Taking control of goods, formerly called Walking Possession, refers to the legal practice in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

under which a

bailiff A bailiff is a manager, overseer or custodian – a legal officer to whom some degree of authority or jurisdiction is given. There are different kinds, and their offices and scope of duties vary. Another official sometimes referred to as a '' ...

takes possession of the goods of a defaulting

debtor A debtor or debitor is a legal entity (legal person) that owes a debt to another entity. The entity may be an individual, a firm, a government, a company or other legal person. The counterparty is called a creditor. When the counterpart of this ...

, but does not remove the goods. After a bailiff has gained peaceful entry to the premises of a debtor, the bailiff may seize any of the debtor's goods that are found on the premises (except for certain categories of goods, such as tools of the debtor's trade). After gaining entry once, the bailiff may re-enter the premises at any time, and remove the goods at any time. The bailiff may choose not to remove the goods immediately, giving the debtor an opportunity to pay the debt (plus the bailiff's costs). In the meantime, the bailiff takes control of the goods. The bailiff may ask the debtor to sign a Controlled Goods Agreement, listing the goods that have been seized and acknowledging that the debtor no longer has legal title to the goods.

References

Judicial remedies Property law of the United Kingdom {{UK-law-stub

Further reading

References