What is a bailiff?
A bailiff, also known as an enforcement agent, is someone who has legal authority to collect adebt. They can be employed by privatecompanies, the local council, or they may be self-employed.
Debts a bailiff can collect include:
- Child maintenance arrears
- County Court Judgements (CCJs)
- Council tax arrears
- Criminal fines
- Income tax
- National Insurance
- Parking fines
- Tax credit overpayment
- VAT
Bailiffs are legally allowed to visit your home, remove your goods, and sell them to pay off adebt. They must send you a notice ofenforcement to let you know they’re coming, which you should get seven working days before theplanned visit. You can use this timeto pay the debt, or reach an agreement to pay the debt in instalments – if this happens thebailiffs will no longer visit.
They must let you know who they are and why they are there before you decide whether to let themin your home. They must alsoshow you proof of the debt you owe and a warrant from the court, also known as a writ. Alldocuments must be signed, in date, anddisplay the correct name and address for you.
If you can’t pay the whole debt, you can ask them if you can pay most of it in one go, if you’reable to. If not, you can set up small,regular payments. Bailiffs can refuse a payment offer or payment plan, or say they only wantfull payment, but it helps to try to payanyway. They will see you want to pay and it will be easier to negotiate. Paying can also stopthem taking control of your goods.
Types of bailiffs
There are four different types of bailiffs:
- Certificated enforcement agents. ‘Enforcement agent’ is a synonym for bailiff. Enforcementagents are certified by the CountyCourt and have their certification renewed independently every two years.
- High court enforcement officers, who are officers of the High Court of England and Wales.They take control of goods or repossessproperty in order to enforce High Court judgments.
- County court and family court bailiffs. County court and family court bailiffs are employedby HM Courts & Tribunals Service. Theytake control of goods and sell them in order to recover County Court Judgment debts,repossess property, and execute arrest warrantsfor contempt of court.
- Civilian enforcement officers, also known as Approved Enforcement Agents, who enforcemagistrates’ court fines and warrants forarrests.
When can a bailiff collect debt?
Sending a bailiff to your home is often a last resort. A court will try to contact you to find aresolution first, such as setting up a debtpayment plan that all parties agree to. In the majority of cases, a bailiff can only be sent toyour home after court action has beentaken. The only time bailiffs can come to your home without a court order is if they are sent byHM Revenue & Customs.
There isn’t a limit on how many times a bailiff can visit your home. If they visit multipletimes and are unable to enter, they will normallyreturn the warrant to the court or your local authority.
They must visit from 6am to 9pm between Monday and Saturday, excluding bank holidays (unlessthey have permission otherwise). Ifthey haven’t visited your home before, they cannot come in unless you or another adult givesthem permission. However, they canenter through an unlocked door or window without your permission and it will be considered apeaceful entry.
Bailiffs were not allowed to visit during the first COVID-19 lockdown in 2020. However, they arenow allowed to work and take controlof goods in order to pay debts.
What can a bailiff take?
A bailiff is allowed to make an inventory of goods they could use to pay off the debt, oncethey’ve been sold off at auction. They don’tnormally take these goods straight away, giving you the chance to make payments towards yourdebt. If you don’t do this, the bailiffcan come back to remove the listed goods, and use force to enter your property.
Goods a bailiff will look for include:
- Cars and other vehicles
- Electrical goods
- Furniture
- Jewellery
They will also list anything else that can be sold for a good price at auction.
Any goods which are added to the inventory are legally taken into the control of the bailiff,even if they are left in your property for thebailiff to collect later. Once this happens, it becomes a criminal offence for you to sell, hideor damage these goods.
A bailiff may do the following once your goods have been added to the inventory:
- Remove them immediately to be sold.
- Leave them with you. You can keep using them if you make payments towards the debt and havesigned a controlled goodsagreement. This agreement means the bailiff can return and take your goods if you don’t makepayments towards the debt.
- Leave them with you, but lock them up. This is more likely to happen if the bailiff iscollecting a business debt.
Hiding goods from bailiffs
Whether or not you can hide your goods depends on which stage of the enforcement process you’reat.
| ✓ | ✕ |
|---|---|
| Before getting your first notice of enforcement letter | After the bailiff has visited your property and made an inventory ofgoods |
| After getting the notice of enforcement letter, but before the bailiff has visitedyour property |
Can bailiffs take my car?
In some scenarios. Bailiffs can add a vehicle to the inventory of goods if they have confirmedyou own it. They will often look for carsand other vehicles first, because of their high value compare
Bailiffs cannot take:
- A vehicle used by a disabled person
- A vehicle which is a) necessary for your job and b) worth less than £1,350.
- A vehicle which is the subject of a logbook loan (where the vehicle is owned by the loancompany until the loan has been repaid),where the final payment hasn’t been made
- A vehicle which is also someone’s main home, such as a camper van or houseboat.
The rules around hire purchase vehicles and vehicles paid for using a finance agreement are lessclear-cut. Some argue that thesevehicles belong to a third party until they are paid off, and so a bailiff has no right to takethem. Others disagree. The regulations arecomplex and allow both of these interpretations.
If a bailiff does say they will take or clamp your hire purchase vehicle, you can search for iton the HPI Check site, which will show thatyou are still paying for it. You can make a complaint to the bailiff company and the creditor inwriting, keeping a copy of the letter foryourself. You can also send the letter of complaint to the regulator or ombudsman the creditoris overseen by, if they have one.
They can only clamp your car if the vehicle is parked on your property or a public road. If itis parked on someone else’s property, theymust have a court warrant before they can clamp it. They will often look for your vehicle ifthey know you own one, but it isn’t parkedon your property.
Is there anything a bailiff can’t take?
Bailiffs cannot take:
- Basic household items, including:
- Beds and bedding for everyone who lives in the property
- A dining table, plus chairs for everyone who lives in the property
- Heat and light sources
- Kitchen appliances like an oven, microwave, fridge and washing machine
- Medical equipment
- A phone (landline or mobile)
- A sofa, unless you have more than is required for the number of people living in theproperty
- Clothes
- Equipment essential for your job or study (up to a value of £1,350)
- Fitted storage like kitchen units or built-in wardrobes
- Goods bought on hire purchase agreement, if the final payment hasn’t been made
- Goods owned by someone else, like a partner or child. Bailiffs can only take goods belongingto the person named on theenforcement notice (including goods jointly owned with someone else).
- Goods currently being used
- Pets (including assistance dogs)
- A vehicle displaying a valid Blue Badge, or a Motability vehicle
You can stop a bailiff from taking goods by proving they shouldn’t. Citizens Advice recommendsthe following:
- If the goods belong to someone else, the person who owns them can provide a bill, creditcard receipt, or order form with their nameon it. If the item is a vehicle, you can contact the DVLA to get proof the other person isthe registered owner.
- If it’s something you need for work or study, you can show invoices, order forms or receiptsto prove it’s worth less than £1,350 andexplain why you need the item. You can also show proof of employment or enrolment documents.
- If it’s something you’re paying for on finance, the item will not belong to you until you’vemade the final payment. If bailiffs say theymight take it, you can search for it on the HPI Check site, which will show that you arestill paying for it.
- If it’s a Motability vehicle, show the bailiff your approved application documents.Motability vehicles are owned by the MotabilityScheme and are therefore considered third-party goods.
- If it’s a vehicle with a valid Blue Badge, show the bailiff dated documents to prove youhave the Blue Badge.
If a bailiff breaks the rules, you can make a complaint and get the belongings in questionreturned to you.
Evictions
Bailiffs can come to evict you if the landlord has applied for a warrant for possession. Thelandlord must have gone through every otherstep of the eviction processfirst
You must receive notice of an eviction date two weeks beforehand. If you are still at theproperty on this date, the bailiffs will ask you toleave. You can ask the bailiffs to provide identification when they arrive.
It’s best to pack and remove your belongings before the eviction date, so you are ready to givethem the keys and leave, as bailiffs arenot required to give you time to do this. If you do have belongings in the property, bailiffsare not allowed to damage them. They are notallowed to sell your belongings to pay for court costs or rent arrears, unless the court issuesan order giving them permission to do so.
What bailiffs can’t do
A bailiff cannot enter your home through any entrance except a door, and they must have yourpermission. They mustn’t come in if:
- The only person at home is a child under 16 years of age
- The only person at home is a vulnerable person (i.e. someone who is unable to look afterthemselves or their finances)
- It’s between 9pm and 6am
They can enter your home if you are not there, if someone lets them in or they have receivedpermission from you to enter.You can lock your doors and talk to a bailiff through an upstairs window or your letterbox ifyou prefer. Bailiffs are allowed to enterthrough unlocked doors and windows.
Can bailiffs force entry?
In the UK, bailiffs cannot enter a home by using force – for example, by pushing past you intothe property, or by breaking down doors– except in specific circ*mstances:
- A bailiff can force entry if they are collecting a criminal fine. Occurrences of this arerare.
- Bailiffs from HM Revenue & Customs can force entry when collecting some tax debts. They musthave permission from the courtbefore they can attempt this.
- Bailiffs can force entry if they are collecting unpaid criminal fines, Income Tax, or StampDuty, but this must be a last resort.
- High court bailiffs can force entry if it’s not their first visit and you haven’t paid themwhat you agreed to.
Bailiffs may be able to force entry by asking a locksmith to let them in, depending on the typeof debt you owe, but you should be giventhe opportunity to pay without the bailiffs entering your home.
FAQs
How much can bailiffs charge?
How much a bailiff can charge depends on the type of bailiff they are. The fees are fixed foreach stage, and if you arrange to pay yourdebt at one stage, then you shouldn’t have to move on to (and be charged for) the next stage.For example, if you set up a paymentplan with your creditor at the compliance stage, bailiffs won’t visit your home and you won’t becharged for enforcement.
You shouldn’t have another charge added to your debt if:
- You pay the debt in full
- You make a controlled goods agreement after the bailiff visits for the first time
- You haven’t refused to make a controlled goods agreement
- The bailiffs aren’t going to take control of your belongings
High Court bailiff fees
| Type of fees | Fixed fee | Percentage extra you’ll pay fordebts over £1,500 |
|---|---|---|
| Compliance: writing to youabout your debt | £75 | None |
| Enforcement 1: visiting yourhome | £190 | 7.5% |
| Enforcement 2: if you didn’tmake or keep a paymentagreement | £495 | None |
| Sale: taking and selling yourbelongings | £525 | 7.5% |
(source: Citizens Advice)
Other bailiff fees
| Type of fees | Fixed fee | Percentage extra you’ll pay for debts over £1,000 |
| Compliance: writing to you about your debt | £75 | None |
| Enforcement: visiting your home | £235 | 7.5% |
| Sale: taking and selling your belongings | £110 | 7.5% |
(source: Citizens Advice)
Can I pay the council instead of the bailiffs?
No. Once your debt has been passed to an enforcement agency, the amount you must pay includesthe bailiff fees. The council willrecommend that the enforcement agency takes care of the payment.
Can a debt relief order stop bailiffs?
During the period of a debt relief order, you must still pay any debts which are subject to acontrolled goods agreement.
Can bailiffs enter my house for someone else’s debt?
No, unless the person who owes the debt also lives there and the bailiff is given permission toenter the property. If bailiffs are at yourdoor for someone else and they have come to the wrong address, you need to provide proof thatthe person who owes the debt doesnot live there and doesn’t have any belongings there. Write to the enforcement agency to letthem know this is the case.
A bailiff is not allowed to take your belongings to pay for someone else’s debt, unless they areitems the pair of you own jointly.
How can I complain about a bailiff?
Write to the enforcement agency the bailiff works for and the creditor they are collecting thedebt for. Save copies of the letters foryourself.
If your complaint is not resolved satisfactorily, you can contact the relevant governing body orombudsman. Your complaint can alsobe escalated to the police and civil courts. We recommend seeking legal advice before gettingthe court involved.
Seeking Legal Advice
No matter how careful you are with money, circ*mstances can change and paying back debt is nolonger as straightforward as itseemed at the time of the agreement. At Manak Solicitors, we want to help you mediate anydisputes as quickly and easily as possible.
Do you need advice on bailiff rights? Contact Manak Solicitors today.
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