County Enforcement: CRAR, Writs and Evictions

Updated August 29, 2026 How we produce this guidance

Company details

Type	Enforcement company
Registered name	County Enforcement

Key facts

Company number: 08492808, ECB accredited Oct 2023
Own account: Trading since 1985, three UK offices
Services: CRAR, forfeiture, HC writs, evictions
Evictions: Use a possession order, not the fee scale

On this page 15 sections

If this name has contacted you personally about a household bill, that would be unusual for this firm, and it is worth checking the paperwork carefully before assuming which authority applies.

Who are County Enforcement?

County Enforcement Limited is registered at Companies House under company number 08492808, incorporated on 17 April 2013, with its registered office at Unit 43, Riverside 2, Sir Thomas Longley Road, Medway City Estate, Rochester, Kent, ME2 4DP. Its own site states the business was established in 1985 as a privately owned, family-run operation, which would place its trading history well before the 2013 incorporation date on the current company; if that matters to your case, treat the pre-2013 trading history as the firm's own account rather than something this page has independently verified against an earlier company record.

The firm has been accredited by the Enforcement Conduct Board since October 2023, shows CIVEA membership on its own site, and is listed by the High Court Enforcement Officers Association, which records a separate business address in Bromley alongside the Rochester head office. It operates from three offices: Rochester, Birmingham and London, and its own site describes acting for clients nationwide.

Are County Enforcement bailiffs or debt collectors?

Enforcement agents, for the High Court and commercial work it takes on, which puts it well past the ordinary debt collection stage of merely asking for payment. A debt collection agency has no power to enter premises or take goods and must first sue and win. County Enforcement's own site describes acting under a writ of control, a CRAR notice, or a possession order, each of which already carries court or statutory authority. See bailiffs and debt collectors.

What County Enforcement is instructed to do

Service	What it involves	Authority behind it
Commercial Rent Arrears Recovery (CRAR)	Recovering unpaid commercial rent while a tenancy continues	A written lease and at least seven days' net unpaid rent
Forfeiture of lease	Ending a commercial lease for breach	The lease terms and, usually, a court order
Service charge recovery	Recovering unpaid service charges from a leaseholder or tenant	The lease or tenancy agreement
High Court enforcement	Executing a transferred County Court Judgment	A High Court writ of control
Evictions	Removing squatters, trespassers or travellers	A possession order from the civil courts

This is a commercial and civil enforcement profile rather than a household debt one. Council tax, business rates on domestic premises, and parking penalties do not appear among County Enforcement's own listed services.

Commercial rent arrears: CRAR

CRAR is only available against a business tenant, never a residential one, and only where a written lease is in place and at least seven days' net unpaid rent is outstanding, checked both when notice is given and again when goods are first taken control of. Unlike forfeiture, CRAR is aimed at recovering the arrears while the tenancy continues rather than ending it.

High Court writs at County Enforcement

Where the case is a High Court writ, the underlying debt is usually a County Court Judgment transferred up. Under article 8 of the High Court and County Courts Jurisdiction Order 1991, a judgment under £600 stays in the County Court, and one of £5,000 or more must go to the High Court; a judgment on a Consumer Credit Act regulated agreement cannot be transferred regardless of amount. County Enforcement's site names High Court enforcement as a service but does not name an individual High Court Enforcement Officer; check which HCEO is authorising your case and verify them on the HCEOA's public register before relying on their status.

A debtor who genuinely cannot pay, or believes enforcing now would be unfair given the circumstances, can apply to the court for a stay of execution under CPR rule 83.7. Permission to issue the writ at all may also be required under CPR rule 83.2 where six years have passed since judgment or a party has changed.

Evictions are not a debt enforcement process

Squatter, traveller and trespasser evictions proceed under a possession order, not the Schedule 12 debt recovery fee scale. If you have received an eviction notice from County Enforcement, the correct response is to check the possession order itself with the court that granted it, since the notice periods and remedies are different from those for an unpaid debt.

Can County Enforcement force entry?

Not into a private home on a first visit, where the case is an ordinary civil debt. Entry must be peaceable, through a door you choose to open or leave unlocked. Business premises carry wider powers: paragraph 18A of Schedule 12 allows entry without permission where the debtor trades on the premises and the debt is not a traffic contravention debt, which is directly relevant given how much of County Enforcement's caseload is commercial. A broken controlled goods agreement can also permit reasonable force on re-entry under paragraph 19A. See when bailiffs can force entry.

What a High Court case through County Enforcement costs

High Court enforcement uses a different fee scale from council tax and parking work, with two enforcement stages and a £1,200 percentage threshold rather than £1,900.

Stage	Fixed fee
Compliance	£79
First enforcement stage	£200 plus 7.5% of any sum above £1,200
Second enforcement stage	£520
Sale or disposal	£550 plus 7.5% of any sum above £1,200

These figures apply to writs taken on from 1 May 2026. CRAR, lease forfeiture and possession-based evictions do not run on this scale at all; each has its own separate cost basis under the lease, the court fees for the application, or the terms of the tenancy.

The Notice of Enforcement and your deadline

Before goods can be taken into control on a High Court or CRAR case, notice requirements apply. For an enforcement case from 1 May 2026, the minimum is 14 clear days, extendable to 28 clear days on a timely request from a recognised debt advice provider, unless the debt is a non-eligible business debt. Given how much of County Enforcement's work is commercial, that exception will apply to many of its cases. It does not apply to a business debt where the debtor is neither VAT-registered nor a partner in a partnership, or where the debt does not relate solely to that business.

Goods and what is out of reach

Only goods belonging to the debtor, individual or company, can be taken into control. Regulation 4 exempts everyday clothing and bedding, essential household equipment, items needed for medical care, pets and assistance dogs, a disabled person's vehicle, and work tools and equipment up to £1,350 in aggregate. On business premises, goods belonging to a customer, supplier or a separate business sharing the site are not the debtor's to lose, though this usually needs paperwork to establish.

Disputing the underlying debt, lease or judgment

Take a dispute about a judgment to the court that gave it; County Enforcement has no power to vary it. Take a dispute about rent or a lease term to the landlord or, where proceedings exist, to the court dealing with them. A stay of execution under CPR 83.7 is the separate route where the issue is ability to pay rather than the judgment's correctness.

If you cannot afford to pay

Say so early and support it with figures. A witness statement disclosing your means is central to a stay of execution application. National Debtline, StepChange and Citizens Advice offer free help for individuals, and a business in this position should also consider specialist insolvency advice.

Checking a County Enforcement letter is genuine

Confirm which service is involved, CRAR, a High Court writ, or an eviction, since each carries a different process and cost basis. Use contact details obtained independently from County Enforcement's own website rather than a number printed only on the letter, and ask the firm to name the authorising HCEO if the case is a High Court writ.

Complaining about County Enforcement

First, the firm's own complaints procedure, giving the case reference, the date and the specific issue.

Second, the underlying authority: the landlord for a lease or CRAR dispute, or the court for a judgment or possession order.

Third, the oversight route. County Enforcement has been accredited by the Enforcement Conduct Board since October 2023, so the ECB can consider a complaint once the firm's own process is exhausted. Conduct by a named HCEO can also be raised with the HCEOA.

What to do now

Identify which service this concerns: CRAR, lease forfeiture, a High Court writ, or an eviction, since the rules differ sharply.
If it is a writ, check the £600/£5,000 thresholds and ask County Enforcement to name the authorising HCEO.
If it is an eviction, check the possession order with the issuing court rather than treating it as a debt case.
If a judgment or lease term is disputed, raise it with the right authority above.
If it is correct but unaffordable, prepare figures and consider a stay of execution application if it has reached High Court enforcement.

How a County Enforcement debt could reach bailiffs

A debt collector cannot send bailiffs. Only a court can, and only after a judgment. These are the stages in between, and each one is easier to deal with than the one after it.

A collector asks you to pay

No court is involved yet. A debt collection agency has no enforcement powers at all, it cannot enter your home, take goods or add enforcement fees. This stage can last a long time.

What debt collectors can and cannot do
A County Court claim is issued

The creditor, or the company that bought the debt, asks the court to decide you owe the money. This is the stage where the deadlines start to matter, and where a defence such as limitation has to be raised.

Check whether the debt is too old to enforce
Judgment is entered (a CCJ)

If you do not respond in time, judgment is entered by default, without anyone examining whether the debt was correct. A CCJ stays on your credit file for six years.

How to check whether you have a CCJ
A warrant or writ of control is issued

An unpaid judgment can be enforced. This is the document that authorises enforcement agents to attend, and the point at which a debt collection matter becomes a bailiff matter.

What a warrant of control allows
Enforcement agents can attend you are here

Now there are real powers: peaceable entry, taking control of goods, and statutory fees of £79, £247 and £116 at defined stages. This is the stage the earlier ones exist to avoid.

What bailiffs can and cannot take

Which bailiffs would actually attend

That depends on the amount and on what kind of debt it is, and the rule is set by article 8 of the High Court and County Courts Jurisdiction Order 1991 rather than by the creditor's preference.

Under £600, the judgment can only be enforced in the county court, so county court bailiffs attend under a warrant of control.
£5,000 or more, and not a regulated credit agreement, it can only be enforced in the High Court, so High Court enforcement officers attend under a writ of control. They charge on a different and higher fee scale.
Anything else, including a regulated credit agreement of any size, may be enforced in either court.

Whether your agreement is regulated by the Consumer Credit Act 1974 changes which court can enforce it. Credit cards, loans, overdrafts and catalogue accounts usually are; council tax, traffic penalties and court fines are not, and those reach enforcement by a different route entirely.

If several debts are enforced together

This happens often, particularly where one company has bought several of your accounts, or where a council has more than one liability order against you. The enforcement agent is instructed on all of them at once and deals with them on the same visit.

The fees do not simply multiply, and this is where people are most often overcharged. Where the agent is instructed under more than one enforcement power against the same debtor, and those powers can reasonably be exercised at the same time, regulation 11 of the Taking Control of Goods (Fees) Regulations 2014 splits the treatment:

The £79 compliance fee may be charged for each enforcement power. Several of these is correct.
The £247 enforcement fee and the £116 sale fee may each be charged only once, however many debts are involved.

So three debts enforced together should cost three compliance fees and one enforcement fee, £484, rather than three separate lots of £326. If you have been charged an enforcement fee for each debt on a single visit, that is worth challenging in writing.

The saving depends on the debts genuinely being enforceable at the same time. Where an agent legitimately attends on separate occasions for unrelated matters, separate fees can apply, so it is worth checking the dates and references on the fee breakdown before challenging it.

Not sure which one is contacting you? How to tell from the paperwork

Frequently asked questions

Is County Enforcement legitimate?

Yes. County Enforcement Limited, company number 08492808, has been accredited by the Enforcement Conduct Board since October 2023. Its own site states the business traces to 1985, though this page has not independently verified pre-2013 trading history.

Does County Enforcement collect council tax?

No council tax or parking work is advertised on its own site. Its listed services are commercial rent arrears recovery, lease forfeiture, service charge recovery, High Court enforcement and evictions.

Can County Enforcement force entry to my home?

Not on a first visit for an ordinary civil debt against a private home. Business premises carry wider entry powers, which is relevant given how commercial this firm's caseload is.

What does a High Court case through County Enforcement cost?

The High Court scale: £79 compliance, £200 plus 7.5% over £1,200 at the first enforcement stage, £520 at a second stage, and £550 plus 7.5% over £1,200 if goods are sold. CRAR and evictions run on a different cost basis entirely.

Is a County Enforcement eviction the same as debt enforcement?

No. Squatter, trespasser and traveller evictions proceed under a possession order from the civil courts, not the Schedule 12 fee scale used for debt recovery.

What is CRAR, and who can it be used against?

Commercial Rent Arrears Recovery, available only against a business tenant with a written lease and at least seven days' net unpaid rent, never against a residential tenant.

Sources

Companies House register GOV.UK Checked 2026-08-13
Enforcement Conduct Board Enforcement Conduct Board
independent oversight of the enforcement industry (bailiffs) to ensure that all those who are subject to enforcement action in England & Wales are fairly treated.
Checked 2026-08-17
Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007, Schedule 12, paragraph 10 legislation.gov.uk
An enforcement agent may take control of goods only if they are goods of the debtor.
Checked 2026-08-17
Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007, Schedule 12, paragraph 17 legislation.gov.uk
Where paragraph 18, 18A, 19 or 19A applies, an enforcement agent may if necessary use reasonable force to enter premises or to do anything for which the entry is authorised.
Checked 2026-08-17
Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007, Schedule 12, paragraph 18A legislation.gov.uk
This paragraph applies if these conditions are met— (a) the enforcement agent has power to enter the premises under paragraph 14; (b) the enforcement agent reasonably believes that the debtor carries on a trade or business on the premises; (c) the enforcement agent is acting under a writ or warrant of control issued for the purpose of recovering a sum payable under a High Court or county court judgment; (d) the sum so payable is not a traffic contravention debt.
Checked 2026-08-17
Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007, Schedule 12, paragraph 19A legislation.gov.uk
This paragraph applies if these conditions are met— (a) the enforcement agent has power to enter the premises under paragraph 16; (b) the enforcement agent has taken control of the goods by entering into a controlled goods agreement with the debtor; (c) the debtor has failed to comply with any provision of the controlled goods agreement.
Checked 2026-08-17
Taking Control of Goods Regulations 2013, regulation 4 legislation.gov.uk
items or equipment (for example, tools, books, telephones, computer equipment and vehicles) which are necessary for use personally by the debtor in the debtor's employment, business, trade, profession, study or education, except that in any case the aggregate value of the items or equipment to which this exemption is applied shall not exceed £1,350… assistance dogs (including guide dogs, hearing dogs and dogs for disabled persons), sheep dogs, guard dogs or domestic pets; a vehicle on which a valid disabled person's badge is displayed.
Checked 2026-08-17
Taking Control of Goods (Fees) Regulations 2014, Schedule 1 Table 2, as amended by SI 2026/366 legislation.gov.uk
Compliance stage £79.00 0%; First enforcement stage £200.00 7.5%; Second enforcement stage £520.00 0%; Sale or disposal stage £550.00 7.5% — percentage of sum to be recovered exceeding £1200.
Checked 2026-08-17
Taking Control of Goods Regulations 2013, regulation 6, as amended by SI 2026/366 legislation.gov.uk
notice of enforcement must be given to the debtor not less than 14 clear days before the enforcement agent takes control of the debtor's goods. Where, before the expiration of the period of notice indicated in the notice of enforcement, a request is submitted by a debt advice provider on behalf of the debtor, the minimum period of notice referred to in paragraph (1) must be extended to a minimum of 28 clear days before the enforcement agent takes control of the goods. The extension under paragraph (1A) does not apply where the debt is non-eligible business debt. Where the period referred to in paragraph (1) or (1A) includes a Sunday, bank holiday, Good Friday or Christmas Day that day does not count in calculating the period.
Checked 2026-08-17
Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007, section 74 (CRAR: lease) legislation.gov.uk
"Lease" means a tenancy in law or in equity, including a tenancy at will, but not including a tenancy at sufferance… A lease must be evidenced in writing.
Checked 2026-08-17
Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007, section 77 (CRAR: the minimum amount) legislation.gov.uk
CRAR is exercisable only if the net unpaid rent is at least the minimum amount immediately before each of these— (a) the time when notice of enforcement is given; (b) the first time that goods are taken control of after that notice. The minimum amount is to be calculated in accordance with regulations.
Checked 2026-08-17
Taking Control of Goods Regulations 2013, regulation 52 (minimum amount of net unpaid rent) legislation.gov.uk
the minimum amount of net unpaid rent for the purposes of section 77(3) of the Act is an amount equal to 7 days' rent.
Checked 2026-08-17
High Court and County Courts Jurisdiction Order 1991, article 8 (as amended) legislation.gov.uk
shall be enforced only in the High Court where the sum which it is sought to enforce is £5,000 or more; shall be enforced only in the County Court where the sum which it is sought to enforce is less than £600; in any other case may be enforced in either the High Court or the County Court. A judgment or order of the County Court for the payment of a sum of money in proceedings arising out of an agreement regulated by the Consumer Credit Act 1974 shall be enforced only in the County Court.
Checked 2026-08-17
Civil Procedure Rules, rule 83.2 (permission to issue certain writs or warrants) legislation.gov.uk
A relevant writ or warrant must not be issued without the permission of the court where— (a) six years or more have elapsed since the date of the judgment or order; (b) any change has taken place, whether by death or otherwise, in the parties— (i) entitled to enforce the judgment or order; or (ii) liable to have it enforced against them.
Checked 2026-08-17
Civil Procedure Rules, rule 83.7 (writs of control and warrants — power to stay execution or grant other relief) legislation.gov.uk
the debtor or other party liable to execution of a writ of control or a warrant may apply to the court for a stay of execution… Where the application for a stay of execution is made on the grounds of the applicant's inability to pay, the witness statement required by paragraph (6)(b) must disclose the debtor's means. If the court is satisfied that— (a) there are special circumstances which render it inexpedient to enforce the judgment or order; or (b) the applicant is unable from any reason to pay the money, then… the court may by order stay the execution of the judgment or order, either absolutely or for such period and subject to such conditions as the court thinks fit.
Checked 2026-08-17

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