How an enforcement hearing works
What actually happens in the bailiff's court — the hearing, the attachment, and what happens when there is nothing to take.
You know what happens in the bailiff's court, what you get out of the hearing — and what a declaration of insolvency means for the claim.
Step by step
- 01
Obtain the enforceable instrument first
The bailiff's court does not collect claims — it enforces them. You need an enforceable instrument: a judgment, an endorsed payment order, a promissory note, or a settlement with an enforcement clause. Without one, there is no case.
- 02
File the application, and pay the court fee
The court fee is advanced by you and then claimed from the debtor. The debtor is summoned to a hearing in the bailiff's court — that is, called in under a duty to attend.
- 03
Attend — and know what you want out of it
At the hearing, the debtor discloses their circumstances. An attachment can be levied on assets, an instalment plan can be agreed, or it can be established that there is nothing. Come with a proposal; a hearing without a plan becomes a hearing without a result.
This is where it goes wrongIf the debtor fails to attend, the bailiff's court can in some cases have them brought in by the police. But that costs time — and a voluntary settlement is almost always faster than being proved right by force.
- 04
Levy the attachment on what has value
An attachment can be levied on movable property, real property, vehicles and other assets. But not on everything: the debtor is entitled to keep what is necessary for a modest home and for being able to work. That is the exemption for necessities.
- 05
Take the declaration of insolvency seriously — but not as an ending
If there is nothing to attach, the debtor gives a declaration of insolvency, and for a period no new enforcement case can be brought against them. The claim is not lost — but it now has to be monitored, not pursued.
This is where it most often goes wrong
Not because anyone is careless, but because the mistakes are easy to make and only surface once it is too late.
You go to the bailiff's court without having run a credit assessment
Then you pay a court fee to have it confirmed that there is no money. The assessment belongs BEFORE the decision, not after it.
You attend without documentation
The enforceable instrument, the statement of the claim and the interest calculation have to be in order. A hearing where the amount cannot be explained ends in an adjournment — and a fresh court fee.
You close the case once the declaration of insolvency has been given
That is exactly what the debtor is hoping for. With an enforceable instrument, the claim remains enforceable for ten years — and the ability to pay can easily return well before then.