Attachment (udlæg)
Also known as levy of execution, attachment proceedings, distraint, udlægsforretning, udpantning
An attachment is the bailiff's court's security in the debtor's assets — the right to have them sold at compulsory auction if the debt remains unpaid.
In practice
An attachment is not payment. It is a security right: the bailiff’s court records that you have a claim against a specific asset, and that the asset can be sold if the debt still is not paid. An attachment on a car is recorded in the vehicle register (bilbogen); an attachment on real property is registered in the land register.
An attachment gives you a place in the queue. If other creditors hold attachments over the same asset, time priority governs: first come, first served. It is one of the reasons why waiting to go to the bailiff’s court rarely pays.
Not everything can be attached. The exemption for necessities (trangsbeneficiet) protects what a debtor and their family need for a modest home and a modest standard of living — and, in practice, a living allowance out of their wages as well.
Where it commonly goes wrong
- Believing the attachment is money. The attachment has to be realised. Without a subsequent compulsory auction or voluntary payment, it remains nothing more than security.
- Waiting. Once three other creditors hold attachments over the car, there is nothing left to collect. Priority is decided by who got there first.