(1)A local authority may, by notice in writing, require the owner of any building in their area to rectify such defects in the building as are specified in the notice being defects which require rectification in order to bring the building into a reasonable state of repair, regard being had to its age, type and location.
(2)For the purposes of this section, any object or structure fixed to a building or forming part of the land and comprised within the curtilage of a building shall be treated as part of the building.
(3)Where it appears to a local authority to be necessary in the interests of health or safety or to prevent damage to any property that they should repair immediately a building in their area, they may without prior notice rectify such defects in the building as could have been specified in a notice under subsection (1) above had such a notice been served and any person authorised by them may, on their behalf, for these purposes, enter the building and the land pertaining thereto.
(4)The local authority may recover from the owner of the building the expense of anything done by them under subsection (3) above or, where there is more than one owner, apportion such expense among them and recover from each the appropriate sum, but may remit any sum or any part of any sum due to them under this subsection as they think fit.
(5)A person who, in compliance with a notice served under subsection (1) above or under section 20 of the [1897 c. 38.] Public Health (Scotland) Act 1897, carries out work on a building which is, for the purposes of Part II of the [1969 c. 34.] Housing (Scotland) Act 1969, a house shall have the same entitlement to loans and grants as he would have had if the notice had been served and to the extent that it could have been served under section 24(1) of the Housing (Scotland) Act 1969.
(6)In this section, " local authority " means the district or islands council except that in the case of districts situated within the Highland, Borders or Dumfries and Galloway region it means the council of that region.