Are political canvassers permitted to set foot on my property?

Q. Party canvassers have been coming to my front door during this general election campaign. Do they have legal rights to come on to my property, and what happens if they are injured on my land?

A. Anyone who goes on to private land without permission commits a trespass. But there obviously have to be exceptions for some visitors and callers to a property.

A letterbox in a door means there is an implied licence for people to come up to the door to put letters through it. There is a similar implied licence for people to walk up the path to knock on the door — as long as they don’t cause a nuisance.

The implied licence is usually asserted by Royal Mail when