Section 241 in The Himachal Pradesh Municipal Corporation Act, 1994
241. Recovery of cost of execution.
(1)Where, under this Act, the owner or occupier of property is required by the municipality to execute any work and default has been made in complying with the requirement, and the municipality has executed the work, the municipality may recover the cost of the work from the person in default.(2)As between themselves and the municipality both owner and occupier shall be deemed to be in default for the purposes of this section, but that one of them shall be deemed to be primarily in default upon whom, as between landlord and tenant, the duty of doing the required act would properly fall either in pursuance of the contract of tenancy or by law.(3)When the person primarily in default is the owner, and the municipality has recovered the whole or any part of the cost from the occupier, or he has paid the same upon its demand, he may deduct the sum so recovered or paid from the rent from time to time becoming due from him to the owner, or otherwise recover it from such owner:Provided that no occupier shall be required to pay under sub-section (3) any sum greater than the amount for the time being due from him to the owner, either in respect of rent due at the date of such demand as aforesaid or thereafter accruing unless he has refused on demand by the municipality truly to disclose the amount of his rent and the name and address of the person to whom it is payable; but the burden of proof that the sum so demanded by the municipality from the occupier exceeds the rent due at the time of the demand, or which has since accrued due, shall lie on, the occupier.(4)All money recoverable by a municipality under this section may be recovered on application to a Magistrate having jurisdiction within the municipal area, by distress and sale of the movable property of the person from whom the money is recoverable, and if payable by the owner of the properly shall, until it is paid, be a charge on the property.(5)Nothing in this section shall affect any contract between an owner and an occupier.(6)Where under section 116 or section 117, the municipality has executed any work, the cost thereof may be recovered from the owner or occupier in connection with work done under section 116, and from the owner in connection with work done under section 117, in the manner herein provided for the recovery of the cost of work from a defaulting owner or occupier and subject to the provisions herein contained.
