Following a number of recent developments around the enforcement of a possession order, the Civil Procedure Rules Committee has recently launched a further consultation based upon ‘The enforcement of possession orders and alignment of procedures in the County Court and High Court’.

Enforcement of a Possession Order is an area which has attracted an increased focus over the last few years. This is also an area where CPR appears to be unsatisfied of the differing approach of enforcement via County Court and High Court. The primary difference in enforcement via the County Court and High Court is in respect of the time it can take to actually enforce the Order, notice to the Occupier and the associated legal costs.

It is intended that the proposals in this consultation will consider the improvement in the process of enforcement to make it more uniform in both County and High Court. In addition, the changes will mean an open and transparent process which will take into consideration the needs of both the claimant and defendant and any other affected parties.

Although any proposed changes will primarily impact only residential properties it is also intended that consideration will be given to commercial premises.

The consultation can be viewed (and responded to) via the following links.

https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/enforcement-of-possession-orders-and-alignment-of-procedures-in-the-county-court-and-high-court

https://consult.justice.gov.uk/digital-communications/enforcement-of-possession-orders/

The consultation ends on 02 May 2019 and Ascent will be submitting a response. We will continue to monitor the developments in this area and keep you updated on the progress of the Consultation.