High Court Enforcement of Writ of Possession
in England & Wales

Enforcing a Possession Order

How it works

A Possession Order is obtained from the County Court to evict persons from a property, premises or land.

Once an Order for Possession is obtained you will more than likely need to enforce this as people will not leave voluntarily.

When a claimant gets an order for possession from the County Court it only entitles them to use County Court bailiffs to enforce the order.

County Court Bailiffs work for the Ministry of Justice. The cost of using these bailiffs is around £120 at the time of writing and they must be instructed via the court that issued your order for possession.

At times, particularly in London and the south east, there can be a waiting list of 13/20 weeks. Since the pandemic this can be up to 8 months.

Update June 2023

London Evictions hit Standstill due to County Court Bailiff Safety Concerns

As Covid becomes a thing of the past, wait times to evict tenants looked to be declining, however, this is all set to change for the worse.

London landlords face increased wait times to evict tenants from residential properties due to bailiff operations being suspended indefinitely. A mass email sent from London’s biggest court, the Central London Court, has warned of the suspension of bailiff appointments for the “foreseeable future”.

One bailiff (as reported by LandlordZone) has reported an 80% reduction in caseload, as court bailiffs are being required to use the appropriate PPE to carry out evictions, which they are currently without.

This means even longer wait times for landlords in the London and Southeast areas, which traditionally already have high wait times for those landlords wishing to carry out an eviction.

It is now understood that the problem may be spreading to other parts of the UK, with County Court Bailiffs “downing tools” over safety concerns and a lack of proper equipment.

Enforcing a Writ of Possession

A faster alternative is to transfer the County Court issued Possession Order to a High Court Writ of Possession.

Private bailiffs working under the direction of a High Court Enforcement Officer are then able to enforce the writ.

A Writ of Possession is the document a High Court Enforcement Officer(HCEO) requires to give them legal authority to use force to gain possession of land or of a building.

Getting a Writ of Possession

The process is called ‘transferring up’. However, before the transferring up process can take place, special permission from the Court must be obtained. This procedure can be time consuming and complicated. We believe the quickest and safest way forward is to use a solicitor to gain the permission and at the same time have a Writ of Possession issued.

We have teamed up with a solicitor to undertake the legal work so we can offer a complete service to you.

We will then serve the required notice on the occupant, and then undertake the eviction.

How long does this take?

It is not possible to give an exact timescale.

  • The Court application for permission to transfer up and the issue of the writ usually takes around 4 to 6 weeks for the writ to be returned. This can be longer (we have no control of this, and the court will not treat this as a priority).
  • We must serve paperwork on the occupiers giving at least 14 days notice of the eviction.
  • After the notice has expired the eviction will take place.

How much does it cost?

By teaming up with a solicitor we are able to offer a very competitive fixed fee for the full service providing it meets the criteria.

The price includes the solicitor’s fees for an uncontested application, administration costs, transfer up and Court fees, serving the required notice and the eviction.

Please note a locksmith is required for the eviction, the cost of which is not included in our fixed fee.

Collecting Outstanding Rent

The collection of outstanding rent can be combined with the service. When instructed at the same time as the eviction the cost to collect outstanding rent is an additional £90 (inclusive of vat).

The complete service

At Frank G Whitworth we enforce all writs of possession both residential and commercial, and squatters and protestors.

The cost will depend upon the circumstances of the repossession.

Attending the Eviction

By law we require you or your representative to attend and sign to receive vacant possession of the property or land. For safety reasons the attending person must not take any part in the possession.

How do I instruct you?

Do it on-line by completing the form. Please telephone to discuss pricing options before completing the instruction form.

Writ of Possession

I have a question

Telephone or email Frank G Whitworth for advice about enforcing a Writ of Possession.

0208 106 5397
email

The Professionals

Accreditations, CHAS, Contractors Health and Safety Assessment, British Landlords AssociationAccreditations held by Enforcement Bailiffs Ltd t/a Frank G Whitworth