Where a local authority, upon consideration of a report from any of their officers, or other information in their possession, are satisfied that any premises—
the local authority shall give notice to the owner or occupier of the premises requiring him to take such steps as may be specified in the notice to remedy the condition of the premises by cleansing and disinfecting them, and the notice may require among other things the removal of wallpaper or other covering of the walls, or, in the case of verminous premises, the taking of such steps as may be necessary for destroying or removing vermin.
A notice under the foregoing subsection may require—
and shall allow the person on whom the notice is served, or the local authority acting in his default, to choose, in a case under paragraph (a) of this subsection, between papering, painting and distempering and, in a case under paragraph (b) of this subsection, between painting, distempering and whitewashing.
If a person on whom a notice under this section is served fails to comply with the requirements thereof, the authority may themselves carry out the requirements and recover from him the expenses reasonably incurred by them in so doing, and, without prejudice to the right of the authority to exercise that power, he shall be liable to a fine not exceeding level 1 on the standard scale and to a further fine not exceeding £2 for each day on which the offence continues after conviction therefor: