Compulsory Purchase Act 1965

13 Refusal to give possession to acquiring authority.E+W

(1)If the acquiring authority are under this Act authorised to enter on and take possession of any land, and the owner or occupier of any of that land, or any other person, refuses to give up possession of it, or hinders the acquiring authority from entering on or taking possession of it, the acquiring authority may issue their warrant to [F1—

(a)the sheriff, or

(b)the enforcement officer,

to deliver possession of it to the person appointed in the warrant to receive it. ]

(2)On receipt of the warrant [F2the person to whom it is issued] shall deliver possession of any such land accordingly.

[F3(2A)If, by virtue of paragraph 3A of Schedule 7 to the Courts Act 2003, the warrant is issued to two or more persons collectively, the duty in subsection (2) of this section shall apply to the person to whom the warrant is allocated in accordance with the approved arrangements mentioned in that Schedule.]

(3)The costs accruing by reason of the issue and execution of the warrant, to be settled by [F4the person executing the warrant], shall be paid by the person refusing to give possession, and the amount of those costs shall be deducted and retained by the acquiring authority from the compensation, if any, payable by them to that person.

(4)If no compensation is payable to the person refusing to give possession, or if it is less than the amount of the costs, that amount or the amount by which the costs exceed the compensation, if not paid on demand, shall be [F5recovered by using the procedure in Schedule 12 to the Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007 (taking control of goods)], and on application to any justice of the peace for that purpose he shall issue his warrant accordingly.

F6(5). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(6)In this section[F7—

"the enforcement officer", in relation to a warrant to deliver possession of land under this section, means the officer or officers identified for that purpose in paragraph 3A of Schedule 7 to the Courts Act 2003, and]
“sheriff” includes an under sheriff or other legally competent deputy, and means the sheriff for the area where the land is situated, or if land in one ownership is not situated wholly in one such area the sheriff for the area where any part of the land is situated.

Textual Amendments

F1Words in s. 13(1) substituted (1.4.2008) by Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007 (c. 15), ss. 139(5), 148; S.I. 2007/2709, art. 5(a)

F2Words in s. 13(2) substituted (1.4.2008) by Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007 (c. 15), ss. 139(6), 148; S.I. 2007/2709, art. 5(a)

F3S. 13(2A) inserted (1.4.2008) by Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007 (c. 15), ss. 139(7), 148; S.I. 2007/2709, art. 5(a)

F4Words in s. 13(3) substituted (1.4.2008) by Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007 (c. 15), ss. 139(8), 148; S.I. 2007/2709, art. 5(a)

F5Words in s. 13(4) substituted (6.4.2014) by Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007 (c. 15), s. 148, Sch. 13 para. 28(2) (with s. 89); S.I. 2014/768, art. 2(1)(b)

F6S. 13(5) repealed (6.4.2014) by Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007 (c. 15), s. 148, Sch. 13 para. 28(3), Sch. 23 Pt. 3 (with s. 89); S.I. 2014/768, art. 2(1)(b)

F7Words in s. 13(6) inserted (1.4.2008) by Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007 (c. 15), ss. 139(9), 148; S.I. 2007/2709, art. 5(a)

Modifications etc. (not altering text)

C1Pt. 1 applied (with modifications) (11.3.2024) by The Net Zero Teesside Order 2024 (S.I. 2024/174), arts. 1, 29, Sch. 8 paras. 4, 5 (with arts. 24(1)(a), 42, 43, Sch. 12)