Minimum Notice Period

The statutory requirement that a debtor must be given at least 14 clear days' notice before an enforcement agent can take control of goods. "Clear days" means the day of service and the day of attendance are not counted.

If a notice of enforcement is served on a Monday, the earliest the enforcement agent can attend is the Tuesday a fortnight later: the 14 clear days run from the Tuesday after service to the Monday of the second week, and neither the day of service nor the day of attendance counts. The court can shorten or extend this period in exceptional circumstances: for example, where there is a real risk the debtor will remove goods. Any enforcement action taken before the notice period expires is unlawful.

In practice

If a notice of enforcement is served on a Monday, the earliest the enforcement agent can attend is the Thursday of the third week after service: 14 clear days, not counting the day of service, the day of attendance, or the two Sundays in between (regulation 6(2) also excludes bank holidays, Good Friday and Christmas Day). The court can shorten or extend this period in exceptional circumstances: for example, where there is a real risk the debtor will remove goods. Any enforcement action taken before the notice period expires is unlawful.