Public Utilities Act 2001 · 2020 Revised Edition · Part 3A · Compensation for Temporary Occupation of Premises and Owner-Initiated Acquisition
40A. Compensation for temporary occupation of premises
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Subject to sections 40B and 40C, every owner and occupier of premises of which temporary possession is taken under section 24A or 32 is entitled to claim compensation for the items of loss, damage or cost set out in the first column of the Fourth Schedule to the extent of the loss, damage or cost suffered or incurred by the owner or occupier, as the case may be.
occupier
“occupier” means the person in occupation of any premises and includes the person having the charge, management or control of the premises either on the person’s own account or as agent of another person, but does not include a lodger;
A claim for compensation for an item of loss, damage or cost set out in the first column of the Fourth Schedule is to be assessed by the Board —
Board
“Board” means the Public Utilities Board reconstituted under the Public Utilities Act in force before 1 April 2001 and continued by section 3;
on the basis of the matters specified opposite in the second column of the Fourth Schedule; and
by not taking into consideration any of the matters specified in subsection (3).
No account is to be taken of the following in the assessment of any claim for compensation by any owner or occupier of premises of which temporary possession is taken under section 24A or 32:
premises
“premises” includes buildings, structures, streets, lands, waters, tenements, easements of any tenure, whether State land or not, whether open or enclosed, whether built on or not, whether public or private, and whether maintained or not under statutory authority;
the financial loss resulting from the interruption of or interference with any trade or business carried on any premises;
any increase or decrease in the value of the premises to which the compensation relates which is attributable to the purpose for which the premises are occupied and used;
any building, object or structure within those premises which was erected and maintained in the contravention of any written law in force on the date of the notice under section 24A(3) or 32(2) (as the case may be) relating to those premises;
any building or part of a building within those premises which has been constructed or modified or on which building works have been carried out so as to amount to a contravention of the Building Control Act 1989 within the meaning of that Act.
On receiving a claim for compensation from any owner or occupier of premises of which temporary possession is taken under section 24A or 32, the Board must inquire into that claim and must, as soon as is possible, pay to the owner or occupier (as the case may be) compensation for such loss, damage or cost arising from the exercise of the powers under that section as is determined in accordance with this section.
To avoid doubt, nothing in this section prevents the Board from restoring premises of which temporary possession is taken under section 24A or 32 to the reasonable satisfaction of the owner or occupier of the premises before returning those premises to the owner or occupier, in lieu of compensation for any item of loss, damage or cost set out in the first column of the Fourth Schedule.