County Court bailiffs in London are apparently being told they can’t use ‘reasonable force’ to evict tenants, leaving the system more open to abuse from rogue tenants.
At least one County Court is quoting policy from the HM Courts & Tribunals Service that “the County Court bailiff will no longer be able to use reasonable force to evict the tenant”.
Instead they are told to use High Court enforcement, which isn’t a simple process as a district judge has to give permission for cases to be transferred.
Alan J Smith, chair of the High Court Enforcement Officers Association, said “Our research highlights months of needless enforcement delays in the County Court bailiff system in London in particular, along with what seems to be a new policy that County Court bailiffs can no longer use reasonable force to evict someone where it is necessary.
“This is threatening to derail the rental sector and hamper economic growth whilst costing social housing providers and landlords tens of thousands of pounds.”
The harsh reality – in numbers
The average rent loss per property where someone is being evicted is £12,708 nationally, rising to £19,223 in London.
In London it takes an average waiting time of eight months for a County Court bailiff eviction date after an Order for Possession has been granted by a judge. In many cases this means it takes more than a year for the eviction to go through after a judge has ruled that the tenant should be evicted.
The data comes from a report called ‘Possessions – Transferring Up’, which was published by the High Court Enforcement Officers Association, with support from the National Residential Landlords Association, Propertymark and Landlord Action.
Solutions – make High Court transfers the norm
The report recommends making it more standard for cases to be transferred from the County Court to the High Court for enforcement.
In London High Court enforcement officers have the power to arrange an eviction date within a month of receiving a Writ, but many district judges are apparently standing in the way of allowing the transfer.
The report therefore recommended for a rule change where cases can always be escalated where the County Court bailiff delay is over three months.
Meanwhile landlords should be able to apply to ‘transfer up’ cases digitally.
Ben Beadle, chief executive of the National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA), said: “Wait times within the court system have reached record levels, ensuring that landlords are unable to take back possession of rental properties in the event tenants display anti-social behaviour or enter extreme rent arrears.”
