Section 18 - Compliance notice: offence and multiple convictions
33.Section 18 sets out that an owner of land who has been served with a compliance notice, which has become operative under section 24, commits an offence if they fail to take the steps set out in the notice within the specified time period.
34.Subsection (2) sets out that where a person is guilty of the offence the penalty is a fine (a maximum of £5000 at November 2013). Subsection (3) allows a defence where the owner had a reasonable excuse for failing to take the steps set out in the notice within the time period specified.
35.Subsections (4) and (5) provide that, where an owner has two or more previous convictions for breach of a compliance notice, the local authority can make an application to the court (which convicted the owner) for the site licence to be revoked.
