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A possession order can be forced by asking for a possession warrant from the county court and landlords in Lincoln can also apply in high court to transfer the order and enforce the order by the (HCEO) High Court Enforcement Officer.
HCEOs are also called law enforcement officers, sheriffs or certified bailiffs in Lincoln.
The High Court can enforce the possession order in Maltby, Lincoln, or Rothwell on different conditions, such as:
The hearing was held at the High Court in Lincolnshire, this is unusual because if a landlord in Lincoln applies in the High Court for a possession order, it will be transferred to the county court unless there are exceptional circumstances, such as complicated factual disputes or significant legal issues.
The landlord in Lincoln makes an application to the county court to have the HCEO transfer the possession order to the high court for compliance.
The regional court has the jurisdiction to determine whether or not to move enforcement in Rothwell, Lincoln, or Maltby to high court.
If the possession order is approved during the possession hearing at the county court, the Lincoln landowner has the right to ask for a transfer of enforcement of the possession order to the High Court.
After the court grants a possession order, the landlord in Lincoln must apply to the county court for the transfer of the Court order to the High Court for enforcement.
Application for transfer can't be made in case there is any outstanding application from a tenant in Lincoln, for example, an appeal against the order of possession.
However, in order to recover the pending rents a writ of control can be filed by the landlord in Rothwell, Maltby, or Lincoln, and this can be done if court costs and rent arrears exceed £600.
Tenants' goods can be seized and sold in Lincoln under a writ of control, this is commonly known or refers as a writ of Fieri facias or writ of fi fa.
If the debt is governed by the 1974 Consumer Credit Act (CCA), it cannot be referred for compliance to the High Court as CCA controlled transactions can only be imposed in the county court in Lincolnshire.
A Lincoln landlord may place a transfer request for the possession order to the High Court for enforcement for the following reasons:
HCEOs enforcements in Lincoln are faster than enforcement by bailiffs of the county court
The slow process of execution by bailiffs of county courts in Lincolnshire results in losses for landlords due to unpaid rent
Stopping any property damage or behaviour that is anti-social in Lincoln
When the tenant owes money, the HCEO will enforce the order of possession and take goods in Lincoln too
Interest, which now sits at 8%, on the debt for arrears will accumulate from the beginning of when the transfer has been ordered.
Since the speed of eviction is faster but the cost of using a HCEO for eviction in Lincoln is higher than the Lincolnshire county court bailiffs, a tenant may decide to object to a request to move compliance to the High Court.
The tenant could have the following reasons:
Landlord's failure to provide evidence that there will be problems while using the county court bailiffs in Lincoln
The costs involved are disproportionate
He/she needs more time to look for another place to live in Rothwell, Lincoln, or Maltby before eviction
The Lincoln court's decision to challenge the order transfer may be determined by a number of factors affecting the leaseholder including in the renter has a family or owes a considerable amount of rent arrears.
In case the landlord's application to transfer is accepted, by the Lincolnshire county court, then the landlord needs to get high Court's consent before the assurance of the writ of possession unless if:
There may not be a need for permission if the application for writ of possession is facilitated by breach of a possession order, such as a suspended possession order or unpaid rent in Lincoln.
When permission is obtained in the High Court to impose a possession order (i.e., except in cases of mortgage repossession and actions against trespassers), the landlord in Rothwell, Maltby, or Lincoln must inform' any person in real possession' of the property of the demand.
High court may not consent until each leaseholder in Lincoln has been served with the order and it is satisfied.
In Lincolnshire, no notification in any particular form is required.
The facts of the case will determine whether the notice is enough.
If it involves a sole tenant in Lincoln who knew that the case had been moved to the high court, a reminder from the renter about the particulars of the order and a request to return possession is considered enough notice.
If the landlord fails to provide enough notice or does not give all the details to the court about appeals against possession hearings or pending applications, the writ of possession can be set aside even after it has been executed in Lincoln.
Many HCEOs in Lincolnshire 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).
On March 21st 2016, the senior Master of the High Court issued a practice notice in order to put a stop to the malpractices.
Like we said earlier, Enforcement of a possession order in Lincoln is quicker through HCEOs than the 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 Maltby, Lincoln, or Rothwell.
The HCEO doesn't need to inform the tenants in Lincoln about when they are going to execute the writ of possession, and the HCEOs usually drop off the writ return a day or two later.
If HCEO also claims to seize goods or money for recovering expenses, whilst repossessing the property in Lincoln, they are bound to give a seven day notice to tenant.
The Lincolnshire High Court reserves the right to stay or set aside a writ of control or a writ of possession.
Applications should be made on form N244.
If the stay is issued or set aside, it is necessary that the respondent in Lincoln advises the HCEO of this aspect where appropriate, since the High Court may not have notified the HCEO.
Other applications aside from this, such as setting aside the original possession order must be directed to the Lincolnshire County Court.
The role of commercial agencies is assigned to HCEOs in Lincoln and authorised by the High Court, not the Court employees.
Therefore, you need to go through the Directory of High Court Enforcement Officers to see those that are commissioned to carry out the task in your jurisdiction.
The code of conduct governs the activities of HCEOs.
A possession writ shall not be executed on a Sunday, Good Friday or Christmas Day in Lincoln, unless otherwise ordered by the court.
Starting from the 6th of April, 2014, certain laws were put in place to govern activities of HCEOs and bailiffs in Lincoln during seizure of tenant possessions.
The regulations have requirements that a HCEO must not:
Without the court orders, entering a residential property in Lincolnshire later than 9pm or prior to 6am
Enter if the only person present in the house in Lincoln is a child under the age of 16
Seize important household items including fridges, washing machine or cooker
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