Transfer of Premises Licence

• Transfer a Premises Licence
• Consent of Premises Licence Holder to Transfer
• Tell us about a change to your existing consent to transfer

Legislation

The Licensing Act 2003 allows a Premises Licence to be transferred to another person/company. This is usually made when the premises has been sold from one person/company to another. A transfer of the licence only changes the identity of the holder of the licence and does not alter the licence in any other way.

Who can apply

Any individual, aged 18 or over, may apply for the Transfer of a Premises Licence.

How to apply

An application to Transfer a Premises Licence must be made to the Licensing Authority for the area in which the premises is situated.

The application must be accompanied by the Premises Licence or, if that is not practicable, a statement of the reasons for the failure to provide the licence;
The application must be accompanied by a consent form from the current holder of the Premises Licence. If this is not possible then the applicant must show that he/she has taken all reasonable steps to obtain that consent (if the application is made online, the consent may also be given online).

The applicant must give notice of the application to the Chief Officer of Police for the Police area in which the premises are situated.

Applications can be made using the online application forms available on this webpage or using an application form available from the DCMS website.

If the application is made online, the Licensing Authority will, within one working day, serve copies on all relevant Responsible Authorities on your behalf.

What happens next

The Act provides a mechanism, which allows the transfer to come into immediate interim effect as soon as the Licensing Authority receives it, until it is formally determined or withdrawn. This is to ensure that there is no interruption to normal business at the premises.

The Chief Officer of Police has 14 days, beginning with the day on which they are notified of the application, to consider the transfer.

They can either:

• issue an objection notice if they believe that the transfer may undermine the crime prevention objective as set out in the Licensing Act 2003; or
• raise no objection to the application.

If no objection is received then the Licensing Authority will transfer the licence in accordance with the application, amend the licence accordingly and issue it to the new holder. This will usually be done within 7 days from the close of the 14-day consultation period.

The total timescale for dealing with a transfer application (no objection received) is therefore expected to be no more than 21 consecutive days commencing with the correct receipt of the application paperwork (including the Chief Officer of Police) and the associated fee (see below).

Will Tacit Consent apply?

Yes. This means that you will be able to act as though your application is granted if you have not heard from the Licensing Authority by the end of the target completion period of 60 calendar days.

However, if an objection is received from the Chief Officer of Police, then arrangements will be made for the Council’s Licensing Sub-Committee to hear the application and objection notice within 20 working days beginning the day after the period within which the Chief Officer of Police may give a notice.

Applicants should be aware that the timescales for processing an application do not start until all the necessary information has been received in full.

Because the timescales for processing a licence start once the necessary information has been submitted, rather than received, where tacit consent is applicable, it will only apply for applications that are submitted electronically or when the applicant can show proof of delivery from a post office or recognised courier.

Hearing

If an objection is received from the Chief Officer of Police, arrangements will be made for the council’s Licensing Sub-Committee to hear the application and objection notice within 20 working days beginning the day after the period within which the Chief Officer of Police may give a notice.

Details of the date and time of the hearing together with details of the procedures to be followed will be sent to the applicant and the Chief Officer of Police at least 10 working days before the day of the hearing.

The applicant and Chief Officer of Police must give notice to the Licensing Authority at least two working days before the start of the hearing stating:

• whether they will attend the hearing in person;
• whether they will be represented by someone else (e.g. Lawyer / Councillor / MP);
• whether they think a hearing is unnecessary (if, for example an agreement has been reached before a formal hearing);
• any request for another person to attend the hearing, including how they may be able to assist the Licensing Authority in relation to the application.

Hearing - what action is available to the Licensing Sub-Committee?

A hearing will go ahead, unless the Licensing Authority, the applicant and the Chief Officer of Police (giver of notice) agree through mediation that a hearing is unnecessary.

If the hearing goes ahead, the committee’s consideration would be confined only to the issue of the Crime Prevention Objective.

The burden would be on the Chief Officer of Police to demonstrate to the committee that there were good grounds for believing that the transfer of the licence would undermine the Crime Prevention Objective. In this case, the committee would reject the transfer. Otherwise, the transfer would be approved.

Determination

Where a transfer is either granted or rejected, the Licensing Authority will give a notice to that effect to the applicant and the Chief Officer of Police.

Where there is a hearing, the committee must give clear and comprehensive reasons for its eventual determination of the transfer.

Appeal

Right of appeal exists to the Magistrates' Court for both applicant and Chief Officer of Police and must be lodged with the Court within 21 consecutive days of the date of the objection notice.

Supporting Information

Responsible Authorities

These are public bodies that must be fully notified of applications and that are entitled to make representations to the Licensing Authority in respect of the application. All representations made by Responsible Authorities are relevant representations if they concern the effect of the application on the licensing objectives.

List of the Responsible Authorities.

When serving the application on the Licensing Authority, other than online, the applicant should simultaneously serve copies of the application and the plan on all relevant Responsible Authorities. The application is not valid until this has been completed.

If the application is made online, the Licensing Authority will, within one working day, serve copies on all relevant responsible authorities on your behalf.

Application Forms

If you wish to submit an on-line application see details below.

• Online Application to Transfer a Premises Licence
• Tell us about a change to your existing consent to transfer
• Online Form for Consent of Premises Licence Holder to Transfer

Read the instructions for online applicants.

Alternatively you can download forms from the DCMS website.

Postal applications should be sent to:

Licensing

Regulatory Services Partnership
Merton Civic Centre
London Road
Morden
SM4 5DX

Telephone: 020 8545 3969
Fax: 020 8891 7713
Email: licensing@merton.gov.uk

In case of query, please telephone Licensing on 020 8545 3969 or email us at licensing@merton.gov.uk.

Charges

A completed application must be submitted with a fee of £23.00 payable to ‘LBRUT’ and sent to the Licensing Team at the address above.

Further Information

Trade associations

• ALMR - Association of Licensed Multiple Retailers
• BECTU - Broadcasting, Entertainment, Cinematograph and Theatre Union
• FLVA - Federation of Licensed Victuallers Associations
• IEAP - Institute of Entertainment and Arts Professionals

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