Old Possession Orders Move Fast in the Sheriff Lane

This week in Shergroup we have started to see an uptick in the number of possession orders we are receiving with and without permission to transfer to the High Court for enforcement.

As you get to know our story in Property118, you will know that Shergroup is a pro-active and innovative High Court enforcement agency.  We have been Sheriffs since 1780 and the DNA of that lineage is at our core.  We were renamed by the powers that be in 2004 to the modern term – High Court Enforcement Officers, but old habits die hard, and even today we are referred to as “Sheriffs” by judges themselves.

This week we are pleased to report that County Court Possession Orders that have been waiting to be enforced are now coming to us for enforcement.  If you are a landlord who has been patiently waiting to evict a tenant, we are now able to help you.  The ban on enforcement in residential premises has been lifted, and we hope the Government will have the gumption to keep it that way despite announcing today it is delaying the end of all lockdown measures.

For example, a possession order made in Willesden County Court on 21^st January 2021 turned up in our office on 27^th May 2021 – a delay of 125 days in the landlord waiting for the eviction ban to be lifted.  The cost to that particular landlord we couldn’t confirm, but it’s a loss which ever way you cut it.

District Judge Paul in Willesden County Court made the Order and gave permission for the order to be transferred to the High Court for enforcement.  Good job District Judge Paul!  We like pro-active judges here at Shergroup. When they use their discretion to transfer a Possession Order to the High Court, they are giving the Claimant real access to the justice to be able to go on and enforce the Order.

As the Possession Order was made in a London Court, we could apply to the Action Department in the Royal Courts of Justice to convert the County Court Possession Order into a High Court Writ of Possession.  This took JUST ONE DAY!

The Notice of Eviction has been served, and the eviction will be carried out in the last week of June.

There are no delays and no backlogs, even with COVID-19 still present and wreaking havoc with Government and the economy. This is how enforcement should work, and we will be working hard in the weeks ahead to keep it that way, delivering a safe and efficient pathway to Claimants who need their property back.

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