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Questions from webinar on rapid eviction of tenants from residential property on 22nd Feb 2018.
The court fee for the writ of possession is £66, whereas the warrant of possession through the County Court is £121. A High Court Enforcement Officer (HCEO) will provide you with an estimate for their fees so you can decide whether to proceed. The fee will vary according to the complexity of the case.
If the order is against “persons unknown” you can transfer up the possession order without requiring leave from the court. If there is a tenancy agreement, then the tenant will be known, and you can apply to transfer up.
We have access to extensive tracing facilities for tenants and debtors. Please contact us to find out more. We offer free desktop tracing along with an enhanced option should it be required.
The form used to request leave to transfer the order for possession to the High Court is N244. You can read more about the whole process here.
If you wish to recover money from the tenant’s bank account, you will need a third-party debt order, which you submit to the bank (or building society) asking them to transfer the funds to you. However, the money must be in the tenant’s account at the point of asking. If there are insufficient funds at that point, you will have to start the process again.
An HCEO can enforce the money order on the writ of possession by taking control of the tenant’s goods, if any can be located. Notice must be provided before attendance.
No, once the judgment has been transferred up, the County Court loses jurisdiction.
Yes, the landlord can recover rent (whatever time period, up to 6 years). The best way to do this is to add an order for money to the possession order. The HCEO can enforce this at the same time as the eviction under a writ of control. 7 clear days’ notice of the enforcement of the writ of control must be served on the tenant.
The costs of the enforcement of a writ of control (court fees, enforcement fees and judgment interest at 8% per annum calculated daily) for the recovery of money are recoverable from the tenant, but not the costs of the enforcement of the writ of possession.
The decision to grant leave is at the judge’s discretion. It can help if you make a strong case based on speed to reduce loss of revenue and prevent damage by tenants. If the county court bailiffs are experiencing delays in your area, that will also strengthen your argument.
View this article to see the wording we recommend using when applying for leave.
You can request retrospective leave after the possession order has been awarded using N244 and a further fee of £100.
In getting leave to transfer to the High Court you are entirely in the hands of the Court and subject to their timetable. However, once you have the Order, and are ready to instruct us, we can obtain the writ and take possession of your property in approx. 2 weeks.