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Another method for implementation of order of possession is requesting possession warrant from the county court and then the landlord in Edinburgh will be able to apply for the order to move in high court where it can be implemented by enforcement officer of the high court (HCEO).
In Edinburgh, HCEOs are also known as sheriffs, certificated bailiffs or enforcement agents.
The high court has the authority to impose the order of possession in Edinburgh, Blyth, or Livingston if:
The City of Edinburgh High Court can also enforce the possession order when the possession order's hearing was in the High Court as this process is unusual because the Edinburgh landlord ought to have applied to the county court except in some cases when there may be important facts of law or complicated disputes of fact, only then can the application of a possession order in a High Court can be accepted.
The landlord in Edinburgh specifically applies to the county court to get the process transferred into the High Court.
It is at the discretion of the county court judge to approve the transfer of enforcement in Blyth, Edinburgh, or Livingston to the High Court or not.
The Edinburgh property owner can ask during the possession proceedings of the county court that, if made, the order of possession is moved for enforcement to the High Court.
If the Edinburgh landlord has already got the possession order from County Court, then he can request the County Court by an application to transfer the order to the High Court for further enforcement.
The landlord cannot apply for high court transfer in case of any outstanding application such as if the appeal against the possession order is filed by the tenant in Edinburgh.
In case there is unpaid rent and all the arrears combined with court costs exceed £600, the property owner may make an application for the writ of control to recover money owed in Livingston, Edinburgh, or Blyth.
The writ of control is empowering the landlord to seize and sale the tenant's goods to recover his money in Edinburgh, and it is called the writ of Fieri facias or writ of fi fa.
However, the debt cannot be transferred to the High Court if the debt or rent arrears are regulated by the Consumer Act 1974 (CCA), that is because agreements regulated by the CCA can only be enforced in the City of Edinburgh county court.
There can be a number of reasons for which landlords in Edinburgh can request the transference in high court for execution including the following:
Enforcement in Edinburgh by HCEO is usually faster than the county court bailiff enforcement
Delay in enforcement via County Court bailiff in City of Edinburgh causes rental income loss
Reduce the chances of further damage to the property or any other anti-social behaviour in Edinburgh
The HCEO can impose the order of custody and seize the products in Edinburgh if the money is due
Interest on the judgment debt for arrears, currently at a rate of 8 percent, will accrue from the moment the order is transferred.
Not only is it more expensive to use a HCEO, eviction in Edinburgh is also faster with HCEOs as compared to county court bailiffs in City of Edinburgh, tenants may counter an application for a transfer to the High Court for enforcement.
This may be because:
The Edinburgh landlord has failed to provide reasonable proof that there will be any significant delay using County Court bailiff
The costs are higher than expected
The tenant needs extra time to find somewhere else to live in Edinburgh, Livingston, or Blyth
Significant pending dues or children are also among these factors that will be under the Edinburgh court's consideration regarding the tenant's specific condition.
In case the landlord's application to transfer is accepted, by the City of Edinburgh county court, then the landlord needs to get high Court's consent before the assurance of the writ of possession unless if:
Furthermore, the permission required before serving warrant of possession is not necessary when there is a violation of order of possession including suspension orders in which violation includes non payment of money in Edinburgh.
When permission is sought in the High Court to enforce a possession order (i.e. except in actions against trespassers and cases of mortgage repossession), the property owner in Blyth, Livingston, or Edinburgh is to give notice of the application to 'every person in actual possession' of the property.
The High Court shall not give permission until every tenant in Edinburgh is provided notice as is deemed appropriate by the Court.
The notice can be given in any form as there is no specific requirement for it in City of Edinburgh.
Details of the suit will decide if the order is sufficient.
In the case of a sole tenant in Edinburgh, the landlord can send a reminder of the terms of the court if the tenant is already notified about the case being transferred to the High court.
Failure to give adequate notice, or fail to give to court full information in regard to pending appeals or applications against the proceedings of possession, may result in the writ of possession being set aside, even after it is executed in Edinburgh.
Some HCEOs in City of Edinburgh had tried skipping the right procedure by applying directly to the High Court to take over the matter under section 41 of the County Court Act 1984, or by applying form N293A clumsily such against tenants rather than trespassers.
To stop such malpractices, a practice note was issued by the Senior Master of the High Court on 21 March 2016.
Generally, a possession order is normally enforced in Edinburgh faster through HCEOs than bailiffs from the county court.
A possession writ administration can happen just few days by a HCEO after the notice of the property owner's permission application to the High Court end, when needed, or of the issue of the writ of possession in Blyth, Livingston, or Edinburgh.
The HCEO is not obligated to inform the tenant prior to their visit in Edinburgh on when the writ of possession would be executed, usually they deliver the writ and visit the property again the next day or 2 days after.
The HCEO must give a tenant or creditor a seven day's prior notice when seeking to seize money or goods such as hearing costs and rent arrears and when seeking to repossess a property in Edinburgh.
The City of Edinburgh high court has the jurisdiction to stay or set aside a writ of control or writ of possession.
Form N244 should be used to make an application to the High Court.
So, it is the responsibility of the tenant in Edinburgh to inform HCEO if the stay is set aside or issued as the High court may not inform them.
To set aside the possession order that was original, all the applications must be made to the county court in City of Edinburgh.
HCEOs in Edinburgh are actually not the court's employees rather they're from court authorized commercial companies.
Around England and Wales, the HCEO directory contains all enforcement officers' names with powers to enforce writs from high courts.
All enforcement officers in high court should adhere to the code of service.
Except stated otherwise by the court, a writ of possession cannot be enforced on Christmas Day, Good Friday, or on a Sunday in Edinburgh.
New regulations governing the actions of bailiffs in Edinburgh were released and made effective from April 6, 2014.
Under these regulations, HCEO has no right to:
Enter a residential property in City of Edinburgh before 6:00 a.m. and after 9:00 p.m. without the court authorization
Entering the property in Edinburgh while only a child under 16 years of age is present
Take important household items like a fridge, washing machine, or cooker
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