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Having the county court issue a warrant of possession is an alternative to enforcing a possession order and the landlord in Newham needs to apply to transfer the order to the High Court for enforcement by a High Court Enforcement Officer (HCEO).
HCEOs are also referred to in Newham as enforcement agents, certified bailiffs or Sheriffs.
The imposition of possession order through high court is possible in Beckton, Custom House, or Canning Town by two methods:
The Greater London 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 Newham 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.
An application is submitted by the Newham landlord to the county court requesting for the transfer of a possession order to the High Court so that it can be enforced by an HCEO.
It is the county court judge that will determine if to transfer the enforcement in Beckton, Canning Town, or Custom House to the High Court or not.
The Newham 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.
The Newham landlord may seek to withdraw and transfer the enforcement even after obtaining the possession order at the county court, he would need to go back to the county court and apply to the High Court for 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 Newham.
The landlord can also apply for a writ of control if they need to recover the rent arrears and court costs of more than £600 in Beckton, Custom House, or Canning Town.
The control writ offers the power to grab and auction a debtor/renter's possessions in Newham and is usually to as either fiery facias or fi fa writ.
Note that if the debt is under the regulation of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 (CCA), the Greater London county court cannot transfer the possession order to the High Court for enforcement as the CCA regulates are enforceable in the county court.
There can be a number of reasons for which landlords in Newham can request the transference in high court for execution including the following:
HCEOs enforcements in Newham are faster than enforcement by bailiffs of the county court
Loss of income from the rental because of Greater London county court bailiff delays
Prevention of further damage to the property in Newham or anti-social behaviour
The HCEO can both seize goods and administer the order of possession in Newham, when there are unsettled bills
8% interest rate, for arrears on the judgment debt will accrue from the time of the order transfer.
Not only is it more expensive to use a HCEO, eviction in Newham is also faster with HCEOs as compared to county court bailiffs in Greater London, tenants may counter an application for a transfer to the High Court for enforcement.
Usually, tenants want to avoid this process because:
The landlord in Newham may have no proof that using the county court bailiff would delay the case
The costs involved are too high
They need extra time to find a place before eviction in Beckton, Custom House, or Canning Town
Often, the Newham court will take into consideration some circumstances surrounding the tenant's situation, such as if there are any children involved or whether the tenant has good rent arrears.
The landlord can only get the writ of possession issued if they have obtained the permission of the High Court and they need to get it done as soon as their application to transfer is granted by the Greater London county court, however, they won't need the permission in:
Similarly, you can continue with a breach of possession order without having to worry about the writ of possession and this also applies to the suspended possession order in Newham.
When planning to request for permission for a possession order to be transferred to the High Court for enforcement (excluding cases such as mortgage repossession cases and cases against trespassers, the landlord in Beckton, Custom House, or Canning Town is required to provide the current inhabitants of the property with a notice of application.
The High Court should not permit unless each tenant in Newham is given such a notice as the Court considers enough.
When serving the notice, there are no set out requirements of the form in Greater London.
Dependent on the facts of the case, is what is sufficient notice.
If it involves a sole tenant in Newham 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 does not give adequate notice or fail to offer information that is complete to the Court about any pending appeals or applications against the proceedings for possession, this could cause the possession writ, even after its execution in Newham to be set aside.
There were several HCEOs in Greater London who tried to bypass the stipulated process by making an application directly to the high court to take control of the issue under section 41 or by using form N293A incorrectly that is against tenants instead of trespassers.
So, in order to prevent such malpractices, High Court's Senior Master issued a practice note on 21 March 2016.
HCEOs usually enforce a possession order in Newham faster than county court bailiffs.
An HCEO has the ability to implement a possession writ within some few days following expiry of the order application by the asset owner for consent or possession writ issuance in Canning Town, Beckton, or Custom House.
There is no requirement for a HCEO to notify tenants in Newham in advance of their visit when they will execute the possession letter, although it is common practice for them to drop the letter and return one or two days later.
Where a HCEO attempts to reclaim assets and resources (such as rent arrears to costs) and regain ownership of the property in Newham, a seven-day notice must be issued to the tenant / creditor.
The High Court in Greater London has the authority to stay or set aside a writ of possession.
Applications should be made on form N244.
If the High Court later set aside the application for writ of possession, the Newham tenants would have to inform the HCEOs who may not be privy to it as the High Court may not have informed them.
Any other application must be made through the Greater London county court, for example, setting aside the possession order that was original.
High Court Enforcement Officers in Newham are not employees of the court, but they are commercial agencies authorized by the high court.
In England and Wales, the names of authorized HCEOs are available from the HCEO's directory.
A code of practice is subscribed by HCEOs.
A possession order may not be imposed during Christmas, Sundays or Good Friday in Newham unless court affirms.
The regulations for governing HCEOs and bailiff's actions while seizing belongings in Newham are applicable from April 6, 2014.
The protocols include:
Enter a residential property in Greater London before 6:00 a.m. and after 9:00 p.m. without the court authorization
Enter if the only person present in the house in Newham is a child under the age of 16
Seize important household items including fridges, washing machine or cooker
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