A premises licence will lapse of the death, incapacity or insolvency of the holder. The effect of an interim authority notice is to reinstate the premises licence as if the person giving the notice is the holder of the licence.

This allows licensable activities to continue for a maximum period of 3 months pending its formal disposal or transfer.

You may give an interim authority notice if you:

  • have a legal interest in the premises as freeholder or leaseholder
  • are a limited company, partnership, unincorporated association or other  organisation with a legal interest in the premises as a freeholder or leaseholder
  • are a personal representative for the former premises licence holder (where the former licence holder has died)
  • have power of attorney
  • are the insolvency practitioner for the former premises licence holder

What you need to do

You must give the notice to the licensing authority within 28 days beginning the day after the day the licence lapsed.

You must also send a copy of the notice and copies of any accompanying documents to the police.

The notice becomes effective as soon as it is served on the licensing authority. The person who gives the notice then becomes the holder of the licence.

Fee

The notification must be accompanied by the prescribed fee.

How to apply

You can apply for an interim authority notice in 2 ways:

Apply online

Complete the interim authority notice online form.

You should save a copy of the completed form for your own records.

You don't need to send an additional copy to the police when you make an online application, as we will fulfil these requirements. 

Apply by post

Print and complete the interim authority notice application form.

You should keep a copy of the completed form for your own records.

You can post the completed form back to:

Licensing Team
London Borough of Sutton
4 Denmark Road
Carshalton
SM5 2JG

You should also post a copy to the police at:

Licensing Officer
Sutton Police Station
6 Carshalton Road
Sutton
SM1 4RF

Application fee

You can find the cost for the application on our fees page.

You can pay online or over the phone by calling 020 8770 5000. 

What happens next

As soon as we receive your notification, we will check to ensure that the notice is valid and has been submitted to the police.

If we identify a problem

If there is a minor problem with the notice, we may contact you for further information or may return the notice to you for correction.

Where there is a fundamental error, the notice may be rejected.

Objections by the police

If the police have concerns about crime and disorder, they may object to the application (within 2 working days). In such cases we will contact you.

If you wish to proceed with the application we will hold a hearing of the Council's licensing committee to decide on the notification.

If no objections are received

The notice comes into effect and will last for a maximum of 3 months. You must apply to transfer the licence within this time, otherwise the licence will lapse.

You must notify the designated premises supervisor (DPS) of the interim authority notice.