Community Infrastructure Levy enforcement
Enforcement procedures are set out in Part 9 of the Regulations.
Almost all parties liable to pay the levy are likely to pay their liabilities without problem or delay, guided by the information sent by the collecting authority in the liability notice. However, where there are problems in collecting the levy, it is important that collecting authorities are able to penalise late payment and discourage future non-compliance.
The regulations provide for a range of proportionate enforcement measures, such as surcharges on late payments (as set out in regulations 80 to 86). In most cases, these measures should be sufficient.
In cases of persistent non-compliance, collecting authorities may take more direct action to recover the amount due. For example, a collecting authority may issue a Community Infrastructure Levy stop notice (under regulations 89 to 94), which prohibits development from continuing until payment is made and the stop notice is withdrawn. The collecting authority may, after issuing a reminder notice to the party liable for the levy, apply to a magistrates’ court to make a liability order allowing it to seize and sell assets of the liable party. A party may also apply for a charging order if there is at least £2,000 owing. The court can issue an order imposing a charge on a relevant interest to secure the amount due.
In the very small number of cases where a collecting authority can demonstrate that recovery measures have been unsuccessful, they may apply to a magistrates’ court to send the liable party to prison for up to 3 months (under regulations 100 and 101 as amended by the 2019 Regulations). If the collecting authority cannot recover CIL from the person who assumed liability the authority can pursue the owners of the land.