How do you enforce a specific performance Order when the Defendant has not complied?

When one gets a claim for damages and the Defendant does not pay up on time the remedy is quite simple, you instruct High Court enforcement to take control of goods or you can look to get a charge on a property or whatever enforcement remedy you need in order to be able to secure the money. 

I was recently asked what to do in a circumstance where the Defendant Landlord does not carry out their remedial work as per the agreement. What do you do in that circumstance? You apply for a committal hearing or penal notice.

PART 81 – Applications and Proceedings in Relation to Contempt of Court

In accordance with CPR 81, an applicant can make an application to the Court for contempt by another party. They can do this because there has been a breach of an order.  If the Court finds the Respondent in contempt of Court, the Court may impose a period of imprisonment (committal), a fine, confiscation of assets or other punishment permitted under the law (CPR 81.9).

Many years ago I would apply for a penal notice for a failure to comply with pre-action disclosure applications. I stopped making such applications after Circuit Judge sitting in the County Court at Plymouth refused an order and said that my remedy was to issue proceedings and seek the costs incurred in the event that the failure disclose early lead to unnecessary costs being incurred. However, if your client is a tenant and there has been an Order, then you can make the application under CPR 81 for a contempt hearing, you do not need to make a penal notice first (as

If you have an agreement (Part 36 or Tomlin Order) then you will need to apply to the Court for Summary Judgment. That Summary Judgment will give the specific performance and a date for compliance. If the Landlord then doesn’t under the work then you can apply for committal. You may wish to seek a penal notice to be attached to the Summary Judgment (which is a prominent notice on the front of an Order warning that the landlord may be held in contempt of court and punished by a fine, imprisonment, confiscation of assets or other punishment under the law). However you must apply specifically for it, you cannot just include it in a draft Order and expect the Court to approve it.

Do you need permission of the court to be able to make the application?

A party needs permission from the Court to make a contempt application only in the circumstance where there is an allegation that another party has interfered with the due administration of justice (but not in the existing High Court or County Court proceedings) or it is in respect of an allegation of a party or witness knowingly make a false statement in any affidavit, affirmation or document verified by statement of truth or in a disclosure statement.

This means if it party fails to comply with an Order then the other party can apply to the Court without the Court’s permission initially. I appreciate that sounds strange, getting permission to make an application.

How do I make the application?

The approach will vary depending on whether you have proceedings already active. If you do not have active proceedings, you will need to issue Part 8. Otherwise, if you are proceeding under Part 7 you will use an N600 application form, but the rules of Part 23 apply save for you must prepare an affidavit it for the application and not a witness statement. The rules governing an affidavit can be found in CPR 32 and practice direction 32. Practice direction 32 is very clear that affidavit must be sworn before a person independent of both parties and the representatives. This means you will need to instruct a separate law firm to swear the affidavit.

Anyone who is a commissioner of oaths will be able to do this.

Will the matter proceed to a hearing?

An application does not appear to be possible on paper what would normally happen is that the hearing would take place and either they’ll be a committal straight away or alternatively penal notice will be issued. A penal notice means that if the party fails to comply with the order after receiving the penal then they will be in contempt and will be automatically liable for the relevant sanction.

It is quite a serious hearing, to the extent that both the judges and advocates must be robed and it will be in open court. It will usually be heard by a Circuit Judge but a District Judge can hear such matters if there is a practise direction that allows them to do so.

Why would a penal notice or committal application lead to a specific performance being carried out?

It’s very hard to ignore a court Order if there is a specific notice saying that their failure to undertake said work would lead to a fine, imprisonment or some other consequence. Instead it is likely that the relevant party will undertake the work out of fear of committal.

If an Order has been ignored and committal hearing has been listed then the Respondent would be gravely concerned about the consequences. It also would identify a senior member of the organisation if the landlord is not an individual, such as a director or officer of the business.

Usually the threat would be enough. Further, any reasonable costs in having to take further procedural steps should be reasonably recoverable.

Information 

AJH Advocacy Limited, a Limited Company which is regulated by the Bar Standards Boards (entity number 190758), ceases trading on the 12th January 2026.

From the 12th January 2026 and onwards, Alec Hancock will practice as a Barrister at Magdalen Chambers in Exeter. For instructions on matters on or after 12th January 2026, please contact Magdalen Chambers via clerks@magdalenchambers.co.uk or by telephone on 01392 285 200.