On 21 March 2016, amended fees orders came into force in both the Civil and Family jurisdictions.

In the Civil jurisdiction, the increases relate to general application fees and possession claim issue fees.

Possession claims

• Fee 1.4(b) – Proceedings issued in County Court: increase from £280 to £355
  Fee 1.4(c) – Proceedings issued via Possession Claim Online (PCOL): increase from £250 to £325

General applications

For the purposes of fee collection, there will now be two types of general applications in Civil:

• Applications made under s.3 of the Protection from Harassment Act 1997 (in effect, a type of injunction) or applications made for a payment from Court Funds; and
• Applications for any other reason

Fee 2.4 – an application on notice, will become fees 2.4(a) and 2.4(b)

• Fee 2.4(a) – an application on notice (unless fee 2.4(b) applies): increase from £155 to £255
• Fee 2.4(b) – an application on notice: under s.3 of the Protection from Harassment Act 1997; or for a payment out of Court Funds: remains at £155

Fee 2.5 – an application by consent or without notice, will become fees 2.5(a) and 2.5(b)

• 2.5(a) – an application by consent or without notice (unless fee 2.5(b) applies): increase from £50 to £100
• Fee 2.4(b) – an application by consent or without notice: under s.3 of the Protection from Harassment Act 1997; or for a payment out of Court Funds: remains at £50

Insolvency proceedings

The fees for applications within Insolvency proceedings are not affected by these changes.

Impact on enforcement

The increase in relation to on notice applications will effect applications by debtors to set aside judgments, because these are almost always heard on notice.

Applications by debtors for a stay of execution are usually dealt with on a without notice basis so will not be affected.

The following applications, generally made by the High Court Enforcement Officer (HCEO) will attract the higher fee rate as they are heard on notice:

• Applications pursuant to CPR 85 – Interpleader
• Applications for leave for sale by private treaty
• Applications for a warrant to force entry
• Applications for a summary assessment of the fees charged

The following applications are issued on a without notice basis so will not be affected:

• Applications for leave to attend third party premises
• Applications for leave to waive the notice of enforcement
• Applications for exceptional costs

Article Source: The Sheriffs Office