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For a Landlord in Hammersmith to possess a letter of the warrant, he/she has to apply the transfer order to the High court through the High Court Enforcement Officer (HCEO), and HCEO applies the relocation of a possession order of enforcement from the county court to the High court on behalf of a Landlord.
HCEOs are also referred to in Hammersmith as enforcement agents, certified bailiffs or Sheriffs.
The high court has the authority to impose the order of possession in Brentford, Kings Cross, or Hounslow if:
The possession hearing was in the High Court in Greater London as this is unusual since if a property owner in Hammersmith 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 possession order can be transferred to the High Court for enforcement when the Hammersmith landlord applies for it in the county court.
The decision is taken by the judge of County Court about the permission to transfer of enforcement in Hounslow, Brentford, or Kings Cross to the High Court.
If the possession order is approved during the possession hearing at the county court, the Hammersmith landowner has the right to ask for a transfer of enforcement of the possession order to the High Court.
Once the order of possession is obtained by the Hammersmith landlord, he can appeal before county court and request movement of order for purposes of implementation in high court.
You cannot make an application when there is an outstanding appeal from the tenant in Hammersmith, like an application to close the possession order.
Another scenario is recovering the debt if the overdue rent is over £600, the landlord applies for the writ of control to recover money in Hounslow, Brentford, or Kings Cross.
A writ of control provides for the sale and seizure of the tenant's goods in Hammersmith - this was formerly known as a writ of fi fa or writ of Fieri facias.
The debt cannot be transferred to the High Court for Enforcement if it's regulated by the Consumer Credit Act 1974 as CCA regulated agreements in Greater London can only be enforced by the County Court.
Landlords in Hammersmith may request that the order be transferred to the High Court due to reasons which include:
HCEOs enforcements in Hammersmith are faster than enforcement by bailiffs of the county court
Loss of rental income because of delay in enforcement through the Greater London county court bailiffs
Prevention of additional property damage and/or antisocial behaviour in Hammersmith
The HCEO can impose the order of custody and seize the products in Hammersmith if the money is due
Interest, which now sits at 8%, on the debt for arrears will accumulate from the beginning of when the transfer has been ordered.
Usually, the process is speedy, but the cost is also higher in using HCEO for eviction in Hammersmith than the bailiffs of Greater London County Court so, a tenant can oppose the application to transfer the possession order 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 Hammersmith would be substantially affected
The costs involved are disproportionate
S/he needs the extra time to find somewhere else to live in Hounslow, Kings Cross, or Brentford before an eviction is endorsed
The common factors of tenants that are classed as exceptional situations that court in Hammersmith might consider are overdue rent, children or any relevant factors.
If the Greater London county court awards the application from the property owner to transfer the possession order to the High Court, the landlord must apply for the consent of the High Court before the court issues the writ of possession, except for:
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 Hammersmith.
The moment an application to enforce a possession order has been sent to court, a property owner in Hounslow, Brentford, or Kings Cross should be ready to notify each party occupying the property regarding the order application.
The landlord must also give sufficient notice to the Hammersmith tenants to ensure they are aware of the transfer of the possession order to the High Court.
There are no specific instructions about what constitutes acceptable notice in Greater London.
Details of the suit will decide if the order is sufficient.
If there is just one tenant in the Hammersmith 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.
Failing to provide sufficient notice, or to provide full information to the Court about pending applications or court appeals against the possession proceedings, can cause writ possession to be set aside, ever after its execution in Hammersmith.
By enforcing form N293A contrary to the law, that is against tenants instead of trespassers, or by using section 41 of the 1984 County Court Act, attempts to bypass the correct process has been made by some HCEOs in Greater London.
On 21 March 2016, a practice notice was released by the Senior Master of the High Court (Queens Bench Division) to ensure that these abuses are avoided.
The HCEOs can carry out enforcement of a possession order in Hammersmith faster than the county court bailiffs.
The HCEO can execute the writ of possession right after a few days of expiry of the notice of the landlord's application for permission to the High court, or when the writ of possession is issued in Brentford, Kings Cross, or Hounslow.
In most cases, they do not inform the tenants of their visit in Hammersmith and in some other cases, they may drop off the writ of possession and come back after about two days to implement it.
But if an HCEO is trying to seize goods and money due to rent arrears and costs, and take possession of the property in Hammersmith, they must give the tenant or creditor a seven days' notice.
Approval or annulment of a writ of control or writ of possession is within the rights of the High Court in Greater London.
You will need to complete form N244 during your application to high court.
In case, if the stay or set aside is permitted then it is significant that HCEO should be informed by the Hammersmith tenant about this, as this is quite possible that HCEO has not been informed by the High Court.
Other applications aside from this, such as setting aside the original possession order must be directed to the Greater London County Court.
High Court Enforcement Officers in Hammersmith are not employees of the court, but they are commercial agencies authorized by the high court.
In Wales and England, the directory of HCEO's has names of all enforcement officers who are authorized to enforce high court writs.
All high court enforcement officers must abide to a code of practice.
They can't execute a writ of possession on some special days such as Good Friday, on a Sunday, or on Christmas day in Hammersmith without an expressed authorization by the court.
Starting from the 6th of April, 2014, certain laws were put in place to govern activities of HCEOs and bailiffs in Hammersmith during seizure of tenant possessions.
According to these regulations HCEO is not allowed to:
Entering the residential premises in Greater London after 9pm or before 6am, except ordered by the court
Enter a premise in Hammersmith if the only person inside is someone under the age of 16
Seize essential household items, such as washing machine and cooker
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