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Alternatively, to enforce an order of possession by asking the county court to give a possession warrant, the landlord in Guildford is asked to move the order to the High Court for the (HCEO) High Court Enforcement Officer's to enforce.
High Court Enforcement Officers are named as the Bailiffs, Sheriffs or enforcement agents in Guildford.
High Court can enforce the possession order in Guildford, Godalming, or Aaron's Hill if:
The possession hearing was in the High Court in Surrey as this is unusual since if a property owner in Guildford applies for a possession order in the High Court, it will be transferred to the County Court unless there are special cases, like complicate disagreements of fact or significant points of law.
The landlord in Guildford makes an application to the county court to have the HCEO transfer the possession order to the high court for compliance.
It is at the county court's discretion whether to require enforcement in Aaron's Hill, Guildford, or Godalming to be referred to the High Court.
A request of transferring the possession order to the High Court can be made to County Court during the procession order proceedings by the Guildford landlord.
The Guildford landlord will need to apply to the county court requesting that the possession order be transferred to the High Court for enforcement purposes after a possession order has been obtained.
A request for transfer may not be possible if there exists an outstanding request from a tenant in Guildford; e.g., petition against the possession order.
However, in order to recover the pending rents a writ of control can be filed by the landlord in Guildford, Godalming, or Aaron's Hill, and this can be done if court costs and rent arrears exceed £600.
The writ of control gives the authority in Guildford to seize and sell tenant/debtor's goods and it is commonly known as a writ of fi fa or writ of Fieri facias.
Any debt that is controlled by the Consumer Credit Act (CCA), cannot be moved to the high court for execution because CCA regulated contracts can only be executed in the county court in Surrey.
The reasons that may lead to a landlord in Guildford asking for a transfer of the order to the High Court for enforcement include that:
Enforcement in Guildford is quicker through HCEOs than the county court bailiffs
Losses due to non-payment of rent as a result of delays in enforcement via the county court bailiffs in Surrey
To prevent any further dismantlement to the premises in Guildford or behaviour that is antisocial
If there are rent arrears, HCEOs are empowered to confiscate goods in Guildford as well as enforce the possession order
The interest on judgement debt for arrears, which is currently at the rate of 8%, will accumulate right from the transfer of the order.
The renter may decide to challenge the request to transfer enforcement in Guildford to high court considering that eviction is quicker and hiring an HCEO is costly compared to the Surrey county court bailiff.
The reasons for opposing the application may differ as:
If a landlord has failed in providing the evidence than there will be quite a delay for using county court bailiffs in Guildford
The expenses in total are not proportionately divided
The period of delay before eviction affords the tenant the opportunity to find another place to live in Aaron's Hill, Godalming, or Guildford
Finally, the tenant's condition; if unpaid rent is substantial, and a tenant has children, will form relevant factors for the decision by the county court Judge in Guildford.
If the County Court in Surrey grants the landlord's transfer application, the writ of possession can't be issued until there is expressed permission by the High Court, and the exceptions to the rule are:
Permission is also not needed for the issue of a writ of possession, including a suspended possession order or lack of payment following the breach of a possession order in Guildford.
When permission is sought from the High Court, it is liable for the landlord in Guildford, Aaron's Hill, or Godalming to give notice of the application every person involved in actual possession of the property - except in the debt recovery or cases against the intruders.
The landlord must also give sufficient notice to the Guildford 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 as there is no specific requirement for it in Surrey.
The facts of the case will determine sufficient notice.
Once a tenant in Guildford already knows that there has been a transfer of the order to the High Court, a notice such as a reminder of the stipulations in the court order and a request that the tenant leaves the property may be regarded as sufficient.
If satisfactory notice is not provided by the landlord or he provides the court with insufficient information about the pending appeals or applications against hearings of possession, then the warrant of possession will get invalid even after execution in Guildford.
Many HCEOs in Surrey have tried to circumvent the correct procedure by explicitly appealing to the High Court to take over the matter according to section 41 of the County Court Act 1984, or improperly utilizing Form N293A (i.e. rather than trespassers, against tenants).
The Senior Master of the High Court (Queens Bench Division) gave out a practice not on the 21st March 2016 to stop the carelessness.
Compared to using county bailiffs, enforcing a possession order in Guildford by HCEOs is faster.
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 Godalming, Guildford, or Aaron's Hill.
The HCEO is not obligated to inform the tenant prior to their visit in Guildford 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 the tenant a seven days' notice if they are seeking to seize money or goods, and recover possession of the property in Guildford.
The Surrey high court has the jurisdiction to stay or set aside a writ of control or writ of possession.
All applications to the High Court must be made on form N244.
If the court grants either the stay or set aside the application, the tenant in Guildford should inform the HCEO who may not have the updated information.
The Surrey county court is to set aside the original order of possession to apply for any other application.
High Court enforcement officers (HCEOs) in Guildford are commercial agencies which are not employees of High court however they are authorized by the high court.
The Directory of HCEOs contains the names of enforcement officers in England and Wales who have been authorised to execute High Court writs.
All enforcement officers of the high court need to adhere to the practice code.
According to that code of conduct writ of possession cannot be executed on Sunday, Good Friday or Christmas Day in Guildford until unless the court orders otherwise.
Starting from 6 April 2014, regulations for the actions of HCEOs and all other bailiffs, when seizing goods in Guildford came out.
The rules include the requirements that the HCEO must not:
Gain access to a Surrey residential property before 6am or past 9pm, unless authorised by the court
Go inside the Guildford house if the only person there is a child of 16 years of age and below
Take household goods such as fridge, cooker, washing machine, and many more
Based in Guildford, working nationwide
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