Enforcement
9Power of entry
1
An authorised officer of a local authority may enter premises at any reasonable time if the officer—
a
has reasonable grounds for believing that an offence under section 5 has been committed in the area of the local authority, and
b
considers it necessary to enter the premises for the purpose of ascertaining whether such an offence has been committed.
2
This does not apply in relation to residential premises.
3
An authorised officer of a local authority may not enter premises by force under this section.
4
Before entering premises under this section an authorised officer must, if asked to do so, show documentary evidence of the authorisation referred to in section 7(2).
5
For the purposes of this section and sections 10 and 11, “residential premises” means premises, or any part of premises, used wholly or mainly as a dwelling.