Recover commercial rent arrears via a Writ of Fi-Fa
by David Carter on 24 September 2010
A landlord with tenants in arrears on their rent has two options available to recover the sums owed. The first is the ancient common law of distress, where he instructs a certificated bailiff to enter and seize goods. You can read more about this option in this article.
However, while the common law route is faster than getting a judgment and transferring it to the High Court for enforcement, the law only permits the certificated bailiff to seize goods at the property in question (the ‘demised’ premises). If there are no goods, assets or stock on site, there may be nothing to seize that belongs to the tenants.
However, if the landlord gets a judgment and transfers it to the High Court, thus obtaining a writ of Fieri Facias (Fi-Fa), then the High Court Enforcement Officer (HCEO) has the right to attend other addresses where the defendant, the tenant, might reasonably be. In the case of businesses, this may be the registered address or other trading offices of the business or warehouses. If the commercial property is rented by a partnership or a sole trader, the HCEO may attend their home address to seize goods under the writ.
If the landlord also needs to repossess the property, as well as recover rent arrears, he can save time and money by applying for a combined writ of Fi-Fa and possession. This will allow the HCEO to enforce both simultaneously, leading to a successful repossession and, subject to sufficient assets being seized, recovery of their rent arrears. Read more about the combined writ in this article.
© Sheriffs High Court Enforcement Ltd. Please contact us to request permission to reproduce this article.
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.
