Personal Property Security Act Seizure

The enforcement rights of a secured party are established by the Personal Property Security Act. On default, the secured party has the right to take possession of the collateral or otherwise enforce the security agreement by any method permitted by law.

Conditions

1. The Instructing Party may request that the collateral:

a) be seized physically and surrendered to the creditor or his agent

b) be put into storage to be surrendered at a later date

c) be left under a Bailee’s Undertaking with a responsible party who will turn the goods over to the Agency when requested

2 A settlement may be made at the time of seizure that is agreeable to both the Instructing Party and the Debtor. The settlement may be in the form of cash, certified cheque, bank draft, or money order unless the Instructing Party agrees otherwise.

How to Initiate a Seizure

The Civil Enforcement Act stipulates that only Civil Enforcement Agencies are authorized to effect seizures. Seizure is defined as the act of taking possession of personal property. The Act further requires that the Civil Enforcement Agency use only Civil Enforcement Bailiffs appointed by the Sheriff for that purpose. When a Bailiff is carrying out his duties under the Civil Enforcement Act, he is a Peace Officer.

A Civil Enforcement Bailiff will act on instructions received from the Agency. The Instructing Party will forward a Warrant along with The Letter of Instructions to the Civil Enforcement Agency who will review the instructions, prepare the seizure package and issue the file to an appointed Bailiff.

The Warrant

The Warrant is the document which provides the direction and authority to seize the personal property of the Debtor identified in the security agreement.  It must be completed and signed by the Instructing Party and must be given to the Civil Enforcement Agency.

Click here to fill out a warrant.

The Letter of Instructions

These are the instructions to the Civil Enforcement Agency from the Instructing Party. It should note any urgency or unusual circumstances, whether removal of the property is required, a form of indemnification , or whether the debtor is aware of any legal impediments to seizure.

Click here to fill out a letter of instruction.

Bailee’s Undertaking

When effecting the seizure, the Bailiff may leave the seized personal property with a responsible person who agrees to keep the seized property and is responsible for its safekeeping and delivery to the Civil Enforcement Agency when requested. This may in some cases be the Debtor.