Editing Distraint (section)

==Procedure==
The goods are held for a given amount of time, and if the rent is not paid, they may be sold.{{Citation needed|date=October 2007}} The actual seizure of the goods may be carried out by the landlord, the landlord's agent, or an officer of the government, a [[bailiff]] or [[sheriff officer]] in the United Kingdom or a [[sheriff]] or [[marshal]] in the United States.

Certain goods are protected against distraint; these are called "privileged goods". Such goods include, for example, goods belonging to the state, [[fixture (property law)|fixtures]], goods delivered to the tenant or debtor for business purposes, the goods of a guest, perishable goods (e.g. food), livestock, gas, water, electricity, and tools of the tenant's trade.

Forced entry is usually not permitted by the distraint officer, but in the UK, in the event of entry being refused to the HMRC distraint officer, HMRC can apply for a break open warrant under section 61(2) of the [[Taxes Management Act 1970]]. This permits forced entry to the debtor's premises by the HMRC distraint officer. Any additional costs incurred from obtaining the warrant are passed onto the debtor and added to the debt to be collected by distraint.

Also in the UK, forced entry is also permitted if the distraint warrant is for amounts of a criminal nature, for instance court fines. The use of forced entry for these purposes is covered in the [[Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act 2004]].<ref>{{Cite legislation UK |type=act |year=2004 |chapter=28 |act=Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act 2004 }}</ref>{{primary-inline|date=May 2018}}