Part 2 — Civil Enforcement Agencies and Bailiffs
13 Conditions governing civil enforcement proceedings
enforcement proceedings may be taken.
(2) For the purposes of carrying out civil enforcement proceedings,
the following applies:
(a) a bailiff has the right to enter any location or premises of a
debtor for the purposes of carrying out
(i) the seizure and the removal, or either of them as the case
may be, of property of the debtor, or
(ii) the eviction of a debtor;
(a.1) where a bailiff has reasona ble grounds for believing that
personal property of a debtor is located at a location or in
premises of a person other than the debtor, the bailiff has the
right to enter that location or those premises for the purposes
of carrying out the seizure and the removal, or either of
them as the case may be, of personal property of the debtor;
(b) notwithstanding clause (a.1), in the case of any location or
premises of a person other than a debtor, a bailiff shall not
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(i) enter, or attempt to enter, t he location or premises after
entry has been refused, or
(ii) use force for the purpos es of gaining access to the
location or premises,
unless authorized to do so by an order of the Court;
(c) notwithstanding clauses (a) , (a.1) and (b), in the case of a
residence of a debtor or other person, a bailiff shall not
(i) enter the residence except in the presence of a person
whom the bailiff believes to be an adult who lives in the
residence,
(ii) enter the residence after entry has been refused, or
(iii) use force for the purpos es of gaining access to the
residence,
unless authorized to do so by an order of the Court;
(c.1) a bailiff may use force bu t only reasonable force for the
purpose of gaining access
(i) to a location or premises, other than a residence, of a
debtor, or
(ii) where authorized by an order of the Court, to a location
or premises of a person other than a debtor or to a
residence;
(d) a bailiff who has gained lawful entry to a location or
premises may gain entry by any means that are appropriate
in the circumstances to
(i) any enclosure or container, or
(ii) any interior room of the premises;
(e) where a bailiff has used force to gain entry to a location or
premises, the bailiff must make that location or premises
reasonably secure before leaving the location or premises;
(f) a seizure is valid notwithstanding any irregularity in the
procedure by which it was carried out;
(g) notwithstanding clause (f) , the Court may order a seizure to
be discontinued where the Court is satisfied that a person
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has been or is likely to be prejudiced by an irregularity in
the procedure by which the seizure was carried out;
(h) a bailiff, at the time of seizure or at any time after carrying
out the seizure, may remove for safekeeping the personal
property that is under seizure;
(i) a bailiff may appoint the debtor or some other person as
bailee of the personal property that is under seizure if the
debtor or other person signs an undertaking
(i) to hold the property for the bailiff and the agency, and
(ii) to deliver up the property to the bailiff or the agency on
demand by the bailiff or agency;
(j) a debtor who has possession of or control over personal
property that is under seizure and has been served with the
seizure documents or the documents authorizing the
carrying out of the distress in respect of that property
(i) holds that property as bailee for the bailiff and the
agency, and
(ii) must deliver up that personal property to the bailiff or
the agency
(A) when required to do so by the bailiff or the agency,
and
(B) at a location specified by the bailiff or the agency,
whether or not the debtor has signed an undertaking referred
to in clause (i);
(k) where a person
(i) is under a duty to deliver to a bailiff or an agency
personal property that is under seizure, and
(ii) defaults in delivering the personal property to the bailiff
or agency within a reasonable time after being required
to do so by the bailiff or the agency,
the Court on application may ho ld that person liable for civil
contempt and award damages and costs against that person.
RSA 2000 cC-15 s13;2002 c17 s1(5)
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