Local Government Act 1972

233 Service of notices by local authorities. E+W

(1) Subject to subsection (8) below, subsections (2) to (5) below shall have effect in relation to any notice, order or other document required or authorised by or under any enactment to be given to or served on any person by or on behalf of a local authority or by an officer of a local authority.

(2) Any such document may be given to or served on the person in question either by delivering it to him, or by leaving it at his proper address, or by sending it by post to him at that address.

(3) Any such document may—

(a) in the case of a body corporate, be given to or served on the secretary or clerk of that body;

(b) in the case of a partnership, be given to or served on a partner or a person having the control or management of the partnership business.

(4) For the purposes of this section and of section 26 of the M1 Interpretation Act 1889 (service of documents by post) in its application to this section, the proper address of any person to or on whom a document is to be given or served shall be his last known address, except that—

(a) in the case of a body corporate or their secretary or clerk, it shall be the address of the registered or principal office of that body;

(b) in the case of a partnership or a person having the control or management of the partnership business, it shall be that of the principal office of the partnership;

and for the purposes of this subsection the principal office of a company registered outside the United Kingdom or of a partnership carrying on business outside the United Kingdom shall be their principal office within the United Kingdom.

(5) If the person to be given or served with any document mentioned in subsection (1) above has specified an address within the United Kingdom other than his proper address within the meaning of subsection (4) above as the one at which he or someone on his behalf will accept documents of the same description as that document, that address shall also be treated for the purposes of this section and section 26 of the M2 Interpretation Act 1889 as his proper address.

F1 (6) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(7) If the name or address of any owner, lessee or occupier of land to or on whom any document mentioned in subsection (1) above is to be given or served cannot after reasonable inquiry be ascertained, the document may be given or served either by leaving it in the hands of a person who is or appears to be resident or employed on the land or by leaving it conspicuously affixed to some building or object on the land.

(8) This section shall apply to a document required or authorised by or under any enactment to be given to or served on any person by or on behalf of the chairman of a parish meeting as it applies to a document so required or authorised to be given to or served on any person by or on behalf of a local authority.

(9) The foregoing provisions of this section do not apply to a document which is to be given or served in any proceedings in court.

(10) Except as aforesaid and subject to any provision of any enactment or instrument excluding the foregoing provisions of this section, the methods of giving or serving documents which are available under those provisions are in addition to the methods which are available under any other enactment or any instrument made under any enactment.

[F2 (11) In this section “local authority” includes a joint authority, [F3 an economic prosperity board, a combined authority, [F4 a combined county authority,] [F5 a fire and rescue authority created by an order under section 4A of the Fire and Rescue Services Act 2004,]] F6 ... [F7 , a police and crime commissioner and the Mayor's Office for Policing and Crime] . . . F8 . . ..]

Textual Amendments

F1 S. 233(6) repealed by Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976 (c. 57, SIF 81:1), Sch. 2

F2 S. 233(11) inserted by Local Government Act 1985 (c. 51, SIF 81:1), s. 84, Sch. 14 Pt. I para. 29

F3 Words in s. 233(11) inserted (17.12.2009) by Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Act 2009 (c. 20), ss. 119, 148(6), Sch. 6 para. 32; S.I. 2009/3318, art. 2(c)

F4 Words in s. 233(11) inserted (26.12.2023) by Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023 (c. 55), s. 255(2)(c), Sch. 4 para. 45 (with s. 247)

F5 Words in s. 233(11) inserted (31.1.2017 for specified purposes, 3.4.2017 in so far as not already in force) by Policing and Crime Act 2017 (c. 3), s. 183(1)(5)(e), Sch. 1 para. 31; S.I. 2017/399, reg. 2, Sch. para. 38

F6 Words in s. 233(11) omitted (26.5.2015) by virtue of Deregulation Act 2015 (c. 20), s. 115(7), Sch. 13 para. 6(7)(s); S.I. 2015/994, art. 6(g)

F7 Words in s. 233(11) substituted (16.1.2012) by Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011 (c. 13), s. 157(1), Sch. 16 para. 114; S.I. 2011/3019, art. 3, Sch. 1 (with Sch. 2 para. 35)

F8 Words repealed by Education Reform Act 1988 (c. 40, SIF 41:1), ss. 231(7), 235(6), 237(2), Sch. 13 Pt. I

Modifications etc. (not altering text)

C1 S. 233 extended by Housing Act 1974 (c. 44), s. 126(6); and saved by Reservoirs Act 1975 (c. 23), ss. 15(4), 29(1); S.I. 1985/176, 1986/466, 1986/2202

C2 S. 233 applied by S.I. 1978/932, art. 16 and by S.I. 1990/582, reg. 47(2)

S. 233 applied (18.1.2005) by Housing Act 2004 (c. 34), ss. 246(9), 270

C3 S. 233 amended by Local Government Act 1985 (c. 51, SIF 81:1), s. 57(7), Sch. 13 para. 12(g)

C4 S. 233 modified (7.8.1991) by S.I.1991/1773 art. 8(2), Sch. 2

S. 233: certain functions transferred (7.8.1991) by S.I.1991/1773, art.8, Sch. 2

S. 233 extended (5.7.1994) by 1994 c. 19, ss. 39(2), 66(2)(b), Sch. 13 para. 19(g) (with ss. 54(5)(7), 55(5), Sch. 17 paras. 22(1), 23(2))

S. 233 modified (1.4.1995) by S.I. 1995/401, art. 18, Sch. para. 1(e)

S. 233: power to make provisions about matters of the kind dealt with in this section conferred (1.9.1997) by 1997 c. 50, s. 44(1), Sch. 4(a)(xiv); S.I. 1997/1930, art. 2(1)(2)(m)

S. 233 (except subsection (8)) applied (28.7.1998) by 1998 c. iv, s. 39

S. 233 extended (1.10.1998) by 1975 c. 70, s. 25 (as substituted (1.10.1998) by 1998 c. 38, s. 128, Sch. 14 Pt. I para. 9; S.I. 1998/2244, art. 4)

S. 233 extended (8.5.2000) by 1999 c. 29, s. 75 (with Sch. 12 para. 9(1)); S.I. 2000/801, art. 2(2)(b), Sch. Pt. 2

C5 S. 233 excluded (7.2.2005) by Licensing Act 2003 (c. 17), ss. 184(8)(b), 201(2) (with ss. 2(3), 15(2), 195); S.I. 2004/2360, art. 2(1), Sch.

C6 S. 233 applied (with modifications) (22.7.2004) by The Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (Establishment of Conservation Board) Order 2004 (S.I. 2004/1777), art. 21(2)(e)

S. 233 applied (with modifications) (22.7.2004) by The Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (Establishment of Conservation Board) Order 2004 (S.I. 2004/1778), art. 21(2)(e)

C7 Ss. 224-234 applied (with modifications) (E.) (24.3.2011) by The Hull and Goole Port Health Authority Order 2011 (S.I. 2011/939), arts. 1(1), 7, Sch. 1

C8 Ss. 228-234 applied (with modifications) (22.11.2012) by The Police and Crime Panels (Application of Local Authority Enactments) Regulations 2012 (S.I. 2012/2734), regs. 1(1), 3-6, Sch. Pt. 2

C9 Ss. 228-234 applied (with modifications) (22.11.2012) by The Police and Crime Panels (Application of Local Authority Enactments) Regulations 2012 (S.I. 2012/2734), regs. 1(1), 3-6, Sch. Pt. 3

C10 Ss. 231-234 extended (19.9.1995) by 1995 c. 25, ss. 63(5), 125(2), Sch. 7 para. 17(2)(d) (with ss. 7(6), 115, 117, Sch. 8 para. 7) (as amended (1.5.2021) by Local Government and Elections (Wales) Act 2021 (asc 1), s. 175(7), Sch. 4 para. 18; S.I. 2021/354, reg. 2(c))

C11 S. 233(11) amended by S.I. 1985/1884, art. 10, Sch. 3 para. 1(n)

C12 S. 233(11) modified by S.I. 1987/2110, art. 2(2), Sch. 1 para. 3(n)

Marginal Citations

M1 1889 c. 63.

M2 1889 c. 63.