Walking possession refers to the legal practice in the United Kingdom under which a bailiff takes possession of the goods of a defaulting debtor, but does not remove the goods.
After a bailiff has gained peaceful entry to the premises of a debtor, the bailiff may seize any of the debtor's goods that are found on the premises (except for certain categories of goods, such as tools of the debtor's trade). After gaining entry once, the bailiff may re-enter the premises at any time, and remove the goods at any time. The bailiff may choose not to remove the goods immediately, giving the debtor an opportunity to pay the debt (plus the bailiff's costs). In the meantime, the bailiff takes walking possession of the goods. The bailiff may ask the debtor to sign a walking possession agreement, listing the goods that have been seized and acknowledging that the debtor no longer has legal title to the goods.
Famous quotes containing the words walking and/or possession:
“There is the guilt all soldiers feel for having broken the taboo against killing, a guilt as old as war itself. Add to this the soldier’s sense of shame for having fought in actions that resulted, indirectly or directly, in the deaths of civilians. Then pile on top of that an attitude of social opprobrium, an attitude that made the fighting man feel personally morally responsible for the war, and you get your proverbial walking time bomb.”
—Philip Caputo (b. 1941)
“Let it be signified to me through any channel ... that the possession of the Floridas would be desirable to the United States, and in sixty days it will be accomplished.
...penned in the language of truth, and divested of those expressions of servility which would persuade his majesty that we are asking favors and not rights.”
—Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826)