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When it comes to obtaining and enforcing a possession order, landlords in Hastings 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 Hastings.
The High Court can enforce the possession order in Robertsbridge, Bexhill, or Rye on different conditions, such as:
If the High Court in East Sussex has the possession hearing as this is quite unusual, though the normal thing is that when a Hastings landlord approaches the High Court to apply for a possession order, the order will be transferred to the County Court, and the exceptions are disputes of points of law or of fact.
If the Hastings landowner writes to request the regional court to move the possession order to high court where it can be executed by a representative from high court.
Only the county court judge has the choice of transferring to the High Court for enforcement in Rye, Robertsbridge, or Bexhill or not.
The landlord in Hastings can make a request whilst the county court process is in order to be transferred to the enforcement of the High Court.
Once the landlord in Hastings obtains the possession order, he/she will be required to apply to the County Court for the transfer of it to the High Court for enforcement.
An application for transfer cannot be made if there are any outstanding applications from the Hastings tenant, For instance, if the tenant has made an appeal against 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 Rye, Bexhill, or Robertsbridge.
The writ of control gives the authority in Hastings 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 East Sussex.
A Hastings landlord may place a transfer request for the possession order to the High Court for enforcement for the following reasons:
Enforcement in Hastings is quicker through HCEOs than the county court bailiffs
Loss of rental income because of delay in enforcement through the East Sussex county court bailiffs
Prevention of further damage to the Hastings property and/or anti-social behaviour
The High Court Enforcement Officer (HCEO) can enforce the possession order and seize tenants' goods in Hastings if they owe money
An interest rate of 8% will be accrued for judgement debt arrears from the start of the order transfer.
The tenant can oppose an application to transfer enforcement in Hastings to the High Court because the costs of using a HCEO are greater than the East Sussex county court bailiffs and the speed of eviction is fast in this case.
The reasons for the tenant might include:
The landlord has not given any proof that a delay will be caused if a county court bailiff is used in Hastings
Disproportionate costs
The tenants need extra time to get an alternative housing arrangement in Robertsbridge, Bexhill, or Rye
The common factors of tenants that are classed as exceptional situations that court in Hastings might consider are overdue rent, children or any relevant factors.
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 East Sussex, apart from when:
You will also not require permission for the writ of possession to be issued for a breach, including a breach of possession order that is suspended or when the possession order breach is bills that are unpaid in Hastings.
When the High Court sought out permission to enforce a possession order (except in actions against trespassers and mortgage repossession cases), the landlord in Bexhill, Rye, or Robertsbridge must give notice application to 'every person in actual possession' of the property.
High Court is not allowed to permit until every tenant in Hastings is given the notice that is deemed sufficient enough.
Notice can be given in any way in East Sussex as there are no rules for this.
The details of the case determined the duration of notice that is sufficient.
If the case revolves around a single tenant in Hastings who is already aware of the case moving to high court, then a renter's reminder about order specifications and request of returning property possession qualifies as a satisfactory notice.
If a landlord fails to give sufficient notice or failure in providing important facts to the court about the pending appeals or application against the proceedings can lead it to the delay in the possession writ, even after the implementation in Hastings.
Some HCEOs in East Sussex tried to go around the procedure that is correct by submitting an application to the High Court directly to be in charge of the matter under section 41 of the County Court Act 1984, or by using Form N293A inappropriately (i.e. against tenants instead of trespassers).
On March 21st 2016, the senior Master of the High Court issued a practice notice in order to put a stop to the malpractices.
Generally, possession order enforcement in Hastings is quicker via HCEO as opposed to county court bailiffs.
The execution can be done just a couple of days after the landlord's application for permission to the High Court expires or the possession writ is issued in Robertsbridge, Bexhill, or Rye.
A HCEO does not have to give tenants any notice in advance before their visit in Hastings to execute the writ of possession because there is no requirement for that, however, some HCEOs usually send the writ one or two days before visiting the premises.
In situations where an HCEO wants to seize cash and possessions to cater for the expenses and the money owed and retrieving the property's items in Hastings, they must serve a 7-days notice to the leaseholder.
The High Court in East Sussex can set aside or stay a writ of control or a writ of possession application.
Form N244 is used for these applications.
However, if the stay or set aside is granted, the tenant in Hastings must inform the HCEO because the High Court may not have told them.
Any other application, such as setting aside the original possession order, must be placed to the county court in East Sussex.
High Court enforcement officers (HCEOs) in Hastings are commercial agencies which are not employees of High court however they are 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.
HCEOs are required to follow practice code.
Without the court orders, warrant of possession is not allowed to be executed on the day of Christmas, Good Friday and Sundays in Hastings.
Regulations govern the activities of HCEOs and all other bailiffs in Hastings with effect from 6 April 2014.
The HCEOs are restricted from:
Go inside the residential property in East Sussex before 6 am or after 9 pm, except the court approved it
Enter the Hastings property if the person present is the child aged under 16
Take key household goods such as washing machine, fridge or cooker
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