Licensing Solicitors in London

Whether you need assistance with licence disputes in relation to commercial regulations, DVLA or HMO properties, our licencing solicitors in London have the specialist expertise and experience to represent you with advice and representation tailored to your individual circumstances to challenge revocations and resolve your dispute.

No matter where you are based, in the UK or internationally, we can advise you on licencing law and your rights, offering support over the phone and via videoconferencing software such as Zoom and Microsoft Teams.

How can OTS Solicitors help?

Our specialised licencing department can represent you as an individual or your business and advise you in respect of your options to challenge a decision to obtain your licence back. Our experienced team can assist you or your business with a number of licencing issues, including applications, variation of licence terms and complying with licencing conditions.

We help with a variety of licencing areas:

· New licence applications

· Amendments to existing licences

· Defending applications in disputes

· Complying with relevant regulations and conditions

· Contesting fines or penalties for breaches of licencing conditions

Timescales for services

Applying for a licence for the first time could take anywhere up to 16 weeks, however depending on the specific location, local authority and type of licence, this may take significantly longer. The estimated timescale will be dependent on the level of complexity of the application however we will update you at every stage to ensure that you are kept fully informed of any expected delays.

Please note that if the local authority have significant objections to the licence, this will have an impact on the estimated timeframe given at the beginning of the process.

Fees for Licencing Services

To ensure our clients have a clear understanding of the hourly rates and fixed fees we quote per case, we have set out below the costs of our services with a range of fees to accommodate work that spans both straightforward and complex or highly complex cases involving debt recovery.

Our consultation rate is £200 (+ VAT if applicable) for a 60-minute consultation. This meeting will take place in confidence between yourself and one of our qualified lawyers to establish the full details of your specific circumstances; taking down your full instruction; we will consider all the

applicable legislation, policy and any case law that will need to be taken into account in to your case; we will finally have a detailed discussion to advise on your options and merits of success in your case.

A costs-benefit analysis and a full explanation of our duties towards you will be provided, with plenty of time for you to ask any further questions for clarification before the end of the consultation.

Following the initial consultation, the following fees may apply:

Application for a new licence

Our range of costs consists of the following:

Simple application: £1400 - £2500 (based on 7-10 hours at an hourly rate of £200)

Medium complexity: £2600 - £5000 (based on 13-25 hours at an hourly rate of £200)

High complexity: £5000 - £10000 + (based on 25-50 hours at an hourly rate of £200)

All ranges are subject to the fee-earners hourly rate and complexity of the case. All figures exclude VAT unless specifically stated.

The work will involve (but is not limited to):

· Taking your instructions and advising you as to how you can promote the licensing objectives within your application

· Advising you as the type of plans you are required to submit with your application

· Completing the application form for a new premises licence (including the operating schedule) in accordance with your instructions and submitting this to the local licensing authority alongside suitable plans. You must provide suitable plans

· Providing guidance on the fee levels payable to the licensing authority

· Preparing copies of the premises licence application for disclosure to the responsible authorities and serving copies of the application on the responsible authorities

· Drafting the notices advertising the premises licence application and submitting the notice to the local newspaper

· Checking the licence once granted and correcting any errors with the licensing authority

The fee will not involve:

· Obtaining suitable plans

· Attending pre-consultation meetings with the Licensing Authority or Responsible Authorities, nor their fee for this meeting.

· Dealing with or advising you in relation to queries or representations received from either the responsible authorities or other interested parties

· Advising on varying the licence

· Attendance and representation at a licensing sub-committee hearing of the responsible authority. If representations are received and attendance and representation at a licensing sub-committee is required then we will provide a separate fee estimate for this work which will be charged at an hourly rate.

These charges are reviewed annually and we will let you know if the rates increase.

All stated fees may be subject to VAT (Value Added Tax) where applicable and is usually charged at a rate of 20%. However, this may not apply for applicants applying from abroad depending on their individual visa/residency status. We will confirm whether VAT is payable when you instruct us and we can work out if VAT is properly chargeable.

Disbursements (not included in costs set out above):

Disbursements are costs related to your matter that are payable to third parties, such as court fees. We handle the payment of the disbursements on your behalf to ensure a smoother process.

Some examples of disbursements are (but not limited to) the following:

· Premise Licence application fee: £100-£1,905 (Variable)

· Application for minor variation: Approx £90

· Plan fees

· Advertisement in local press

· Where the court has refused or dismissed the claim, advice and assistance in relation to any further work on the matter

· Barrister fees which vary depending on complexity of matter, the seniority of barrister and time spent on matter. On average this may cost between £650.00 - £3000.00 excluding VAT however these fees may be significantly higher depending on the level of complexity of the case.

These fees vary depending on the individual premises and where it is located. The fees can on occasion be higher than the ranges given above. We will give you an accurate figure for each item as soon as we are able to do so.