Can bailiffs enter if only a child is at home?

Age below which a person is a child under the regulations

Under 16

Compliance stage fee (notice sent)

£79

Enforcement stage fee (first visit)

£247Added whether or not anyone answers

Cases with vulnerability identified, Jan–Jun 2025

177,618

What the law says

Regulation 10 of the Taking Control of Goods Regulations 2013 bars an enforcement agent from entering premises, or taking control of goods, where a child or vulnerable person is the only person present. The regulations define a child as a person under 16.

The rule applies to both steps: entry and taking control. An agent who finds that only a child under 16 is present must not cross the threshold, must not list goods, and must not begin any enforcement action at the property. The same rule applies when the only person present is a vulnerable adult, or when the only people present are a mix of children under 16 and vulnerable adults.

What the agent must do on finding only a child is present

The regulations do not specify a script, but the rule is clear: the agent must not enter or take control of goods. In practice that means leaving the property without conducting any enforcement. The agent may leave paperwork — for example a letter or a notice — but cannot go inside or deal with the child about the debt.

An enforcement agent is not permitted to enter into a controlled goods agreement with someone who appears not to understand its effect. A child under 16 would fall squarely within that restriction. Controlled goods agreements are explained separately.

The agent can, and likely will, return on another occasion when an adult is present. When that happens, the enforcement process continues from where it left off.

What happens after the agent leaves

A visit that ends because only a child is home does not cancel the debt or stop the fees. The debt itself remains, and the enforcement stage fee of £247 is added from the first attendance at the property whether or not anyone was able to deal with the agent. The agent can return.

With a car or without one, for most debts £79 is added when the notice is sent and £247 on the first visit. A vehicle parked outside — on the drive or on a public road — can be clamped even if no one answers the door. A clamped vehicle must be left for at least 2 hours before it can be removed.

The debt itself is not cancelled. It goes back to the creditor, who has other ways to collect it, if the enforcement firm returns the case. More commonly, the firm will simply arrange a return visit.

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When the person who answers is 16 or 17

The regulation uses the threshold of 16. A person who is 16 or 17 is not a child within the meaning of the regulations, so the automatic bar on entry does not apply on that ground alone. However, the agent must still consider whether that person appears to be vulnerable. The Enforcement Conduct Board and the National Standards that firms are expected to follow treat vulnerability as something agents must actively look for, not wait to be told about.

A 16 or 17 year old who does not understand what is happening, who is distressed, or who appears unable to deal with the situation may well meet the vulnerability threshold even if they do not meet the age one. What the rules say about vulnerable people is set out on a separate page.

If an agent enters when only a child is present

Entry, or taking control of goods, when only a child under 16 is present is a breach of the regulations. A complaint can be made to the enforcement firm, to the creditor that instructed it, and then to the Enforcement Conduct Board if the firm is accredited. A court can order goods to be returned or damages to be paid where an agent has broken the rules.

The ECB’s figures for January to June 2025 recorded 4,691 complaints made to firms in that period. The complaints process — including what to put in a complaint and how to escalate it — is explained on the how to complain about a bailiff page.

What goods taken outside are affected

The restriction on entry does not protect things kept outside. A vehicle on the drive or on a public road can be clamped, and the agent does not need to have spoken to anyone inside the property to do so. Goods are taken away in a small share of cases: 2,624 of almost 3.7 million in January to June 2025, most often a clamped vehicle. What happens far more often, with a car or without one, is cost. Of the cases that ended in payment in that period, 64% were paid at the enforcement stage or later, after an agent’s first visit had added the larger fee. The average fee collected on a case paid in full was £201, on the lower fees then in force.