My debtors goods are claimed by a landlord
- what can I do ?

When one of our Enforcement Officers has taken legal control of goods belonging to a judgment debtor, then no other creditor can take legal control of the debtor's goods, as they are now in the custody of the law, as a result of the Enforcement Officer's Walking Possession.

A landlord can however notify us of any claim for arrears of rent.

When we have taken legal control through the actions of one of our Enforcement Officers, and receive a notice from the landlord relating to the address on your Writ, then we cannot remove the property from the premises until the landlord has been paid the rent which is due. This rent cannot exceed more than one years' rent.

If we sell the property before receiving a notice from the landlord, and a bankruptcy order is later made, we must pay the landlord what is due, which again should not exceed more than one year's rent (Re Mackenzie, ex partner Sheriff of Hertfordshire [1899] 2 QB 566).

The practical effect of these rules (which date from the 18th century), is that where we attend at a commercial address, enquiries are made about the ownership of the property as part of our standard enquiries.

Occasionally the judgment debtor business will have vacated the premises and enquiries will often reveal that the judgment debtor left the property owing rent. This means that even if goods had been present on the property, these could only have been taken by the landlord in lieu of outstanding rent.

Strategies to avoid a landlord's claim to goods taking priority include:

• Ensuring that directors of companies sign personal guarantees for the liabilities of their companies - so that their personal assets can be taken to pay the company's debt
• Insisting that partners of firms, give details of their names and addresses which are verified so that again their personal assets can be taken to pay the debts of the business
• Verifying the names and private addresses of sole traders
• Carrying out checks against businesses and homes to see who owns the freehold to any property and making enquiries of managing agents
• Asking customers to sign Data Protection Act consent forms at the outset of any credit or business agreement, to enable enquiries to be made of letting agents/landlords etc in the event of default to ascertain their current whereabouts