UK Bailiffs: what a letter means and what to do

This page is about one company, the enforcement firm that trades as UK Bailiffs. If you want to know your rights with any bailiff, whatever firm they work for, read our main guide to what bailiffs can and cannot do. This guide covers England and Wales.

A letter from UK Bailiffs can mean different things, so start with the heading and the deadline on it. The firm itself says not to assume every letter is a debt notice: it may be a notice of enforcement, a notice about premises or land, or court papers being delivered.

Who are UK Bailiffs?

UK Bailiffs is a trading name of UK BAILIFF SERVICES LTD, company number 11337729. Companies House shows it is an active private limited company, incorporated on 30 April 2018, with its registered office in Rossendale, Lancashire, and owned by one individual. A separate company with the same registered office, UK BAILIFFS LTD (company number 12048548), files dormant accounts. The firm says it was founded in 2018.

Two points often cause confusion:

• It is not “the UK bailiffs” in general. It is one private firm among many. County court bailiffs, High Court enforcement officers and other enforcement firms are separate.
• It is not Rossendales. Rossendales is an older bailiff brand now part of Marston. UK Bailiffs is simply registered in the town of Rossendale, and Companies House shows no ownership link. See our page on Rossendales.

Is UK Bailiffs regulated?

The Enforcement Conduct Board (ECB) lists UK Bailiffs as accredited since December 2024. It is not on the CIVEA members list or in the High Court Enforcement Officers Association directory, and we found no FCA register entry for it. The ECB is independent but voluntary, and there is no statutory regulator for bailiffs yet. Anyone who takes control of goods must hold a court certificate, which you can check on the certificated enforcement agent register.

Why are UK Bailiffs contacting you?

UK Bailiffs says it acts for landlords, managing agents, housing providers, local authorities, solicitors and site owners. Its listed services are commercial rent arrears recovery, service charge arrears recovery, commercial lease forfeiture, removing travellers and trespassers from land, removing occupied vehicles, evictions from temporary and emergency housing, and serving legal documents. Find the one that matches your letter.

Unpaid rent on business premises (CRAR)

Commercial rent arrears recovery (CRAR) lets a business landlord instruct certificated enforcement agents to take control of a tenant’s goods without first going to court. It only applies if:

• the lease is in writing
• no part of the premises is let or lived in as a home
• at least 7 days’ rent is unpaid, not counting interest and VAT

UK Bailiffs’ own guidance says service charges, insurance, rates and repairs cannot be recovered through CRAR just because the lease calls them rent. If a demand includes those, ask for a breakdown. Service charge arrears have to be recovered another way, such as a court claim.

Getting business premises back (forfeiture)

A landlord with a right to forfeit a lease can take back commercial premises by peaceable re-entry, often by changing the locks. If this has happened because of unpaid rent, the tenant can apply to the county court for relief within six months of the re-entry. The court decides whether to grant relief and on what terms, and the time limit is strict, so get legal advice quickly.

Your home

If the letter is about the place you live, get housing advice straight away, for example from your council’s housing team or a free advice service. Most people who rent their home can only be evicted through the courts. Some arrangements are “excluded”, such as lodgers who share living space with a resident landlord and some council hostel accommodation, and the rules for these are different. Whether you are excluded depends on your agreement, so do not assume either way. Our guide to rent arrears explains your options if you are behind on rent.

Court papers

If UK Bailiffs has delivered court papers, it is acting as a process server and has not decided the dispute. Read the papers and note any deadline. If it is a money claim, see what to do about a court claim form.

Is the debt yours, and is it right?

Check the name, the premises, the creditor or landlord, the amount and the reference. If you think the rent is not owed, has been paid or includes charges that are not rent, tell the landlord and UK Bailiffs in writing, with copies of your evidence. The firm says to contact it if you dispute the details, have already paid or are not the named person, and that a complaint or query does not pause a deadline unless it confirms that in writing.

What can UK Bailiffs do, and what can they not do?

When UK Bailiffs enforces a debt by taking control of goods, the same Taking Control of Goods rules apply as for any bailiff, and our main bailiffs guide covers them in full.

Notice

For cases started from 1 May 2026, you must get a notice of enforcement at least 14 clear days before an agent can take control of goods. A debt adviser can ask for this to be extended to at least 28 clear days, but that extension does not apply to some business debts. Cases started before 1 May 2026 stay on the old 7-day period.

Fees

CRAR uses the standard fee scale, set by law and added to what the tenant owes.

For example, on commercial rent arrears of £3,000 in a new case, the compliance fee takes the total to £3,079. A visit adds £247 plus 7.5% of £1,100 (£82.50), so £329.50, making £3,408.50.

Goods and entry

Agents can only take control of goods belonging to the debtor, not to someone else, such as leased equipment or stock owned by a supplier. If you are an individual, work tools and equipment together worth less than £1,350 are protected. You usually do not have to let a bailiff into your home, and they cannot force entry to a home except for criminal fines, Income Tax or Stamp Duty, as a last resort. Different rules apply to business premises, so get advice if agents attend your shop or office.

Controlled goods agreements

A controlled goods agreement lets you keep goods while you pay, but you agree not to sell or remove them. If you break it, the agent must give at least 2 clear days of written notice before coming back. Only agree to payments your business can keep up.

Vulnerable people

UK Bailiffs’ vulnerability statement says it will not demand medical evidence automatically, and that possible responses include pausing, allowing time to get advice, rescheduling, or returning the instruction to the client for review. Tell the firm and whoever instructed it as early as you can.

Is this letter or visit really from UK Bailiffs?

• Use the contact details on your own paperwork or the firm’s official website, and quote the reference. The firm itself warns against using a different number supplied in an unexpected message.
• Check with your landlord or the creditor, on a number you already trust, that it has instructed UK Bailiffs.
• Ask an agent for their name and check their certificate on the register.
• Never pay into a personal account. This page deliberately does not list the firm’s contact or payment details.

How do debt solutions affect UK Bailiffs?

Most of UK Bailiffs’ work is for businesses and landlords, so the right option depends on who owes the debt.

• If you trade as a sole trader, business debts are your personal debts. An IVA is a legally binding agreement under the Insolvency Act 1986, and creditors bound by it cannot take further action to recover the debts included in it; secured debts, and debts that cannot be included, are outside it. See whether an IVA stops debt collectors and bailiffs. Bankruptcy costs £680 to apply for and is very likely to close the business.
• Breathing Space is for individuals and can pause enforcement on included debts for up to 60 days, but some business debts are not covered.
• If your business is a limited company, the debt belongs to the company, and the options are different. See business and self-employed debt.

The debt solutions comparison sets personal options side by side.

How do you complain about UK Bailiffs?

1. Complain to UK Bailiffs first, with your reference, dates and any evidence. Its policy says it acknowledges complaints within 2 working days and gives a written response within 5 working days of that, and that it may put a case on hold if a complaint raises safeguarding or serious procedural concerns.
2. Complain to whoever instructed the firm, such as your landlord or the council. If a council is involved and you are unhappy with its response, you can go to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman.
3. Because UK Bailiffs is accredited by the Enforcement Conduct Board, the ECB can review a complaint about something that happened on or after 1 January 2025, once you have been through the firm’s process. Complain within 3 months of becoming aware of the problem, or within 1 month of the firm’s final response.
4. For serious misconduct by a certificated enforcement agent, you can complain to the court on form EAC2.

What to do next

1. Read the letter’s heading and deadline, and work out whether it is about rent, premises, land, your home or court papers.
2. Contact UK Bailiffs and your landlord or the creditor before the deadline, using official contact details. Put disputes in writing and keep copies.
3. Get free advice. For personal or sole trader debts, MoneyHelper, StepChange, Citizens Advice and National Debtline can help: see where to get free debt advice. For your home, get housing advice the same day.
4. For your wider rights with bailiffs and collectors, see dealing with debt collectors.