As soon as your tenant is in arrears, whether or not you think they will pay after a few days, contact PBS immediately.  We will send a 7 day Notice of Enforcement to the tenant giving them 7 clear days to pay. This is known as the Compliance Stage.

The cost set out by CRAR for this first stage of enforcement is £75 , payable by the tenant. If the tenant pays in full within the 7 day period, there will be no further charges.

PBS do not charge landlords or managing agents, however the Taking Control of Goods Regulations dictate that, if the landlord is VAT registered, the VAT element on the tenant’s fees is payable by the landlord. If the landlord is not VAT registered, the VAT is added to the fees and charged to the tenant.

If the tenant fails to pay we then move on to second stage of enforcement, known as the Enforcement Stage.  PBS will send an enforcement agent to collect payment in full, or take control of the tenant’s goods until payment is received.

The costs to the tenant set out by CRAR for this second stage of enforcement are as follows:

For arrears of £1,500 and under – £235.
For arrears over £1,500 – £235 plus 7.5% of the arrears outstanding minus the first £1,500. As with the compliance stage fees, the VAT is payable by the landlord if VAT registered.

If, when the enforcement agent attends to carry out the enforcement stage, the tenant refuses to pay or enter into a payment plan, the enforcement agent has the right to move immediately to the third stage of enforcement, known as the Sales or Disposal Stage, and the sales stage costs will be incurred.

The costs to the tenant for this third stage of enforcement are as follow:

• Sales Stage fee of £110 plus 7.5% of the sum outstanding minus the first £1,500.
• The VAT, as with the previous two stages, is payable by the landlord if they are VAT registered.
• The auctioneer’s commission and out of pocket expenses
• Storage costs
• Reasonable disbursements incurred in respect of advertising the sale