1st Class Bailiffs Articles

When serving Statutory demands we have recently had to clarify the timings needed between the letter of appointment being sent out and the bailiff / Investrigator re-attending for service.

The main provision concerning the time for service is found in the Practice Directions : Insolvency Rules [2000]. These state that “a first class prepaid letter should be written to the debtor”  and that “at least two business days notice should be given of the appointment”.

The first issue is then when the Court considers that the debtor has received the letter of appointment. The guidance concerning service of a document by first class post is found in Civil Procedure Rules. These state that a letter sent by first class post is considered served the second day after posting.

The Practice Directions then require that the debtor is then allowed “at least two business days notice” before the agent re-attends to effect service. Unfortunately the Court have not been consistent with their interpretation of the meaning of “at least two business days”. Sometimes the Court decides that this includes the day of service, sometimes the Court decides that the “at least” means the day of service is not included as one of the “two business days”. The spirit of the Practice Directions is to allow the debtor the opportunity to re-arrange appointments if so required and so it is difficult to argue if the court do decide that the day of service is not included as one of the business days..

The following chart therefore details the longest time case scenario’s dates on which service of the letter of appointment is considered as served following posting by 1^st class post, and also the earliest day that the appointment can take place.

N.B. This chart assumes that there are no Bank Holidays between the date the letter of appointment is sent and the appointment date – if there were any Bank Holidays these would also need to be considered.

From the chart you can see that in certain circumstances it is possible to serve in under seven days but given the potential for confusion we would rather that all letters of appointment make the day of appointment at least full calendar week from the day the letter was sent. The time scale applies equally to the service of Statutory Demands and Petitions. 

“As per the Civil Procedure Rules the letter was deemed served two days after posting.”

My tenant has none paid his rent and has sub let the property without my position to another so none of the goods in the property belong to my tenant what can I do ?

There are a number of options available

1/ Get one of our bailiffs to Serve the Sub tenant with a Section 6 Notice which will require the sub tenant to make all future payments of rent direct to you.

2/ Get one of our bailiffs to Take possession of the property from the sub tenant via a forfeiture clause in your lease

3/ Issue proceeding in the County or High court against the tenant

4/ Get us to issue a statutory demand under the Insolvency Act against the tenant and then get one of our bailiffs to serve it

NES

National Enforcement has opened a new Office in Hull at PO Box 11 Keyingham Hull East Yorkshire HU12 9YF. at the beginning of April 2009.

They have appointed Glenn Dodsworth as their East Coast Operations Manager . Glenn has been in the industry since 1995. He started as a as bailiff doing council tax rents etc for Paragon International formerly one of the largest Bailiff and Investigation companies on the east coast.

He then worked himself around the company doing process serving, tracing etc. He then went out in the vans as a  surveillance operative. Glenn worked himself up the ladder to Operations manager for Paragon. Paragon sold out to BDA International whom Glenn continued to work with until his move to us this year. Glenn and his wife have lived all their life in the east Yorkshire area and have extensive local Knowledge. Andy Coates National Enforcement said “ We are delighted to have someone running our East coast operation with Glenn’s background and experience. His knowledge and abilities will complement our existing team.”

NES

At National enforcement we often get very unusual jobs last month we were asked by a client to evict travellers from land only to find the eviction was on horses.

NES

National Enforcement in conjunction with Palatine R & D are pleased to announce our first joint training initiative being a Foundation tracing course.

This is a course designed to introduce new investigators into tracing and has been developed due to feedback from delegates that have been on past courses.

Details

1 day Course

Timings – 9.30am – 4.30pm

Date 1st October 2009

Venue- Darlington

Course content

Glossary of Trace Terms

Information Commissioner

Types of Trace

Tracing Fact/Tools

Sources of Information

Practical Training – looking at the systems and how they work

for further details please email sales@enforcementofficers.co.uk

NES

The ability of a landlord to forfeit a lease by sending in the bailiff to peaceably re-entering property has always been a useful tool when dealing with commercial tenants.

Mixed use property has never been a problem where the residential element of the property can be accessed separately after the commercial side has been shut off.

This in recent years has changed and in Pirabakaran v Patel 2006, the Court of Appeal clarified the position on whether commercial property can be re-entered when they are mixed use a flat above a shop used by the tenant.

The position with residential property, has limited the ability of a landlord to regain possession without proceedings and getting a possession order.

The Protection from Eviction Act 1977 says
“Where any premises are let as a dwelling on a lease which is subject to a right of re-entry or forfeiture it shall not be lawful to enforce that right otherwise than by proceedings in the court while any person is lawfully residing in the premises or part of them. “

The case of Pirabakaran v Patel has clarified that where there is mixed commercial and residential use, a landlord is in breach of the Protection from Eviction Act by peaceably re-entering the commercial part of the premises. The Court of Appeal said that the part that says ‘let as a dwelling’ meant ‘let wholly or partly as a dwelling’ and not ‘let exclusively as a dwelling’.

The court say that the tenants of mixed-use premises should not be treated any differently from those who are solely residential. This is also fits in with the right for private and family life under the Human Rights Act 1998

So you cannot peaceably re-enter the property and will need to forfeit the lease through court proceedings. To re-enter any part of the premises will be contrary to Protection from Eviction Act 1977.

NES