Rights and LimitsSomeone at your doorBailiffs and enforcement agents at your door
Bailiffs and enforcement agents at your door
There is a short and simple version of this page. One idea per sentence, no legal words.
What you must do, and what you can refuse
Every claim below links to the law it comes from, with the wording quoted so you can check it yourself.
You must
Refusing is a criminal offence.
Not intentionally obstruct an enforcement agent who is lawfully acting under a warrant of control.
Punishable by up to 51 weeks’ imprisonment, a level 4 fine, or both — considerably more than most of the underlying debts.
Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007, Sch.12 para.68(1) and (3)
“a person is guilty of an offence if he intentionally obstructs a person lawfully acting as an enforcement agent— a person guilty of an offence under this paragraph is liable on summary conviction to— imprisonment for a term not exceeding 51 weeks, or—a fine not exceeding level 4 on the standard scale, or—both”
Read it at legislation.gov.ukquote checked 2026-08-25
You can refuse
No penalty for saying no.
You usually do not have to open the door to an enforcement agent enforcing an ordinary civil debt at your home.
This is not absolute — see the narrow exceptions for an unpaid criminal fine or an HMRC debt below.
GOV.UK, Bailiff powers when they visit your home
“You usually do not have to open your door to a bailiff or let them in.”
Read it at legislation.gov.ukquote checked 2026-08-25
Refuse entry if you are a child, or the only people present are children or vulnerable people.
Taking Control of Goods Regulations 2013, reg.23(2)
“the enforcement agent may enter, re-enter or remain on the premises only if— the debtor is not a child— a child or vulnerable person (whether more than one or a combination of both) is not the only person present in the premises which the enforcement agent proposes to enter or re-enter”
Read it at legislation.gov.ukquote checked 2026-08-25
An enforcement agent has no power to take control of goods before 6am or after 9pm on any day.
Taking Control of Goods Regulations 2013, reg.13(1)
“the enforcement agent may not take control of goods of the debtor before 6 a.m. or after 9 p.m. on any day”
Read it at legislation.gov.ukquote checked 2026-08-25
Lawful to refuse — but it costs you
Not an offence, but it carries a penalty or an inference.
If the debt is an unpaid criminal fine, refusing to let the agent in does not stop them — the law gives a general power to force entry for that specific debt.
Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007, Sch.12 paras.17 and 18
“an enforcement agent may if necessary use reasonable force to enter premises or to do anything for which the entry is authorised — he is acting under an enforcement power conferred by a warrant of control under section 76(1) of the Magistrates' Courts Act 1980 (c. 43) for the recovery of a sum adjudged to be paid by a conviction”
Read it at legislation.gov.ukquote checked 2026-08-25
Notice first, almost always
Before an enforcement agent (the current legal term for a bailiff) can take control of your goods, they must normally give you at least 14 clear days’ written notice of enforcement. Sundays, bank holidays, Good Friday and Christmas Day do not count towards that period.
A court can shorten the notice period, but only if satisfied that goods are likely to be moved or disposed of to dodge enforcement.
When they can call, and who has to be there
Enforcement agents cannot take control of goods before 6am or after 9pm on any day, with narrow exceptions for business premises already open at that hour or for finishing off something already lawfully started.
They also cannot enter, re-enter or remain on premises if a child, or a vulnerable person, is the only person there — or a combination of both, with no adult debtor present.
For most ordinary debts, they cannot force their way in
The first entry has to be through a door, or however the premises are normally accessed — not by breaking in. For most household debts — a credit card, a catalogue debt, a county court judgment enforced at your home — a court will only authorise an enforcement agent to use force to get in if either the debt is owed to HMRC, or the debtor has deliberately moved goods to premises to dodge enforcement. Neither applies to the ordinary run of consumer debt.
Declining to open the door is not, on its own, an offence for these debts. It simply means the agent has not gained entry that day.
The two situations where force is realistic
There are two routes where forced entry is a genuine possibility. First, an unpaid criminal fine: where the agent is executing a magistrates’ court warrant of control for a sum owed because of a conviction, the law gives a general power to use reasonable force to get in — no separate court application needed for that particular step. Second, HMRC debt: officers collecting money owed to the Commissioners can apply to a court for a warrant authorising force, under the same route available for hidden goods.
Once an enforcement agent is lawfully inside and acting under a warrant of control, obstructing them is itself an offence, carrying up to 51 weeks’ imprisonment or a level 4 fine. That applies whatever the underlying debt is — it is not limited to the fines and HMRC cases above.
Last reviewed 2026-08-25. Next review due 2027-02-25. No solicitor has reviewed this page — see [email protected] if you think something here is wrong.