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This more moderate approach is necessary, among other things, because the social costs of eviction, for example, are very high, Baches says. Usually, the municipality has to pay for a hotel room for an evicted family and look for alternative accommodation. In addition, the police are sometimes present during the evacuation. Or become caring for young people with family. “Society indirectly contributes to this.”

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

Evers – in a long coat – sits in his car next to the chauffeur Hermann, who had driven him through Amsterdam West that afternoon so that he would have his hands free. Evers has been a bailiff for over thirty years. In the past, he would sometimes lock the door behind him after an annoying conversation, he says. But now he’s trying to be “vulnerable” by being less forced and smiling a lot.

“I once had to ‘kick’ an 85-year-old woman out of her house,” Evers says. “You stand there while all the things are being put out in the street. You do it with great indecision and it’s very frustrating.” Evers is pleased that such situations happen often.

The number drops sharply

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

And this is while the number of people who have debts is expected to increase by KBvG in the near future. To accommodate companies during the corona pandemic, the Tax and Customs Administration has given them the option to pay payroll tax and sales tax later. Now that the Tax and Customs Administration will be collecting deferred payments, the number of bankruptcies will increase. KBvG Board Member Arjan Boiten: “People may lose their jobs and can no longer pay their rent or mortgage.” The number of people who have debt may also increase due to high inflation.

Chairman Chris Bakhis believes there will still be enough bailiffs for the coming years to handle a potential increase in the number of people with debt. “This increase will be gradual,” she says. “Parts of our work at some employers are also being digitized, such as salary capture or compensation, so that we need fewer people.”

Bailiff Evers wonders if there will be enough new bailiffs in the coming years. “Our profession doesn’t sound exciting,” he says. “I don’t think there are young people who dream of becoming a sheriff.”