What If I Have Nothing for Bailiffs to Take?
If you have few or no non-essential possessions, there may be little a bailiff can do — here’s what happens next.
See if you qualifyA common worry is bailiffs seizing belongings — but if you have few non-essential possessions, there may be very little they can actually take.
Essential items are protected
As covered in what can bailiffs take, the law protects items needed for basic domestic needs and reasonable tools of your trade. Many households simply don’t own enough non-essential, resaleable goods to make seizure worthwhile.
So what happens?
If a bailiff can’t enter peacefully and there are no worthwhile goods to control, they may report back to the creditor that enforcement hasn’t succeeded. The debt, however, doesn’t disappear — the creditor may try other routes, so it’s still important to deal with it rather than hope it goes away.
The right solution for low income and few assets
If you have little spare income and few assets, a Debt Relief Order may be ideal — it’s designed for exactly that situation and writes off qualifying debts after around a year. An IVA bases payments purely on what you can afford, and bankruptcy is another route. We’ll help you work out which fits.
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Free, independent debt advice is also available from MoneyHelper, StepChange, National Debtline and Citizens Advice.