Section 74: Cellars and rooms below subsoil water level., Building Act 1984

No person shall without the consent of the local authority construct a cellar or room in, or as part of, a house, shop, inn, hotel or office if the floor level of the cellar or room is lower than the ordinary level of the subsoil water on, under or adjacent to the site of the house, shop, inn, hotel or office.

Subsection (1) above does not apply to—

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

the construction of a cellar or room in connection with a shop, inn, hotel or office that forms part of a railway station.

If a person constructs a cellar or room in contravention of subsection (1) above, or of any condition attached to a consent under this section—

he is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 1 on the standard scale, and

the local authority may by notice require him either to alter the cellar or room so that its construction will no longer contravene the said subsection or condition or, if he so elects, to fill it in or otherwise make it unusable.

Sections 99 and 102 below apply in relation to a notice given under subsection (3) above, subject to the following modifications—

section 99(1) requires the notice to indicate the nature of the works of alteration and that of the works for making the cellar or room unusable, and

section 99(2) authorises the local authority to execute, subject to that subsection, at their election either the works of alteration or the works for making the cellar or room unusable.

If the owner for the time being of the house, shop, inn, hotel or office causes or permits a cellar or room forming part of it to be used in a manner that he knows to be in contravention of a condition attached to a consent under this section, he is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 1 on the standard scale.

Section 74: Cellars and rooms below subsoil water level.

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