Bailiffs
Bailiffs, now often called enforcement officers, are the officials who can lawfully carry out an eviction or enforce a money judgment once you have a valid court order. For most private landlords with an assured tenancy or other private tenancy, they only become involved at the very end of the regaining possession process.
Under the Renters’ Rights Act, you usually must:
Serve the right notice relying on one or more statutory grounds / possession grounds.
Obtain a possession order from the court if the tenant does not leave at the end of tenancy.
Apply for bailiffs or High Court enforcement officers if the tenant still remains in occupation.
Bailiffs, not landlords, carry out the physical eviction: they attend the property on an agreed date, enforce the possession order, and hand control back to you. You must never change locks, remove belongings or physically remove tenants yourself, as that risks unlawful eviction, separate from any rent or damage issues.
Bailiffs may also enforce money judgments for rent payments or other sums awarded by the court, but they do not deal with things like civil penalty notice fines or banning orders, which are separate forms of enforcement action against landlords.
Also see our landlord blog articles.
