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When it comes to obtaining and enforcing a possession order, landlords in Bexley have many options to choose from and ideally, applying for the same via the county court has been popular, yet, there is another viable option - the High Court Writ of Eviction.
Sheriffs, enforcement agents or certified bailiffs are different terms used for HCEOs in Bexley.
A possession order can be applied in Bexley, Belvedere, or Barnehurst through the High Court when:
When the hearing of possession was in high court in Greater London, as this is not common because if a landlord in Bexley makes an application for an order of possession in high court, it will be moved to county court unless there are special circumstances like complicated disputes.
The landlord in Bexley shall refer the possession warrant to the county court for compliance by the HCEO to the High Court.
It is the county court judge that will determine if to transfer the enforcement in Barnehurst, Belvedere, or Bexley to the High Court or not.
During the proceedings of a possession order in the county court, the landlord in Bexley can plea enforcement to bed moved to the High Court.
Following acquisition of the order, the leaseholder in Bexley may require to make application to regional court and ask that it be transferred to high court in order to be executed from there.
An application for transfer cannot be made if there are any pending applications from the tenant in Bexley, for example, an appeal against the possession order.
Or if the tenant has rent arrears, when coupled together with court costs come to more than £600, a landlord can apply to get a writ of control which will enable them to recoup any debited money in Bexley, Belvedere, or Barnehurst.
A writ of control allows the landlord in Bexley to seize and sell the tenants goods which is also known as a writ of Fieri facias or writ of fi fa.
The debts which come under the CCA (Act of Consumer Credit), are not transferable to high court and thus, the county court in Greater London executes them as they are CCA regulated agreements.
If a landlord in Bexley is applying for possession order transfer to the High Court for enforcement, it may be because:
Enforcement in Bexley by HCEO is usually faster than the county court bailiff enforcement
Losses due to non-payment of rent as a result of delays in enforcement via the county court bailiffs in Greater London
It prevents further anti-social behaviour or destruction of property in Bexley
The HCEO can both carry out the order and apprehend possessions in Bexley, when money is owed to the landlord
An interest rate of 8% will be accrued for judgement debt arrears from the start of the order transfer.
Since the level of eviction is quicker in Bexley but the expense of using a HCEO is greater than the county court bailiffs in Greater London, a plaintiff may want to respond to a proposal to shift compliance to the High Court.
The explanations for the lease might include:
The landlord did not provide proof that the use of county court bailiffs in Bexley would be substantially affected
The costs of transfer of the order are too much
They need extra time to find a place before eviction in Barnehurst, Bexley, or Belvedere
Significant pending dues or children are also among these factors that will be under the Bexley court's consideration regarding the tenant's specific condition.
It is a must for the landlord to get permission from the high court if he/she wants to transfer the application granted by the County court in Greater London, apart from when:
In addition, permission is not required for serving the writ of possession due to a breach of a possession order and this includes suspended orders where the breach contains lack of paying money in Bexley.
When planning to request for permission for a possession order to be transferred to the High Court for enforcement (excluding cases such as mortgage repossession cases and cases against trespassers, the landlord in Barnehurst, Bexley, or Belvedere is required to provide the current inhabitants of the property with a notice of application.
The landlord must also give sufficient notice to the Bexley tenants to ensure they are aware of the transfer of the possession order to the High Court.
The notice can be given in any form in Greater London since there are no specific requirements.
The notice must include the fact of case; this is the vital part of the notice.
If there is just one tenant in the Bexley property, who is already aware of the case being transferred, then a simple reminder by the landlord of the guidelines from the court order and a demand that the property is to be given up is more than enough.
The writ of possession may be annulled even after it has been enforced in Bexley, in cases where the landlord fails to provide enough notice, or when information about appeals against the possession hearings or pending application is withheld from the court.
Some HCEOs in Greater London apply to the High Court directly to take over the case through Form N293A or Section 41, the County Court Act 1984, and they thus bypass the normal procedure.
The Senior Master of the High Court (Queens Bench Division) gave out a practice not on the 21st March 2016 to stop the carelessness.
Normally, HCEOs can execute an order of possession in Bexley more quick than the county court's bailiffs.
An HCEO has the ability to implement a possession writ within some few days following expiry of the order application by the asset owner for consent or possession writ issuance in Belvedere, Barnehurst, or Bexley.
There is no requirement for a HCEO to notify tenants in Bexley in advance of their visit when they will execute the possession letter, although it is common practice for them to drop the letter and return one or two days later.
However, the HCEO needs to give a seven days' notice to the tenant where they need to seize goods and money while recovering possession of the property in Bexley.
The Greater London High Court can uphold or set aside a writ of possession, or writ of control.
Applications to the High Court are made through from N244.
However, if the stay or set aside is granted, the tenant in Bexley must inform the HCEO because the High Court may not have told them.
Otherwise, other applications, including setting aside the original possession order must be made to the Greater London county court.
HCEOs in Bexley are commercial agencies certified by the High Court, they are not employees of the court.
The enforcement officers, who are authorized to execute High Court writs in England and Wales, are listed on the Directory of High Court Enforcement Officers.
Every high court enforcement officer must stick to the code of practices.
A possession writ shall not be executed on a Sunday, Good Friday or Christmas Day in Bexley, unless otherwise ordered by the court.
Regulations govern the activities of HCEOs and all other bailiffs in Bexley with effect from 6 April 2014.
Requirements state that the HCEO must not:
The time of entering the Greater London residential property is before 6 am or after 9 pm unless authorized otherwise by the court
Go inside the building in Bexley in case the person within is a child below the age of 16 years
Seize essential household items, such as washing machine and cooker
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