Section 201: Power of mortgagee to serve blight notice, Town and Country Planning Act 1971

Where the whole or part of a hereditament or agricultural unit is comprised in land falling within any of the specified descriptions and a person claims that—

he is entitled as mortgagee (by virtue of a power which has become exercisable) to sell an interest in the hereditament or unit, giving immediate vacant possession of the land; and

since the relevant date (within the meaning of section 193 of this Act) he has made reasonable endeavours to sell that interest; and

he has been unable to sell it except at a price substantially lower than that for which it might reasonably have been expected to sell if no part of the hereditament or unit were comprised in land of any of the said descriptions,

then, subject to the provisions of this section, he may serve on the appropriate authority a notice in the prescribed form requiring that authority to purchase that interest to the extent specified in, and otherwise in accordance with, these provisions.

Notice under this section shall not be served unless one or other of the following conditions is satisfied with regard to the interest which the mortgagee claims he has the power to sell—

the interest could be the subject of a notice under section 193 of this Act served by the person entitled thereto on the date of service of the notice under this section; or

the interest could have been the subject of such a notice served by that person on a date not more than six months before the date of service of the notice under this section.

No notice under this section shall be served in respect of a hereditament or agricultural unit, or any part of a hereditament or agricultural unit, at a time when a notice already served under section 193 of this Act is outstanding with respect to the hereditament, unit or part; and no notice shall be so served under that section at a time when a notice already served under this section is so outstanding.

For the purposes of subsection (4) of this section, a notice served under this section or section 193 of this Act shall be treated as outstanding with respect to a hereditament or agricultural unit, or to part of a hereditament or agricultural unit, until—

it is withdrawn in relation to the hereditament, unit or part; or

an objection to the notice having been made by a counter-notice under section 194 of this Act, either—

the period of two months specified in section 195 of this Act elapses without the claimant having required the objection to be referred to the Lands Tribunal under that section; or

the objection, having been so referred to the Lands Tribunal, is upheld by the Tribunal with respect to the hereditament, unit or part.

The grounds on which objection may be made in a counter-notice under section 194 of this Act to a notice under this section are those specified in paragraphs (a) to (c) of subsection (2) of that section and, in a case to which it applies, the grounds specified in paragraph (d) of that subsection and also the following grounds—

that, on the date of service of the notice under this section, the claimant had no interest as mortgagee in any part of the hereditament or agricultural unit . to which the notice relates ;

that (for reasons specified in the counter-notice) the claimant had not on that date the power referred to in subsection (1)(a) of this section;

that the conditions specified in subsection (1)(b) and (c) of this section are not fulfilled ;

that (for reasons specified in the counter-notice) neither of the conditions specified in subsection (3) of this section was, on the date of service of the notice under this section, satisfied with regard to the interest referred to in that subsection.

Section 201: Power of mortgagee to serve blight notice

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