I am a freeholder of a flat where the leaseholder owes me approx £1200 in insurance, court fee's and interest and I have a CCJ for this amount. I have pursued this leaseholder through the County Court, First Tier Court, and back to the County Court and won every time. Recently I have employed the Sheriff's office to collect the money but they encounter the same problem as me - he won't answer the door or acknowledge any callers. When the Sheriff calls they can hear activity inside but get no reply. The debtor doesn't have a car to clamp so the Sheriff is "closing the file" as they say they can't do any more. What can I do? can I contact his mortgage company and ask them for payment? Any advice would be most welcome.

Hello Ford, Here is a more detailed description.... I’m a Freeholder who is suing a leaseholder for non-payment of his residential buildings insurance and a (£100) gutter repair bill. We both attended a County Court hearing in Oct’ 2016 and the Defendant claimed I had broken the terms of the lease by not choosing the cheapest insurance quote so the judge put a “stay” on the case and referred it to the First Tier Property Tribunal for a decision on whether I had acted within the terms of the lease. The Judgement or Order said “Upon hearing the Claimant and Defendant in person it is ordered that 1. This matter be stayed and the Defendants dispute be transferred to the First Tier Tribunal for determination of the reasonableness of the charges and insurance costs” In Jan’ 2017 we both attended the Tribunal hearing in central London and they found entirely in my favour, saying in their written determination “we find it well within the range of reasonable conduct for a landlord such as Mr D…. to renew the insurance policy with AXA even though that might not have been the cheapest option open to him”. On the matter of the gutter repair they found “Drawing on our expertise and experience in this area we find that a cost off £100 for such work on a suburban property is well within the range of what can properly be considered reasonable” The leaseholder subsequently applied to appeal the Tribunals decision but was refused and the case was referred back to the County Court. On 22 February I received from the County Court a “General Form of Judgement or Order” saying “Upon reading the Court file and in reading the decision dated 8 February 2017 of the First-Tier Property Chamber (Residential Property) made following the reference dated 19 October 2016 it is ordered that 1. Unless the parties file a consent order to dispose of this matter the claimant shall make an application to lift the stay imposed by the order dated 19 October 2016 and in default the claim be struck out without further order of the court. I’ve already paid for the initial court costs and the First Tier Tribunal costs, should I expect another bill for lifting the “stay”? For information, this is the 7th time in twelve years I’ve had to take this guy to court to get the insurance paid and I’ve won every time, but this is the first time I’ve encountered a “stay” order. Regards.... Lloyd

Hello again. I emailed the court again to ask if Form N244 would be acceptable and they again replied "In reply to your email, you will need to seek some legal advice as to what forms you require as court staff are not legally trained" They seem to be implying that a N244 would be the wrong form but are giving no guidance on why, and what form would be correct. I rang a random solicitor yesterday and after giving a brief description on my plight the said they wouldn't help on a already open case. Help!..... Lloyd

There is a God; the defendant has had his appeal refused and the case referred back to the County Court. I think I need Form N244 to lift the stay and get the case re-activate, I just don't know how much the fee is. Anyone have any idea as the Court telephone doesn't get answered? Thanks to everyone that responded, you were great.

I hope so but this guys partner is a solicitor so is definitely on the ball regarding making my life as difficult as possible. Regards.... Lloyd

Hello Thanks again for the reply, it is very useful. BUT! The postman has just come with the news that the Defendant has appealed against the Tribunals decision, so I've got to go through the Tribunal process again. Damn. Kind Regards..... Lloyd

Thanks very much for your guidance and very useful tips on what to put into a letter to the Defendant, I will certainly do it. I thought I would need to have an attended hearing to get the "final judgement" that would enable me to get the Sheriffs to enforce the judgement. Any idea? Thanks again.... Lloyd

I’m a Claimant who is suing an individual for non-payment of a buildings insurance which I have to arrange. We both attended a county court hearing in Oct’ 2016 and the judge put a “stay” on the case while it was referred it to the First Tier Property Tribunal for a decision on whether I had properly charged the other party. In Jan’ 2017 we both attended the Tribunal hearing and they found entirely in my favour and referred the case back to the County Court. I have now had a letter from the County Court saying I must now apply to have the “stay” lifted. Can anyone tell me how to do this please and, is there a fee? As there is no public office at the court I tried emailing them to ask which form I may need but a very unhelpful person replied that if I didn’t know I should ask a solicitor, not them. Thanks for any help or guidance you can give. Lloyd