“Bailiffs in the Netherlands: A Shift towards Prevention instead of Seizure”

Also read this piece about bailiffs: One man’s fault is another man’s business model

This milder approach is necessary, among other things, because the social costs of an eviction, for example, are very high, says Bakhuis. Usually, the municipality has to pay for a hotel room for a family that has been evacuated and look for alternative accommodation. In addition, the police are sometimes also present during an evacuation. Or youth care becomes involved with the family. “Society indirectly contributes to this.”

Everyone thinks bailiff is a terrible profession, says Bas Evers. Mainly because of the book Character by the Dutch writer F. Bordewijk, he thinks, in which one of the characters is a ruthless bailiff who abuses his power. “As a result, people still see a grumpy man in a long coat.”

Evers is sitting – with a long coat – in his car next to driver Herman, who drives him through Amsterdam-West that afternoon so that he has his hands free. Evers has been a bailiff for over thirty years. In the past, he sometimes slammed the door behind him after an annoying conversation, he says. But now he is trying to be “vulnerable” by being less coercive and smiling a lot.

“I once had to ‘evict’ an 85-year-old woman from her house,” says Evers. “You stand there while all the stuff is put on the street. You do that with great reluctance and that is extremely frustrating.” Evers is pleased that such situations occur less often.

Number is declining sharply

The result of the more lenient working method is that there is less work to be done and, partly as a result of this, the number of bailiffs has fallen sharply in recent years, says Evers. In 2017 there were still 796 bailiffs in the Netherlands. Today there are 631. The profession is also aging rapidly. The vast majority are 45 to 65 years old. There are only twelve bailiffs between the ages of 20 and 30.

And that while the number of people with debts is expected by the KBvG to increase in the near future. To accommodate companies during the corona pandemic, the Tax and Customs Administration gave them the option of paying payroll tax and sales tax later. Now that the Tax and Customs Administration will collect the deferred payments, the number of bankruptcies will increase. KBvG board member Arjan Boiten: “People may lose their jobs and can no longer pay the rent or mortgage.” The number of people with debts may also increase due to the high inflation.

Chairman Chris Bakhuis thinks that there will still be enough bailiffs for the coming years to cope with the possible increase in the number of people with debts. “That increase will be gradual,” she says. “Parts of our work are also being digitized at some employers, such as seizing a salary or benefit, so that fewer people are needed.”

Bailiff Evers wonders whether there will be enough new bailiffs in the coming years. “Our profession does not seem sexy,” he says. “I don’t think there are young people who dream of becoming a bailiff.”