Claire Sandbrook

Thanks for the comment Chris - and yes it is definitely a lot more cost effective at first glance in the county court IF you are not then waiting weeks or even months for an eviction appointment. Our research is showing that judges are making orders to transfer - and we are giving a shout out to those that do. We are compiling that data to share with the Property118 community because up until now its all been shrouded in mystery!... Read More

I read Tessa's article and I would like to comment on the position of High Court Enforcement Officers which many landlords will be watching on the telly! I respect Tessa's views on the law but as the person who looked for and found the necessary way to navigate the Rules on how to use HCEOs in residential possession proceedings I am going to say I think HCEOs are quicker in most courts when it comes to enforcing a possession order. This is a good thing.

Infact the state of the courts in England and Wales on this point is frankly a disgrace and if you are a landlord left waiting for an eviction date for weeks on end then you should consider transferring to the High Court.

Landlords everywhere should include or arrange to seek permission to enforce using an HCEO in the claim stage of their proceedings. This is easily done and my team can help on how to do this - as we are lawyers as well as HCEOs.

There is a slight increase in cost - but it only takes average rents of 3-4 weeks to be lost in the county court system's delay before the Landlord is out of pocket. Instead HCEOs can move quickly once they have the necessary Order.

The change earlier this year just puts a check and balance in the system to ensure the transfer has been reviewed by a judge and notice has been served. That's a good thing.

And the bigger picture is the failure - the complete and utter failure - to get to grips with the economic fall out of delays in the county court system of enforcement. It is almost social welfare by the "back door". Some commentators have moaned about this as if HCEOs made a mistake. I disagree. They navigated the Rules and pushed the boundaries which has helped very many landlords to access justice much more quickly. It is as the enforcement system should be - balanced to meet the competing needs of both parties. We mustn't forget Landlords have rights too! You can reach me at [email protected] if you want more information on how you can use the High Court system.... Read More

Not sure it helps for this case - but in hindsight - which is always wonderful (NOT) you could have applied at the time of your claim for possession for the enforcement of your possession order to be transferred to the High Court for enforcement. This one liner in your claim form would have given you some options when it came to enforcement. You could have instructed an HCEO (like me) to collect the rent and/or take back possession - and allowed us to negotiate for you at the door - so to speak! With the express permission of the Court in your order we can be at the address within days of the order being granted and we can help you decide whether eviction or collecting arrears will work. We would have 12 months to collect arrears if you wanted to give someone a second chance. Best thing is we do the preparation of the instruction for no charge - and we charge fixed fees for possession. If the debtor pays any of the money judgment we can charge our fees for managing the collection to them. Perhaps worth thinking about for the future! And we answer to High Court Masters who are very pragmatic about enforcing the court's order. Might help you in the future as well!... Read More

This is exactly the type of situation that needs to be reported - its fraudulent and you are helping the authorities to identify a situation that needs to be tackled.... Read More