Enforcing against a limited company at a home address
by David Carter on 06 October 2011
With many people now running limited companies from their home, The Sheriffs Office finds itself on the receiving end of many claims and beliefs that are simply incorrect.
Some debtors, and occasionally their solicitors, believe that High Court enforcement against a limited liability company cannot be executed at a home address.
I can confirm that this is most definitely not the case, as enforcement can and regularly does take place under these circumstances by our Enforcement Officers, often with high success.
Usually assets belonging to the company will be found at the address and are available for seizure. These may include home office equipment (computers and printers etc.), tools and machinery and company vehicles. Further, you may recall from previous articles that a limited company cannot claim these goods are exempt from seizure by being ‘tools of the trade’ either, aiding enforcement accordingly.
If goods of the debtor are in a building not attached to the residence then the Enforcement Officer may force entry (usually using a locksmith) if instructed to do so.
In the majority of cases, we find the seizure, threat of removal and the potential disruption to the business encourages the debtor to make payment, even though in reality the goods seized may not be of a high enough value at auction to clear the debt in full.
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Disclaimer: The statements and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Sheriffs High Court Enforcement Ltd, trading as The Sheriffs Office. Sheriffs High Court Enforcement Ltd does not take any responsibility for the views of the author. The author will not be held responsible for any comments posted by visitors to this site. Please note that this article does not constitute legal advice. The author has used his best endeavours to make this article as accurate and complete as possible, but requests that the reader be aware that the law of England and Wales frequently changes. The author strongly advises the reader to take legal advice before embarking on any enforcement action.
