(1)  If –

(a) the Director does any work or takes any action under section 74S or 74T in respect of an area of land; and

(b) the Director has been unable to recover the reasonable costs of doing that work or taking that action, or any part of those reasonable costs –

(i) because of the failure of a relevant person, within the meaning of section 74U , to pay the proportion of those reasonable costs as ordered by a court under that section; or

(ii) because the Director was unable to determine on whom to serve a notice or the whereabouts of a person on whom a notice was to be served –

the Director may determine that the reasonable costs of doing that work or taking that action together with any interest owing under section 74U(5) should be a charge on any land owned by the owner of that area of land.

(2)  As soon as practicable after making a determination under subsection (1) , the Director is to lodge a copy of the determination, together with the particulars of the titles of all the land to be affected by the charge, with the Recorder of Titles.

(3)  If any land which will be affected by the charge is not under the Land Titles Act 1980 , the Recorder of Titles, as soon as practicable after the determination and particulars of the land are lodged with him or her is to –

(a) register the determination in the Registry of Deeds; and

(b) bring the land under that Act as if an application had been made in relation to that land under section 11 of that Act.

(4)  For the purposes of subsection (3) , the Recorder of Titles is not bound to investigate the title of any land.

(5)  On the lodgment under subsection (2) of the determination of the Director and particulars of title, the Recorder of Titles is to register the determination against the relevant folio of the register kept under the Land Titles Act 1980 as if it were a dealing, within the meaning of that Act, lodged in accordance with that Act.

(6)  On the registration, under the Land Titles Act 1980 by reason of subsection (5) , of the determination on the land in respect of which the Director did any work or took any action under section 74S or 74T , the amount of the reasonable costs of the Director in doing that work or taking that action, as specified in the determination, together with any interest owing under section 74U(5) are a charge on that or any other land owned by that owner and that charge –

(a) ranks equally with –

(i) a debt referred to in section 119 of the Local Government Act 1993 ; and

(ii) any other debt to a State Service Agency that is a charge on the land; and

(b) ranks in priority to any other charge, mortgage, lien or encumbrance.

(7)  Subsection (1) does not apply if the Director was not entitled to serve a notice on the owner of the land in respect of which work was done or action was taken under section 74S or 74T .