Bailiffs recovering money due to the Inland Revenue and Customs and Excise are legally allowed to break into your house provided they have a Magistrates' Warrant.

Bailiffs recovering unpaid Magistrates' fines such as Council Tax or fixed penalties are legally allowed to break into your house.

Bailiffs with a Court Possession Order are allowed to break into your home to evict you in the case of mortgage or rent arrears.

Bailiffs brought in for any other purpose are not allowed to force an entry e.g. unpaid utility bills, credit card bills or any other creditors. You do not have to let them in the first time they call or second or third or however many times they call. In practice they are unlikely to call more than three times.

Once you have let them in however, they are legally allowed to break in the next time they call.

All bailiffs are allowed to make a peaceable entry. i.e. enter through an unlocked door or through an open window. This applies to the house and garage and garden outbuildings.

Once in,  they are not allowed to take the tools you need for work, essentials such as clothing, bedding, cookers and fridges. They are also not allowed to take a cheap car as this may be essential for work. They are allowed to take it if it is parked nearby not just if it is parked on the drive.

They can take goods not belonging to you (unless you can prove it ), washing machines and jointly owned goods.

Bailiffs should by law always give notice of their first visit.

If they force an illegal entry you should call the police and report them to Trading Standards. Bailiffs have been criticised by the CAB for being a law unto themselves. There are also some overlapping issues such as to take a computer from a builder might be considered fair but to take one from someone who uses it to work from home on, should be considered essential for work. Visa versa for tools.

The subject of bailiffs, what they can and can't do legally is made even more difficult to quantify by what they actually do.

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