Bailiffs and Police Involvement CASE LAW
If a police officer is in attendance and assists the bailiff to gain entry or persuades the debtor to open
the door then any levy the bailiff makes is void and the debtor can sue for damages.
Skidmore v Booth [1834] 6 C&P 777
There must be very good reasons for arresting a debtor on the grounds of preventing a breach of the
peace, only a serious and imminent threat justifies arrest,
Foulkes v Chief Constable of Merseyside Police [1998] 3 All ER 705
If a police officer arrests a debtor after throwing a bailiff off the premises who had refused a request
to leave, the officer is guilty of false arrest because no offence was committed and the bailiff was
there illegally:
Green v Bartram [1830] 4 C&P 308.
A police officer must arrest a bailiff for breach of the peace if he places the debtor in fear of violence
or harm if that offence is made in the presence of that officer,
R v Howell (Errol) [1982] 1 QB 427.
A police officer must apprehend and arrest the party that is threatening violence,
Redmond-Bate v Department of Public Prosecutions, The Times July 28 1999, Lord Justice Sedley
If a bailiff causes a disturbance but does not make a threat, it is unreasonable for the police to arrest
him.
Bibby v Constable of Essex [2000] Court of Appeal April 2000.
If a person is arrested for non payment of a debt, he can "buy" his freedom by paying the debt
stated on the warrant,
Plomer v Ball [1837] 5 A&E 823 (council tax and court fines).
Attending - Without a Levy on Goods
Breaking and entering
If a bailiff breaks into your property without a valid levy the bailiff has a civil and criminal liability
Khazanchi & Anor v Faircharm Investments Ltd & Ors, Court of Appeal
Bailiffs cannot break open a door but can open one if it is unlocked, Budd v Pyle [1846] 10 JP 203
Bailiffs can force entry to premises that are not a dwelling house nor connected to one. Only a
debtor's home is protected by law,
Hodder v Williams [1895] 2 QB 663
Bailiffs cannot force their way into a private dwelling but can in the case of a commercial or business
premises,
Grove v Eastern Gas [1952] 1 KB 77
Contrast: A bailiff breaking down a door of a commercial warehouse is unlawful - Bowen LJ and the
bailiff's appeal was dismissed. American Concentrated Must Co v Hendry [1893] 68 LT 742.
Provided a bailiff enters a property peacefully and without breaking in, he can break open inner
doors inside the property,
Lee v Gansel [1774] 1 Cowp 1
A bailiff entering through an unlocked door can break the lock if the door is subsequently locked
while still inside,
Pugh v Griffith [1838] 7 A&E 827
Forced entry into homes
A bailiff in execution of a warrant or a writ may not make forcible entry to a dwelling house unless
and until he has completed seizure of the goods in consequence of the first entry,
Halsbury's Laws of England loose leaf edition vol.1 paragraph 9.128 and originally from Semayne v
Gresham [1604] Yelverton 29.
A debtor can remove right of implied access by displaying a notice at the entrance.
This was endorsed by Lord Justice Donaldson in the case of Lambert v Roberts [1981] 72 Cr App R
223
and placing such a notice is akin to a closed door but it also prevents a bailiff entering the garden or
driveway,
Knox v Anderton [1983] Crim LR 115 or R. v Leroy Roberts [2003] EWCA Crim 2753
Debtors can also remove implied right of access to property by telling him to leave:
Davis v Lisle [1936] 2 KB 434 similarly, McArdle v Wallace [1964] 108 Sol Jo 483
A bailiff must leave the premises when told to do so,
Robson & Another v Hallett [1967] 2 QB 939
A person having been told to leave is now under a duty to withdraw from the property with all due
reasonable speed and failure to do so he is not thereafter acting in the execution of his duty and
becomes a trespasser with any subsequent levy made being invalid and attracts a liability under a
claim for damages,
Morris v Beardmore [1980] 71 Cr App 256.
If the bailiff has already started to make a levy, he can no longer be made to leave and he cannot be
assaulted,
Southam v Smout [1964] 1 QB 308.
Bailiffs cannot force their way into a private dwelling,
Grove v Eastern Gas [1952] 1 KB 77
Otherwise a door left open is an implied license for a bailiff to enter, Faulkner v Willetts [1982] Crim
LR 453,
likewise a person standing back to allow the bailiff to walk through but the bailiff must not abuse this
license by entering by improper means or by unusual routes,
Ancaster v Milling [1823] 2 D&R 714 or Rogers v Spence [1846] M&W 571
Ringing a doorbell is not causing a disturbance,
Grant v Moser [1843] 5 M&G 123 or R. v Bright 4 C&P 387,
nor is refusing to leave a property causes a disturbance,
Green v Bartram [1830] 4 C&P 308 or Jordan v Gibbon [1863] 8 LT 391
Permission for a bailiff to enter may be refused provided the words used are not capable of being
mistaken for swear words,
Bailey v Wilson [1968] Crim LR 618 or Snook v Mannion [1982] Crim LR 601 or R (Roalfe) v Woking
Magistrate's Court [2005] EWHC 2922 (Admin).
If the entry is peaceful but without permission then a request to leave should always be made first.
Tullay v Reed [1823] 1 C&P 6
or an employee or other person can also request the bailiff to leave,
Hall v Davis [1825] 2 C&P 33
A debtor can use an equal amount of force to resist a bailiff from gaining entry,
Weaver v Bush [1795] 8TR, Simpson v Morris [1813] 4 Taunt 821, Polkinhorne v Wright [1845] 8QB
197.
Another occupier of the premises or an employee may also take these steps:
Hall v Davis [1825] 2 C&P 33.
Also wrongful would be an attempt at forcible entry despite resistance,
Ingle v Bell [1836] 1 M&W 516
Excessive force must be avoided,
Gregory v Hall [1799] 8 TR 299 or Oakes v Wood [1837] 2 M&W 791
Bailiffs cannot apply force to a door to gain entry, and if he does so he is not in the execution of his
duty,
Broughton v Wilkerson [1880] 44 JP 781,
likewise placing an arm inside the door,
Rossiter v Conway [1893] 53 JP 350
If a bailiff enters a property and makes a noise and disturbs the peace it is lawful for the occupier to
eject him and if he refuses to leave the police may be called,
Green v Bartram [1830] 4C&P 308 or Shaw v Chairtirie [1850] 3 C&K 21
