Once a possession order has been obtained through the court, if a tenant fails to vacate the property, then the county court bailiff can be instructed to evict the tenant. Bailiff waiting times can range between 3 weeks to even months in some courts.

Bailiff appointments are currently being cancelled, unfortunately sometimes with no notice or very little notice due to a “health and safety reason”. It has been reported that the health and safety reason is bailiffs are required to carry the correct Personal Protection Equipment before completing evictions.

Woodstock Legal Services has had confirmation from one court that this is a nationwide issue and not specific to London courts.

This is bad news for landlords, many have already been waiting weeks for their bailiff appointment. It is unclear how long this suspension on evictions will go on for, it has been reported the PPE is being urgently sourced but there is going to be a considerable backlog for the bailiffs to work through before they can get to any new instructions.

An alternative to the county court bailiff is to evict tenants using high court enforcement officers. An application must be completed to request permission to enforce the possession order in the High Court. Once permission has been obtained then the order can be transferred from the county court to the high court and a writ of possession obtained.

High court enforcement officers can usually evict a lot quicker than the county court bailiff, sometimes within 2-3 weeks of the possession order being obtained, provided permission to use them has been granted.

Given this concerning news, Woodstock recommends that landlords do consider making applications for permission to enforce in the high court. It is imperative that the application is drafted properly to give landlords the best chance at permission being granted by the Judge.

If any agents or landlords need assistance with high court enforcement applications or would like to discuss this alternative to the county court bailiff, then please do not hesitate to get in touch.

We work with a brilliant high court enforcement company that carry out evictions as quickly and seamlessly as possible for landlords. Their professional officers are skilled in dealing with all sorts of unpleasant situations and can give landlords peace of mind during this understandably worrying period.