee simple therein or a tenancy thereof granted or extended for a term of years certain of which, on the date of service of the notice of claim in respect thereof, not less than three years remain unexpired.

• (5) In this section “owner-occupier”, in relation to land in a hereditament, means a person who occupies the whole or a substantial part of the land in right of an owner’s interest therein and, in relation to land in an agricultural unit, means a person who occupies the whole of that unit and is entitled, while so occupying it, to an owner’s interest in the whole or any part of that land.

• (6) In this section “the prescribed amount” means the amount for the time being prescribed for the purposes of section 149(3)(a) of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990(interests qualifying for protection under planning blight provisions) and “annual value” and “hereditament” have the meanings given in section 171 of that Act taking references to the date of service of a notice under section 150 of that Act as references to the date on which notice of the claim is served.

• (7) This section has effect subject to sections 10(4), 11 and 12 below.

• (8) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Claims

3

• (1) A claim under this Part of this Act shall be made by serving on the responsible authority a notice containing particulars of—

• (a) the land in respect of which the claim is made;

• (b) the claimant’s interest and the date on which, and the manner in which, it was acquired;

• (c) the claimant’s occupation of the land (except where the interest qualifies for compensation without occupation);

• (d) any other interests in the land so far as known to the claimant;

• (e) the public works to which the claim relates;

• (f) the amount of compensation claimed;

• (g) any land contiguous or adjacent to the land in respect of which the claim is made, being land to which the claimant was entitled in the same capacity (within the meaning of section 6 below) on the relevant date.

• (2) Subject to the provisions of this section and of sections 12 and 14 below, no claim shall be made before the expiration of twelve months from the relevant date; and the day next following the expiration of the said twelve months is in this Part of this Act referred to as “the first claim day”.

• (3) Subsection (2) above shall not preclude the making of a claim in respect of an interest in land before the first claim day if—

• (a) the claimant has during the said twelve months made a contract for disposing of that interest or (in so far as the interest is in land which is not a dwelling) for the grant of a tenancy of that land; and

• (b) the claim is made before the interest is disposed of or the tenancy is granted;

but compensation shall not be payable before the first claim day on any claim made by virtue of this subsection.

• (4) Where notice of a claim has been served on a responsible authority, any person authorised by that authority may, on giving reasonable notice, enter the land to which the claim relates for the purpose of surveying it and ascertaining its value in connection with the claim; and any person who wilfully obstructs a person in the exercise of the powers conferred by this subsection shall be guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 1 on the standard scale.

• (5) Where compensation is payable by a responsible authority on a claim there shall be payable by the authority, in addition to the compensation, any reasonable valuation or legal expenses incurred by the claimant for the purposes of the preparation and prosecution of the claim; but this subsection is without prejudice to the powers of the Upper Tribunal in respect of the costs of and incidental to proceedings in the Upper Tribunal by virtue of section 29 of the Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007.

Assessment of compensation: general provisions

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• (1) The compensations payable on any claim shall be assessed by reference to prices current on the first claim day.

• (2) In assessing depreciation due to the physical factors caused by the use of any public works, account shall be taken of the use of those works as it exists on the first claim day and of any intensification that may then be reasonably expected of the use of those works in the state in which they are on that date.

• (3) In assessing the extent of the depreciation there shall be taken into account the benefit of any relevant works—

• (a) which have been carried out, or in respect of which a grant has been paid, under section 20 below, section 15 of the Airports Authority Act 1965 , section 29A of the Civil Aviation Act 1971, section 79 of the Civil Aviation Act 1982or any corresponding local enactment or under any provision of a scheme operated by a person managing an aerodrome which provides for the payment of sound-proofing grants in respect of buildings near the aerodrome;

• (b) which have been carried out under section 23 or 27 below;

and it shall be assumed that any relevant works which could be or could have been carried out, or in respect of which a grant could be or could have been paid, under any of the provisions mentioned in paragraph (a) above have been carried out but, in a case where the authority having functions under that provision have a discretion whether or not to carry out the works or pay the grant, only if they have undertaken to do so.

In paragraph (a) above “sound-proofing grants”, in relation to any buildings, means grants towards the cost of insulating those buildings or parts of those buildings against noise.

• (4) The value of the interest in respect of which the claim is made shall be assessed—

• (a) subject to subsection (5) below, by reference to the nature of the interest and the condition of the land as it subsisted on the date of service of notice of the claim;

• (b) subject to section 5 below, in accordance with rules (2) to (4) of the rules set out in section 5 of the Land Compensation Act 1961;

• (c) if the interest is subject to a mortgage or to a contract of sale or to a contract made after the relevant date for the grant of a tenancy, as if it were not subject to the mortgage or contract.

• (5) In assessing the value of the interest in respect of which the claim is made there shall be left out of account any part of that value which is attributable to—

• (a) any building, or improvement or extension of a building, on the land if the building or, as the case may be, the building as improved or extended, was first occupied after the relevant date; and

• (b) any change in the use of the land made after that date.

• (6) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Assessment of compensation: assumptions as to planning permission

5

• (1) The following assumptions shall be made in assessing the value of the interest in respect of which the claim is made.

• (2) Subject to subsection (3) below, it shall be assumed that, in respect of the land in which the interest subsists (“the relevant land”) or any part of it, planning permission would be granted—

• (a) subject to the condition set out in Schedule 10 to the Town and Country Planning Act 1990, for any development of a class specified in paragraph 1 of Schedule 3 to that Act; and

• (b) for any development of a class specified in paragraph 2 of Schedule 3 to that Act.

• (3) Notwithstanding subsection (2) above—

• (a) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

• (b) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

• (c) where an order has been made under section 102 of or paragraph 1 of Schedule 9 to the said Act of 1990, in respect of the relevant land or any part thereof, requiring the removal of any building or the discontinuance of any use, and compensation has become payable in respect of that order under section 115of that Act, it shall not by virtue of the said subsection (2) be assumed that planning permission would be granted, in respect of the relevant land or any part thereof, as the case may be, for the rebuilding of that building or the resumption of that use.

• (4) It shall be assumed that planning permission would not be granted in respect of the relevant land or any part thereof for any development other than such development as is mentioned in subsection (2) above; and, if planning permission has been granted in respect of the relevant land or any part thereof for such other development, it shall be assumed that the planning permission has not been granted in so far as it relates to development that has not been carried out.

• (5) In this section any expression which is also used in the said Act of 1990has the same meaning as in that Act and references to any provision of that Act include references to any corresponding provision previously in force.

• (6) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Reduction of compensation where land is benefited

6

• (1) The compensation payable on a claim shall be reduced by an amount equal to any increase in the value of—

• (a) the claimant’s interest in the land in respect of which the claim is made; and

• (b) any interest in other land contiguous or adjacent to the land mentioned in paragraph (a) above to which the claimant was entitled in the same capacity on the relevant date,

which is attributable to the existence of or the use or prospective use of the public works to which the claim relates.

• (2) Sections 4 and 5 above shall not apply to the assessment, for the purposes of subsection (1) above, of the value of the interest mentioned in paragraph (a) of that subsection.

• (3) Where, for the purpose of assessing compensation on a claim in respect of any interest in land, an increase in the value of an interest in other land has been taken into account under subsection (1) above, then, in connection with any subsequent acquisition to which this subsection applies, that increase shall not be left out of account by virtue of section 6A of the Land Compensation Act 1961 or taken into account by virtue of section 6B of that Act or any corresponding enactment, in so far as it was taken into account in connection with that claim.

• (4) Subsection (3) above applies to any subsequent acquisition, not being an acquisition of the land in respect of which the claim is made, where either—

• (a) the interest acquired by the subsequent acquisition is the same as the interest previously taken into account (whether the acquisition extends to the whole of the land in which that interest previously subsisted or only to part of that land); or

• (b) the person entitled to the interest acquired is, or directly or indirectly derives title to that interest from, the person who at the time of the claim mentioned in that subsection was entitled to the interest previously taken into account;

and in this subsection “the interest previously taken into account” means the interest the increased value of which was taken into account as mentioned in the said subsection (3).

• (5) For the purposes of this section a person entitled to two interests in land shall be taken to be entitled to them in the same capacity if, but only if, he is entitled—

• (a) to both of them beneficially; or

• (b) to both of them as trustee of one particular trust; or

• (c) to both of them as personal representative of one particular person;

and in this section references to a person deriving title from another person include references to any successor in title of that other person.

• (6) In subsection (3) above “corresponding enactment” has the same meaning as in section 8 of the said Act of 1961.

• (7) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Exclusion of minimal compensation

7

Compensation shall not be payable on any claim unless the amount of the compensation exceeds £50.

Other restrictions on compensation

8

• (1) Where a claim has been made in respect of depreciation of the value of an interest in land caused by the use of any public works and compensation has been paid or is payable on that claim, compensation shall not be payable on any subsequent claim in relation to the same works and the same land or any part thereof (whether in respect of the same or a different interest) except that, in the case of land which is a dwelling, this subsection shall not preclude the payment of compensation both on a claim in respect of the fee simple and on a claim in respect of a tenancy.

• (2) Where a person is entitled to compensation in respect of the acquisition of an interest in land by an authority possessing compulsory purchase powers, or would be so entitled if the acquisition were compulsory, and—

• (a) the land is acquired for the purposes of any public works; and

• (b) that person retains land which, in relation to the land acquired, constitutes other land or lands within the meaning of section 63 of the Lands Clauses Consolidation Act 1845 or section 7 of the Compulsory Purchase Act 1965 (compensation for acquisition to include compensation for injurious affection of other land retained).

then, whether or not any sum is paid or payable in respect of injurious affection of the land retained, compensation shall not be payable under this Part of this Act on any claim in relation to those works made after the date of service of the notice to treat (or, if the acquisition is by agreement, the date of the agreement) in respect of any interest in the land retained.

• (3) Subsection (2) above applies whether the acquisition is before, on or after the date on which this Part of this Act comes into force (hereafter referred to as “the commencement date”) and, where it is on or after that date, the public works for the purposes of which the land is acquired shall be taken to be those specified in the relevant particulars registered under subsection (4) below.