Bailiffs suspend enforcing court orders for evictions in Tiers 2 and 3

Bailiff trade bodies have agreed to suspend the enforcement of court order evictions for areas under Tier 2 and 3 restrictions after a request sent from the Justice Secretary Robert Buckland.

Buckland wrote: “We would request that your members should instruct the enforcement agents working under their authorisation not to enter properties including taking control of goods and carrying out evictions that are classified as local alert level 2 or 3.”

Tiers 2 and 3 are likely to soon cover over half the population and more if the pandemic ‘R’ rate is not brought below 1 very quickly.

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has already suspended evictions in England and Wales from the 11th of December and 11th January to cover the Christmas holidays meaning evictions in the higher tier areas will not be enforced until at least the 12th of January. However, Buckland has already described the situation as changing rapidly and could be under continual review.

Landlord Action’s Paul Shamplina said: “Bailiffs have already been given protocols to follow when carrying out evictions where they are allowed and even they can be challenging to stick to, but what is also very challenging is that thousands of landlords face rent arrears of a year or more,”

“Just as they thought they were approaching the final hurdle, these new restrictions are going to be a severe blow.”