A house was bought at auction, but the previous owner refused to move out.

In recent years, the Department of Legal Execution has streamlined its procedures for auctioning real estate seized in various cases, and has extensively advertised these auctions, making them more popular among the general public.

However, one common question remains: what should a buyer do if the previous owner refuses to vacate the property after purchasing it from a Department of Legal Execution? This article will address this issue.

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Relevant Laws Regarding Auctioned Properties Where the Previous Owner Refuses to Occupy

Section 334 of the Civil Procedure Code addresses this:

“Section 334 When an enforcement officer transfers the property to a buyer, if the property is occupied by the judgment debtor or their dependents, and the judgment debtor or their dependents refuse to vacate the property,

The buyer is entitled to file an ex parte application with the court in whose jurisdiction the property is situated to issue an enforcement order to compel the judgment debtor or his dependents to vacate the property, applying the provisions of Section 271, Section 278 paragraph one, Section 351, Section 352, Section 353 paragraph one (1) and paragraph two, Section 354, Section 361, Section 362, Section 363, and Section 364 mutatis mutandis.

The buyer shall be deemed to be the judgment creditor, and the judgment debtor or his dependents residing in the property shall be considered the judgment debtor under the said provisions.”

The above section of the law is a recently amended law from 2017 to protect buyers of property from auction, allowing them to immediately enforce judgments against judgment debtors or their dependents without having to file a new lawsuit. The law can be considered in terms of its components as follows:

– Who is protected?
The text uses the term "buyer" (who has received the transfer of the property from the enforcement officer), which refers to the buyer of property from an auction conducted by an enforcement officer. The Department of Legal Execution itself.

– Protection from whom?
From the judgment debtor and their dependents (dependents refer to those residing in the property based on the judgment debtor's rights).

– How are they protected?
A buyer of property at auction will have the same rights as a judgment creditor. They can immediately request the court with jurisdiction over the property to enforce the eviction judgment (Sections 271, 278 paragraph one, 351, 352, 353 paragraph one (1) and paragraph two, 354, 361, 362, 363, and 364 concern the enforcement of an eviction judgment).

Once the court receives the request for an enforcement order, the court has the power to issue the order without first hearing or examining the judgment debtor or their dependents.

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What is the effect of this protection?

The effect is that a buyer of property at auction can immediately request the court to issue an eviction enforcement order as if they had won the eviction case according to the judgment. There's no need to file a new lawsuit, saving significant litigation time—at least one year in the court of first instance, at least six months to a year in the appellate court, and several years in the Supreme Court (if applicable). This protects buyers of property at auction by enforcement officers and incentivizes more people to purchase property.

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What should those residing in the property who are not the judgment debtor or their dependents do?

The above law applies only to the judgment debtor or their dependents. However, if there are other individuals residing in the purchased property, the buyer must proceed as normal, filing a civil lawsuit until a judgment is rendered in their favor (which also takes time as mentioned), and then requesting the court to issue an eviction order.

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The rights differ for those buying houses at auctions not conducted by the Department of Enforcement.

As mentioned above, this law protects only those who purchase property at auctions conducted by enforcement officers of the Department of Enforcement. Buyers of real estate through other methods must proceed with a normal civil eviction process and cannot request the court to issue an eviction order as if they were judgment creditors.

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Thank you for the valuable information from DD Property.