Will an IVA stop bailiffs?

Once your IVA is approved, all creditors subject to the arrangement must stop any enforcement action, including the use of bailiffs.

An IVA only protects you from bailiffs for debts included in the arrangement.

It won’t protect you from bailiff action you’re facing for a debt that can’t be included in your IVA, such as unpaid court fines, student loans or child support arrears.

If you’re facing bailiff action for a debt you forgot to include in your IVA, you should speak to your insolvency practitioner (IP). It may be possible to add the debt to your IVA providing it existed before you applied. This would mean you’d be protected from further bailiff action connected to that debt.

 If the debt you want to add makes up more than 25% of your total debt, adding it will usually require a formal variation of your IVA. This means all of your existing creditors, plus the one you want to add, must agree to the change. Your creditors may ask for your IVA to be extended in return for allowing the debt to be added.

If the debt you want to add to your IVA makes up less than 25% of your total debt, it won’t usually be necessary to get permission from your creditors.

If bailiffs have contacted you about a debt included in your IVA, provide them with a copy of the chairman’s report you received when your arrangement was approved. This document will list the creditors subject to the IVA. Once they’ve seen this, the bailiffs should stop contacting you. If they don’t, speak to your IP.