Enforcement of civil court orders in Northern Ireland

The Enforcement of Judgments Office (EJO) is a department within the Northern Ireland Courts & Tribunal Service (an agency of the Department of Justice) and is responsible for the enforcement of court judgments in respect of money, goods and property. The EJO was established in the early 1970’s replacing old methods of debt enforcement in Northern Ireland therefore bailiffs no longer operate here.

When may the EJO be used?

A creditor (the person owed money or wants to recovery goods or property) can make a claim against a debtor (the person who owes the money, or is in possession of the goods or property) in Court. A Court Judgment may then be made giving details of what is owed or to be recovered and to whom. If this debt is not paid, or the goods or property returned the creditor may instruct EJO to enforce their court order on their behalf. Creditors must make an application to have their court order enforced using the appropriate application forms. The creditor must pay a fee to EJO up front but ultimately it will be added to the debt which the debtor must pay back.

How to address matters before the EJO become involved?

If a court order is made stating you should return goods or property you should immediately contact the creditor to arrange the return of the goods or property named on the court order.

If the court order is in respect of money, you should contact the creditor make an offer to repay the debt in full or try to arrange to pay it by installments - this should always be an arrangement you can afford to keep. If accepted, this may prevent the creditor approaching the EJO to have the debt enforced.

How does the EJO recover debts?

The first thing the EJO will do is visit your home or require you attend a pre-arranged meeting (often this will be held in your local court office or sometimes in the EJO Headquarters, Bedford House, Bedford Street, Belfast). EJO staff cannot force their way into your home but it is in your best interests to attend this meeting or to fully comply when an EJO Officer visits you.

The purpose of this meeting is to allow the EJO to complete a report on your current financial situation; this will then allow the EJO to consider how the debt may be paid back. You must bring to the meeting documents which will confirm your financial position, such as

rent books
mortgage payment books or mortgage account number
ground rent receipts, rate receipts
saving books and bank statements
pay slips
hire purchase agreements and receipts
particulars of any debts owed to you
particulars of any debts which you owe, with creditors statements
writs or other legal process which have been served on you in relation to unpaid debts, and
Value Added Tax Registration Number, National Insurance Number

You are strongly advised to attend this meeting. It can be made by arrangement to suit you but you must contact EJO to do this.

If you fail to attend a meeting with an EJO Officer a warrant for your arrest may issue and the Police Service of Northern Ireland will be required to arrest you and bring you to be interviewed.

Once the report is completed EJO will consider the best way to recover the debt.

Discussing how to pay a debt with the EJO

You may discuss with the EJO on how you intend to pay the debt. If you are open and honest in your interview and you present a realistic and reasonable offer to repay the debt it will almost always be considered favorably by EJO.

You may also make a part payment or payment in full at the time of your interview. A receipt will be provided for any payments made and you should ensure you keep it safe.

What other powers does the EJO have?

The EJO has a number of powers to enforce payment of a debt when a mutual arrangement cannot be found. These other powers come in the form of ‘enforcement orders’; the most frequent orders include -:

deductions made by an employer from a person’s wage or salary and sent to EJO (known as an Attachment of Earnings Order)
instalment Orders where fixed weekly or monthly payments are required until the debt is paid
orders Charging Land that mean any profit from the sale of a debtor’s property will go to pay off debts before the debtor receives any money
orders Appointing Receiver, where EJO intercepts money due to the debtor and uses it to pay off debts e.g. money received from a claim
garnishee Orders, where the EJO can take money directly from a person’s bank account to pay off debts
order of Seizure - the EJO also has the right to seize property and sell it off at auction using the proceeds to pay the outstanding debts. In the execution of an Order of Seizure, the EJO has the right to enter any land occupied or used by a debtor, their spouse or any of his dependants, or in some circumstances land occupied or used by any other person. The EJO will never seize essentials such as clothing, bedding, cookers, fridges, most furniture and the 'tools of your trade'.
other Powers include the power to write to persons and organisation who hold details of financial information about you such as banks building societies, employers, other government departments and agencies. They will provide the EJO will information about your affairs if you do not or cannot provide information to confirm this at any pre-arranged meeting.

Explanation of all EJO orders and powers (Courts and Tribunals Service website)

Rent and mortgage arrears – evictions

The EJO is also responsible for the enforcement of land and property orders. If you're behind with your rent or mortgage payments, your landlord or mortgage lender may get a Possession Order that, if not resolved, may lead to you being evicted from your home. In this situation, EJO staff are entitled to forcibly enter your property (even in your absence). Northern Ireland law states that the EJO must remove “all persons and their goods” when carrying out an eviction. This means your clothes, furniture and all other goods will be taken away by EJO and safely stored. To get them back you must pay a fee as advised by EJO (the fee will be the expenses incurred by EJO in evicting you). In some cases, this fee can be waived by the Chief Enforcement Officer.

Help and advice to those facing repossession (Courts and Tribunals Service website)

Arrears on Hire Purchase Goods

The EJO is also responsible for the enforcement of court orders which relate to goods on hire purchase (such as cars, boats, or caravans). In this case, the EJO will issue an Order for the Delivery of Goods. This will be served on the person required to return the goods and the EJO will arrange for the removal and return of the goods named on the court order. The EJO has the right to enter any land on which the Office reasonably believes where the goods are held.

Where to get help and advice

The EJO strongly would advise any one in debt to use the services of local debt help agencies.

the Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) helps resolve general, legal and financial problems by giving free, independent and confidential advice.
the Housing Rights Service provides excellent help to anyone facing repossession proceedings