12.—(1) Where the construction of any building or works to which building regulations apply is, or has been, commenced or completed or any material change takes place in the purposes for which a building is used and the building control authority concerned considers that, arising from such construction or change of use—

(a) there is a risk to the health or safety of persons who may be in or about the building or works, or of persons affected by such building or works, and

(b) such risk is so serious that either specified measures should be taken immediately to reduce or eliminate the risk or that the use of the building or works concerned should be restricted or prohibited until specified measures have been taken to reduce or eliminate the risk,

F20[the building control authority concerned may apply to the High Court or the Circuit Court for an order] requiring the removal, alteration or making safe of any structure, service, fitting or equipment, or the discontinuance of any works or restricting or prohibiting the use of the building until the removal, alteration, or making safe of any structures, services, fittings or equipment or the discontinuance of any works, as the case may be, has been effected.

F21[(1A) Where the construction of any building or works to which building regulations apply is or has been commenced or completed and in respect of which—

(a) a fire safety certificate, a disability access certificate or a regularisation certificate is required to be granted and such construction—

(i) is or has been commenced without the fire safety certificate, disability access certificate or regularisation certificate having been granted, or

(ii) is or has been completed without the fire safety certificate, disability access certificate or regularisation certificate having been granted,

or

(b) an enforcement notice has not been complied with,

the building control authority concerned may apply to the High Court or the Circuit Court for an order requiring the removal, alteration or making safe of any structure, service, fitting or equipment, or the discontinuance of any works or restricting or prohibiting the use of the building until the fire safety certificate, disability access certificate or regularisation certificate has been granted and complied with or the enforcement notice has been complied with.]

(2) The application for an order under this section shall be by motion, F20[and where such an application is made, the High Court or the Circuit Court, as the case may be, may] make such interim or interlocutory order as it considers appropriate.

F21[(2A) If the High Court or the Circuit Court makes an order under this section providing for any of the matters referred to in subsection (1) or (1A), it shall, unless it is satisfied that there are special and substantial reasons for not doing so, order the person against whom the order is made to pay to the building authority concerned the costs and expenses, as measured by the court, incurred by the authority—

(a) in relation to the application under this section, including costs incurred in respect of the remuneration and other expenses of employees, consultants and advisers, and

(b) in so far as they have not been recouped by any other means provided under this Act, in relation to the investigation and detection of the matters to which the application relates and the preparation and giving of any warnings before the making of the application, including costs incurred in respect of remuneration and expenses as aforesaid.]

(3) F22[Any order made by the High Court or the Circuit Court under this section] shall have effect notwithstanding the terms of any permission given under any other enactment for the use of the building or works or any part of either of them to which the relevant application under this section relates.

F21[(4) (a) An application under this section to the Circuit Court shall be made to the judge of the Circuit Court for the circuit in which the land which is the subject of the application is situated.

(b) The Circuit Court shall have jurisdiction to hear and determine an application under this section where the market value of the land which is the subject of the application does not exceed €3,000,000.

(c) The Circuit Court may, for the purposes of paragraph (b), in relation to land that has not been given a market value or is the subject with other land of a market value, determine that its market value would exceed, or would not exceed, €3,000,000.

(d) Where the market value of any land which is the subject of an application under this section exceeds €3,000,000, the Circuit Court shall, if an application is made to it in that behalf by any person having an interest in the proceedings, transfer the proceedings to the High Court, but any order made or act done in the course of such proceedings before the transfer shall be valid unless discharged or varied by the High Court by order.

(e) In this subsection "market value" means, in relation to land, the price that would have been obtained in respect of the unencumbranced fee simple were the land to have been sold on the open market, in the year immediately preceding the bringing of the proceedings concerned, in such manner and subject to such conditions as might reasonably be calculated to have resulted in the vendor obtaining the best price for the land.]