A warrant of control is a County Court order that authorises enforcement agents, commonly called bailiffs, to visit your home or business, take control of your belongings, and sell them to clear a debt you owe under a County Court Judgment (CCJ). The court only issues one after a creditor has already won a judgment and you have missed payments or failed to pay. If you have just been told a warrant has been issued against you, you still have real options: pay, negotiate a payment plan with the enforcement agent, apply to the court to suspend the warrant, apply to set the judgment aside, or ask a debt adviser about Breathing Space. The key is to act inside the seven-day notice window before an agent attends.
When the Court Will Issue One
A warrant of control is not step one in debt collection. The court can only issue it after a CCJ is already in place and you have failed to comply with it: you haven’t paid the full amount ordered, you’ve fallen behind by at least one monthly or four weekly instalments, or a deadline the court set for payment has passed.
Warrants of control also only cover certain debts. They apply to any debt regulated by the Consumer Credit Act 1974, which captures credit cards, personal loans, catalogues and similar consumer credit, and to unregulated debts of less than £5,000. For unregulated debts of £5,000 or more, the creditor has to use a High Court writ of control instead, enforced by High Court Enforcement Officers rather than county court bailiffs.1HM Courts & Tribunals Service. EX322 – What Is a Warrant of Control and What Are My Options If you have been told a High Court Enforcement Officer is attending, the rules below are not quite the same.
The £94 court fee the creditor pays to apply is added to what you owe, as are enforcement agent fees charged at each stage of the process.2GOV.UK. Form N323 – Apply for a Warrant of Control to Recover Money
The Seven-Day Notice Window
Before an agent can turn up, they must send you a notice of enforcement. You then have seven clear days to respond. Those seven days exclude the day you receive the notice, the day of any visit, Sundays, bank holidays, Good Friday, and Christmas Day.3Citizens Advice. Dealing with a Letter Saying Bailiffs Will Visit
This is the single most important week in the process. Contact the enforcement agent, either to pay in full or to put forward a realistic payment proposal. Settling before the first physical visit avoids the extra enforcement-stage fees that get added the moment an agent attends your property.
What Enforcement Agents Can and Cannot Do
Entry to Your Home
On a first visit under a warrant of control, an enforcement agent cannot force their way in. They can only enter peacefully, which in practice means through a door you open for them or one you have left unlocked. If your doors and windows are closed and locked, they cannot break in.4Citizens Advice. Dealing with a Letter Saying Bailiffs Will Visit – Check If Bailiffs Can Take Property from Your Home This is different from warrants for unpaid criminal fines or some tax debts, where forced entry can be allowed. For a standard warrant of control enforcing a CCJ, peaceful entry is the rule on that first attendance.
The picture changes if you sign a controlled goods agreement and then default on it. More on that below.
Items They Cannot Take
Enforcement agents can seize things of value such as vehicles, electronics, jewellery and business equipment. A wide range of belongings are protected, though. Agents cannot take:
- Basic household items: beds, bedding, a dining table and chairs for your household, a cooker or microwave, a fridge, a washing machine, and enough lighting and heating appliances
- Anything reasonably needed for the medical care of someone in the household, or for the care of children, disabled people, or people over 65
- Smoke alarms, security systems and safes
- One landline telephone, or if you don’t have a landline, one mobile phone
- Any vehicle displaying a valid disabled person’s badge
- Domestic pets, assistance dogs, guide dogs, sheep dogs and guard dogs
- Tools of your trade, up to a set value
Goods belonging to someone else, including items under hire purchase, lease agreements, or retention of title clauses, are also off-limits.5GOV.UK. Debt Management and Banking Manual – Where We Cannot Take Control of Goods and List of Exempt Goods
Controlled Goods Agreements
If an agent attends and you can’t pay in full, they may offer a controlled goods agreement. You keep your belongings in the home, but you formally acknowledge that listed items are under the agent’s legal control, and you commit to a repayment schedule.
Before you sign, check your name and address, the total debt including fees, the repayment amounts and frequency, and the inventory of items. Do not sign if the figures are wrong, because you are agreeing to the total stated on the form.6Citizens Advice. Making a Controlled Goods Agreement
Once the agreement is in place, you cannot sell, give away or damage the listed items. If you miss a payment, the agent can issue a notice of intention to re-enter, and after two clear days they can return and use reasonable force to get in, usually with a locksmith, to remove the goods for auction. That is the one scenario in which a warrant-of-control agent can force entry. If the original agreement was made by video call rather than in person, however, the agent cannot issue a re-entry notice and would have to start the process again.6Citizens Advice. Making a Controlled Goods Agreement
How to Stop or Delay Enforcement
Several routes exist. The right one depends on whether you owe the money, whether you can afford to pay, and how quickly you move.
Pay the Debt in Full
The cleanest way out is to pay everything owed, including the court fee and any enforcement fees already added. Contact the agent directly as soon as you get the notice of enforcement. Paying before the first visit keeps the higher enforcement-stage fees off the total.
Negotiate a Payment Plan With the Agent
If you can’t pay in one go, call the enforcement agent inside the seven-day window and propose a realistic plan. If accepted, this often becomes a controlled goods agreement that stops immediate removal of your things. Be honest about what you can afford. An offer you can’t keep up with leaves you worse off, because the agent gains stronger re-entry rights the moment you default.
Apply to Suspend the Warrant (Form N245)
You can ask the court to suspend the warrant and, at the same time, vary the payment terms of the original CCJ. The form is N245. You’ll set out your income, your outgoings and a realistic payment offer. If the court agrees, it suspends the warrant and sets new payment terms, and the agent must stop action as long as you keep up with the revised payments.7GOV.UK. Apply to Suspend a Warrant or Vary Payments Made by a Court Order
Apply to Set Aside the Judgment (Form N244)
If you never received the original court claim, didn’t know about the CCJ, or don’t actually owe the money, you can apply to have the judgment set aside. This uses Form N244 and carries a court fee of £313. You attend a private hearing to explain why the judgment shouldn’t stand. If the court agrees, the CCJ is cancelled and the warrant falls away with it.8GOV.UK. County Court Judgments for Debt – Cancel the Judgment
This route is most useful where a CCJ was entered “in default” because you never responded to the original claim, often because you never received it. Simple disagreement with the amount isn’t enough. You need a genuine defence to the debt, or proof that procedural rules weren’t followed.
Breathing Space
The Debt Respite Scheme, known as Breathing Space, gives you legal protection from enforcement while you get debt advice. A standard Breathing Space lasts up to 60 days, during which creditors and enforcement agents must pause action and most interest and charges on your debts are frozen. A mental health crisis Breathing Space lasts for the duration of your crisis treatment plus 30 days.9GOV.UK. Debt Respite Scheme (Breathing Space) Guidance for Creditors
You cannot apply for Breathing Space yourself. A qualified debt adviser has to assess your situation and submit the application. To qualify, you must live in England or Wales, you must not already be in a debt relief order, individual voluntary arrangement or bankruptcy, and you must not have had a standard Breathing Space in the previous 12 months. Once it starts, creditors cannot take control of your goods, apply for new warrants, or even contact you about the debt.9GOV.UK. Debt Respite Scheme (Breathing Space) Guidance for Creditors
Why Fees Make Speed Matter
Enforcement agents charge fees at three stages: a compliance stage fee when the notice of enforcement is sent, an enforcement stage fee when an agent visits your property, and a sale stage fee if your goods are removed and sold at auction. On larger debts, a percentage of the debt can be added on top of the fixed fees. The £94 court fee sits on top of all of that. Every stage you allow to go ahead adds to what you ultimately owe, which is why calling the agent in the first few days is almost always the right move.
What to Do Right Now
If a notice of enforcement has just landed, don’t ignore it. Contact the enforcement agent inside the seven-day window and either pay or propose an arrangement. If even a modest payment is out of reach, speak to a free debt adviser immediately. StepChange, Citizens Advice and National Debtline can help you work out whether suspending the warrant, setting aside the judgment, or Breathing Space is the right fit. Doing nothing is the worst outcome: fees mount, the agent’s powers grow at each stage, and your options narrow the longer you wait.