Introduction
Charitable House to House Collections
Charitable house to house collections involve the
collection of either money or items directly from a
person’s property. They are a vital source of funds for
many charities as they offer a positive opportunity for
the public to support charities. However, they need
to be carried out for the benefit of the charity and in
accordance with the law.
It is vital that permits to collect are issued to
legitimate applicants. This can give the public
confidence that if the collection is properly authorised
then an adequate proportion of their donations are
being given to the appropriate charity.
Charitable house to house collections are currently
regulated by the House to House Collections Act
1939 and the House to House Collections Regulations
1947. Permits for these collections, in the East Lindsey
District, are issued by East Lindsey District Council.
There are National Exemption Orders that are available
to charities who have undertaken a high number of
collections across local authority areas nationally
in the preceding two years. These are issued to the
charity by the Cabinet Office directly.
Application Process
The statutory house to house application form needs
to be completed when applying for a permit.
There should be a minimum 28 days notice given
between the application and the proposed start date
of the collection. This recommendation may be waived
in exceptional circumstances at the discretion of the
Authority.
On all applications to this Authority, where the
application relates to the collection of clothing or
goods, the applicant must also supply information
relating to:
• Whether the collection beneficiary is a
registered charity (with charity number), and the
objectives of the charitable cause as supplied to
the Charity Commission.
• A statement of the company organisations aims
as detailed in any literature and the details and
history of the organisation.
• How the collection is to be conducted (e.g.
charity collection bags).
• Letter of Authorisation from the Charity Partner
to collect goods on their behalf.
• Copy of the Corporate Agreement between the
two organisations (the charity partner and the
collector).
• Declaration of any previous permit refusals by
this Authority and/or any other Local Authority.
• An example of the projected Income and
Expenditure in collecting 1 tonne of clothes.
In addition, it must be clear as part of the application
process how much the charity will receive as part of
the collection, the proportion of this as a percentage
of the cost of running the collection and a clear set of
returns if the organisation has operated collections in
the East Lindsey District before.
Where appropriate this Authority reserves the right
to ask an applicant to produce the result of a current
basic Criminal Records Bureau disclosure relating to
the applicant for the permit (or the Director(s) of the
collection company if different).
House to House Collections Policy
A copy of our policy on the subject of house to house
collections can be found on the Council’s website:
www.e-lindsey.gov.uk
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Guidance Notes
