Commercial Rent Arrears Recovery Terms & Conditions

UK Bailiff Services Ltd, trading as UK Bailiffs (“UKB”, “we”, “us” or “our”), provides the Services under these Terms. CRAR is the statutory procedure by which a landlord of qualifying commercial premises may use the Schedule 12 procedure to recover rent due and payable from the immediate tenant.

For CRAR purposes, Rent is the amount payable under the lease for possession and use of the demised premises, together with contractual interest and VAT where applicable. It does not include rates, council tax, service charges, repairs, maintenance, insurance or other ancillary sums, regardless of how the lease labels them.

Net Unpaid Rent is the qualifying unpaid rent used to test the statutory minimum after excluding interest, VAT and any permitted deduction, recoupment or set-off. The minimum is an amount equal to at least seven days’ rent; the rent does not itself need to have been overdue for seven days.

The Net Unpaid Rent must meet the statutory minimum immediately before the Notice of Enforcement is given and immediately before goods are first taken into control under that notice.

CRAR is not available if any part of the demised premises is let or occupied as a dwelling within the meaning of the legislation, subject to the statutory treatment of occupation or letting that breaches the relevant lease. The Client must disclose all residential use, sleeping arrangements and mixed-use occupation.

These Terms are intended for Clients acting wholly or mainly for business or professional purposes. An individual acting wholly or mainly outside their trade, business, craft or profession must tell UKB before submitting an instruction. UKB will not accept that instruction under these business Terms unless the applicable consumer information, cancellation rights and any separate terms have first been provided.

Instructions must normally be submitted through UKB’s secure instruction process unless a Director agrees another method in writing. Submission is a request for Services; it does not oblige UKB to accept the matter or confirm that CRAR is legally available.

The Client appoints UKB to administer the accepted instruction and authorises UKB, its office and appointed enforcement agents to prepare, give, sign and issue documents that the CRAR Legislation permits or requires them to prepare, give, sign or issue. Any document requiring the Debtor’s or another person’s agreement must be completed in accordance with the legislation and is not signed by UKB on that person’s behalf.

The Client authorises UKB to communicate with the Debtor and relevant third parties, receive payments, consider repayment proposals, carry out proportionate checks and take operational decisions reasonably required to progress the accepted instruction.

No variation to the debt, settlement authority or other special instruction binds UKB unless we confirm it in writing.

The Client must promptly tell UKB about every payment, credit, settlement proposal, dispute, change of occupation, surrender, assignment, forfeiture step, court order, insolvency event, moratorium, debt-advice request or other matter capable of affecting the instruction. This duty continues until UKB confirms the file is closed.

The Client must not independently agree payment terms, accept a surrender, alter the amount instructed or take another enforcement or possession step without notifying UKB. UKB is not responsible for consequences caused by unreported Client action.

The Client must cooperate with reasonable requests for clarification, documents, authority, safety information and payment of agreed Client charges. UKB may suspend work while required information or funds remain outstanding.

UKB may accept, decline, pause or return an instruction where there is uncertainty about the lease, debt, premises, occupation, authority, insolvency, proportionality, safety, legal restriction, reputation or operational suitability. We are not required to give a reason where doing so could compromise legal, safety or compliance obligations.

Our review is an operational and document-based suitability assessment. UKB is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice or guarantee that the Client has a right to use CRAR. The Client should obtain advice from a solicitor where entitlement or another legal issue is uncertain.

Taking control of goods will be carried out by an appropriately certificated enforcement agent unless a statutory exception applies. UKB may appoint suitable employees, agents, contractors, auctioneers, storage providers and other suppliers to perform parts of the Services.

UKB does not guarantee payment, entry, the existence or ownership of goods, a particular attendance date, removal, sale proceeds or any other outcome.

Where the instruction is accepted and the statutory conditions appear satisfied, UKB or the enforcement agent’s office will give the Debtor a Notice of Enforcement in accordance with the CRAR Legislation.

The general minimum period is 14 clear days before goods may be taken into control, unless a court orders a shorter period. Sundays, bank holidays, Good Friday and Christmas Day do not count when calculating the period.

Where the legislation requires it following a qualifying request submitted by a debt advice provider, the minimum notice period will be extended to 28 clear days. The statutory exception for non-eligible business debt applies.

A new or amended notice, additional waiting period or court application may be required if the debt, Debtor, address, lease, instruction or applicable law changes. Any resulting agreed Client charge or disbursement is payable by the Client.

After the applicable notice period, an enforcement agent may attend relevant premises and take lawful, proportionate steps available under Schedule 12 and the regulations. These may include seeking payment, entering a repayment arrangement, taking control of goods, entering a Controlled Goods Agreement, securing or removing goods and arranging sale or disposal.

The enforcement agent retains professional and operational discretion. Action may be delayed, varied or stopped because of vulnerability, safety, proportionality, ownership disputes, insufficient goods, legal restrictions, police advice, access conditions or other circumstances encountered.

The Client has no right to direct an enforcement agent to take a step that the agent or UKB considers unlawful, unsafe, disproportionate, professionally inappropriate or contrary to applicable standards.

Goods may be subject to exemption, third-party ownership, finance, hire, trust or other competing rights. UKB may require evidence, legal directions, an indemnity or funds on account before investigating or responding to a claim, but no indemnity requires UKB to act unlawfully.

Sale or disposal will be arranged only where lawful and proportionate. Valuation, storage, transport, auction and other sale-related steps may affect timing and the net sum available for distribution.

Enforcement fees and recoverable disbursements are governed by the Taking Control of Goods (Fees) Regulations 2014 as amended. Fees become recoverable by reference to the enforcement stage or stages for which enforcement-related services have been supplied.

Statutory fees and disbursements are recoverable from the Debtor only to the extent permitted by law. UKB may recover them from money received or sale proceeds and apply funds in the order required by the legislation.

The Client must pay any non-statutory Client charge, abortive fee, agreed attendance charge, court fee, specialist cost or other disbursement identified in UKB’s quotation, instruction form, fee schedule or later written approval. We may require funds on account before incurring a material disbursement.

If statutory fees or agreed disbursements cannot be recovered from the Debtor because the instruction is withdrawn, paid directly, defective, unsuccessful, legally restricted or based on incomplete or inaccurate information, the Client is responsible only for those sums that these Terms or another written agreement expressly make payable by the Client.

VAT and any sum equivalent to VAT will be treated in accordance with the applicable tax and fees legislation. UKB does not provide tax advice; the Client should obtain advice on its own VAT treatment and recovery position.

UKB will not retain duplicate recovery of the same fee or disbursement from both Client and Debtor. Any verified duplicate amount will be credited or repaid after reconciliation.

The Client must notify UKB on the same Business Day of any payment, credit, contra-entry, settlement or value received from or on behalf of the Debtor after instruction. The Client must provide enough information for UKB to reconcile the payment and update the enforcement balance.

A direct payment to the Client does not remove liability for a statutory fee that has already become recoverable or for a Client charge or disbursement payable under these Terms. The Client must not represent that direct payment automatically closes UKB’s file.

Money received by UKB will be allocated and distributed in accordance with the legislation. UKB may deduct sums properly due to it before remitting the Client’s balance.

Client money is remitted after cleared receipt, reconciliation and any required compliance checks. Our usual operational aim is to remit the available Client balance within two working days, but this is not guaranteed where identification, allocation, chargeback, banking or compliance issues remain unresolved.

UKB may set off an undisputed overdue sum owed by the Client against a remittance due to that Client, with a corresponding account record.

The Client may request suspension or cancellation, but the request is not effective until UKB confirms it. UKB may need to complete a notice, payment, controlled-goods, third-party claim, sale, accounting or legal step before the file can be closed.

Fees for a stage already commenced, agreed Client charges and reasonably incurred disbursements remain payable following suspension, cancellation or settlement.

UKB may suspend, terminate or decline further work where continuing may be unlawful, unsafe, disproportionate, professionally inappropriate, uneconomic or inconsistent with regulatory, insurance, compliance or reputational requirements.

Closure does not affect rights, liabilities, fees, data obligations or provisions intended to continue after closure.

Administration, liquidation, a company or individual moratorium, a voluntary arrangement, bankruptcy, winding-up proceedings, dissolution, a court order, a statutory restriction or another enforcement process may prevent, restrict or affect CRAR.

The Client must disclose any known or suspected event of that kind before instruction and immediately after becoming aware of it. UKB may require legal confirmation, consent, court permission or further funds before continuing.

The Client remains responsible for agreed Client charges and reasonably incurred disbursements where action is prevented or reversed by a restriction, particularly where the relevant facts were not disclosed promptly. Statutory fees remain subject to the legislation governing their recovery.

When the lease ends, CRAR normally ceases to be exercisable. It may continue in relation to goods already taken into control and, for rent due and payable before the lease ended, only where every applicable condition in section 79 of the Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007 is satisfied. Those conditions include that the lease did not end by forfeiture, no more than six months have passed, the former tenant remains in possession of part of the premises and the former landlord remains entitled to the immediate reversion. The Client must immediately disclose any surrender, termination, forfeiture, new lease or change in possession or reversion.

The Client and UKB will normally act as independent controllers for the personal data each processes for its own purposes. The Client warrants that it has a lawful basis to collect and share the information supplied to UKB.

UKB may process and share relevant information with enforcement agents, professional advisers, tracing and technology providers, auctioneers, storage and transport suppliers, courts, public authorities, regulators, insurers and others where reasonably necessary and lawful.

Agents may use body-worn video, photographs, audio, notes, location data and document records where necessary and proportionate for evidence, safety, quality, complaints, legal claims and compliance. Recording will not be continuous merely because equipment is available. Access, disclosure, security and retention are governed by applicable data-protection law, UKB’s documented retention arrangements and UKB’s Privacy Policy.

The Client may communicate with UKB electronically. Email and online transmission carry inherent risks, and the Client must maintain accurate contact details and appropriate security for its own accounts and devices.

Questions or requests concerning personal data may be submitted using the contact details in the Privacy Policy. Nothing in these Terms restricts a data subject’s rights under applicable data-protection law or a right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office.

A complaint or service concern should be submitted promptly with the instruction reference, relevant dates and available documents. Complaints are handled under UKB’s Complaints Policy.

A complaint does not automatically suspend enforcement or remove an obligation to pay an undisputed sum. UKB will decide whether any operational pause is appropriate while the matter is reviewed.

Nothing in these Terms removes a right to use an external complaint, court, certification or regulatory route that is available under applicable law or published standards.

UKB will perform accepted Services with reasonable care and skill. We are not responsible for a loss caused by the Debtor, the Client, a third party, inaccurate or incomplete information, a legal restriction, a court or public authority, or an event outside our reasonable control.

To the extent permitted by law, UKB is not liable for indirect or consequential loss, loss of profit, revenue, opportunity, anticipated saving, goodwill, reputation or business interruption arising from an instruction.

Any financial cap on UKB’s liability applies only where it is expressly stated in an accepted quotation, fee schedule or written special term and only to the extent that it is fair, reasonable and legally enforceable. In deciding whether a stated cap is reasonable, the parties may take account of the Services, the charges, the Client’s ability to insure and the insurance reasonably available to UKB. No cap restricts a mandatory statutory remedy or any liability described in clause 13.4.

Nothing in these Terms excludes or limits liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation, deliberate unlawful conduct, or any liability that cannot lawfully be excluded or limited.

The Client will indemnify UKB against reasonably incurred direct loss, liability and third-party claims resulting from the Client’s material breach of these Terms, lack of authority, or materially inaccurate or incomplete information. This indemnity does not apply to the extent the loss was caused by UKB’s negligence, breach of duty or unlawful act.

An invoice is payable on the date stated on it or, where no date is stated, within seven days of issue. A genuine query must be raised promptly and does not delay payment of any undisputed amount.

UKB may charge interest on an overdue Client sum at 8% per annum above the Bank of England base rate, calculated daily from the due date until payment. Where applicable, UKB may instead rely on statutory late-payment rights and recovery costs.

The Client must not initiate an unjustified payment reversal or chargeback. If money already remitted or credited becomes unavailable because of a reversal, dishonoured payment, fraud or successful chargeback, UKB may reverse the corresponding credit and recover the resulting balance from the Client where the Client has received or retained the benefit.

Entire agreement. These Terms, the accepted instruction, the applicable quotation or fee schedule and any written special terms form the agreement between UKB and the Client for the instruction. The Client acknowledges that it has not relied on a statement not recorded in those documents, except that this does not exclude liability for fraud.

Priority. A written special term expressly agreed by a UKB Director takes priority over these Terms for the relevant instruction. The CRAR Legislation and other mandatory law take priority over all contractual wording.

Variation. UKB may update these Terms for future instructions. A material change affecting an existing instruction applies only where required by law or agreed with the Client.

Assignment and subcontracting. The Client may not transfer an instruction or its contractual rights without UKB’s written consent. UKB may subcontract performance while remaining responsible for its contractual obligations.

Force majeure. UKB is not liable for delay or failure caused by an event outside its reasonable control. We will take reasonable steps to reduce disruption and resume affected work when practicable.

Severance and waiver. If a provision is invalid or unenforceable, it will be treated as modified to the minimum extent necessary or removed without affecting the remainder. Delay in exercising a right is not a waiver of that right.

Third-party rights. Unless these Terms expressly say otherwise, a person who is not UKB or the Client has no right under the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999 to enforce them.

Governing law. The agreement and any non-contractual dispute arising from it are governed by the law of England and Wales, and the courts of England and Wales have exclusive jurisdiction, subject to any mandatory legal rule.