Mortgages with a County Court Judgement (CCJ)
A guide to getting a mortgage with a CCJ
Getting a mortgage with a CCJ can be hard. A County Court Judgement (CCJ) is a serious mark on your credit report. CCJs can cause problems when applying for credit cards, opening bank accounts, and mortgage applications.
Get in touch for a free initial, no-obligation discussion about your mortgage situation.
- What is a CCJ?
- Try our bad credit mortgage calculator
- How to stop a CCJ being added to your credit file?
- Lenders criteria: can I get a mortgage with CCJs?
- Satisfied vs. unsatisfied CCJs
- Getting a mortgage with a CCJ
- How to improve your chances of success when applying
- CCJ Mortgage Advice
- Commonly asked questions about CCJs
If you have a CCJ, getting a mortgage can be difficult. But we can help.
- We have access to the whole market, so we can find the right lender for you.
- We can make enquiries on your behalf and get you the best deal possible.
- We can set you on the path to owning your home.
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What is a CCJ?
A court can issue a CCJ against you if you fail to meet agreed repayments on a loan. Both individuals and companies can receive a CCJ. Your creditor will contact you several times before taking you to court. They will send you bills, reminders, and a formal letter of claim.
They will also tell you how to avoid court action. If you don’t respond to the claim form, the court may order you to pay the debt in full. In which case, they will send you a judgement, outlining:
- The amount you owe
- Whether you should pay in full, or in instalments
- Who you must pay
- The deadline for payment
You can avoid this by responding to the claim form and explaining your financial situation.
Your Bad Credit Situation
Different bad credit situations need different mortgage solutions. We approach mortgages for your individual needs.
Loans with Bad Credit
If you’re looking to get a secured loan or bridging loan with bad credit, you may face some hurdles. We can offer you the best advice for your situation.
Mortgage Affordability
Your affordability will always be assessed when it comes to mortgages. Read our guides to help you prepare for your next steps.
- What mortgage can I get on my salary?
- What stops you from getting a mortgage
- Can I get a low income mortgage?
- What to do if you can't afford a mortgage
- What is the longest mortgage term in the UK?
- A guide to bank statements for mortgage applications
- Obtaining a Joint Borrower, Sole Proprietor Mortgage
- Try the mortgage affordability calculator
How to stop a CCJ being added to your credit file?
You can stop a CCJ by paying the debt in full (including interest and court fees) within 30 days. If you don’t, your CCJ will be registered, meaning it will also appear on your credit history.
You can have a CCJ removed from your credit file if someone added it in error. For this, you would need the claimant to acknowledge the error to the credit agency that holds it in their records.
Once the correct credit reference agency has been contacted with the correct support documentation and evidence, the CCJ should be removed from your credit file.
A CCJ will last for 6 years on your credit report[1]The creditor can mark a CCJ as ‘satisfied’ if you pay the debt after 30 days. If it is paid after 30 days then it will remain on your credit file until 6 years has passed since the day it was registered.
Although, if it is not paid after 6 years, also known as an ‘unsatisfied’ CCJ, it will still be removed from your credit file.
CCJs are a matter of public record and will show on your credit report. How a CCJ is viewed by a lender might depend on:
- the amount involved,
- how much time has passed,
- whether the CCJ has been marked as ‘satisfied’.
Credit reference agencies are able to gather information on people’s credit habits. Lenders are able to view this information so they can make informed decisions and assess the risk when lending people money.
There are two types of financial information available: ‘credit account information’ refers to how much you owe and how you are managing those accounts.
The other type is ‘public information’ and it refers to credit issues handled by the courts or authorities including:
- Bankruptcies,
- IVAs (individual voluntary arrangements).
CCJs fall under ‘public information’. The record will be available to any third party conducting a search in the Register of Judgements, Orders and Fines.
Lenders criteria: can I get a mortgage with CCJs?
Yes, it is possible for you to obtain a mortgage if you have one or more CCJs on your record. Lender’s decisions depend on a number of CCJ mortgage criteria, including:
When was the CCJ registered?
A rule to keep in mind is that the longer ago it was issued, the better.
A CCJ registered in the last year will be more of an issue than one issued three years ago or more. A good-sized deposit will go a long way to countering the impact of a recent CCJ.
| Age of CCJ | Possible loan-to-value (LTV) effect |
| Less than 12 months
|
A maximum of £1,000 should be owed to be considered for an 85% LTV mortgage. |
| Within 24 months
|
The debt should be a maximum of £2,500 for you to be considered for an 85% LTV mortgage. |
| +2 years
|
If the CCJ is more than two years old, the amount will have little effect. However, if it is more recent, then the value will have an impact on the loan offer. |
How many CCJs you have
More than one recent CCJ will make life a bit difficult for you when applying for a mortgage. If you have a high LTV mortgage, lenders may not want to see more than two CCJs against your name from the last two years.
However, they may be more flexible if you have a large deposit and the CCJs are more than 12 months old.
The amount owed under the CCJ
If the CCJ was for a larger amount, you may have to accept a lower LTV. This could be 65%-75% – depending on the individual lender’s rules.
This essentially means you will need to put down a larger deposit, for example if the LTV was 75%, your deposit would need to be 25% of the property’s value, although, the exact LTV required will vary from lender to lender.
Whether the CCJ was marked as ‘satisfied’, and when
You’ll still have options if it is ‘unsatisfied’, although they will be much more limited compared to if you have satisfied your CCJ.
Therefore, if you can afford to pay the debt, then your chances of getting a mortgage at a competitive rate will be increased. In turn, actually saving you money in the long run because you won’t suffer as much from things like increased deposit requirements and interest rates.
Satisfied vs. unsatisfied CCJs
A satisfied CCJ is where the individual with the debt has paid it off in full. The CCJ will still remain on your credit file, but it will be marked as paid and then be removed 6 years from the date it was issued.
Many lenders will insist that the CCJ has been satisfied for a minimum of 12 months before applying for a mortgage. However, others will be happy so long as it is satisfied prior to applying.
It’s very likely that only specialist lenders will consider your application within the first few years of your CCJ being satisfied. This is because high street and mainstream lenders will deem your application as too high risk.
The specialist lenders aren’t always accessible by the general public as they only work with brokers and intermediaries. Therefore, if you want to explore your options, why not reach out, as we work with a range of specialist lenders who can help individuals with bad credit.
An unsatisfied CCJ is the opposite of a satisfied one and is where the debt remains unpaid.
If you are unable to, or do not want to satisfy the CCJ, then the date of registration is important to lenders. The more time that has passed since the CCJ was registered the better chances you will have.
Although, mainstream lenders will always most likely not be an option. Instead you will need to use specialist bad credit lenders that will take a much wider approach to your application.
Even so, they will typically require that the CCJ is at least two years old, before they will be willing to offer you a mortgage. Furthermore, after this time, the requirements set will still be different to what would be required from someone with a clean credit record.
It’s common for these lenders to require larger deposits and charge higher interest rates, as they need to offset the risk in lending to someone with a bad credit history.
Getting a mortgage with a CCJ
Regardless of circumstances, lender’s will conduct an affordability assessment. This helps them to work out how much they will be willing to offer you for a mortgage.
In the case of CCJs, the lenders may take a different approach to this assessment. As lenders will look at if the CCJ was recent, or for a larger amount, and remains unsatisfied. If accepted, the mortgage may cost you more in interest rates and fees. You might also only be able to borrow a smaller amount.
On top of this they will also look at the standard things they would assess someone with a clean credit record on, such as:
- Your income and employment status e.g. are you an employee or self-employed?
- Deposit amount
- Property type you want the mortgage on
- Any other credit issues
- Your expenses and any debts
- Your age and desired mortgage term
All these different things will factor in and help a lender determine how much you can borrow and the conditions of your mortgage term.
If you want to get an idea of your borrowing potential, why not try our quick and easy bad credit mortgage calculator.
In the UK, most lenders will require between a 5% and 10% deposit for someone with a clean credit history. However, if you have had a CCJ you can expect this to be higher.
The deposit requirements when trying to get a mortgage after a CCJ will depend on your individual circumstances. The time that has passed since the CCJ was registered, the amount it was for, the number of CCJs you have and if they are satisfied or not, will all play big part.
To put it simply, a lender will be assessing your risk as a borrower to help them determine a range of factors, one of them being your deposit requirements.
For example, if you had one CCJ from 4 or 5 years ago, then you will be seen as a lower risk than someone who just got out of two CCJs.
In turn, this means that your deposit requirements are likely to be less, providing your recent credit is in a better place and you have a steady income to support mortgage payments.
How to improve your chances of success when applying
Demonstrating to lenders that you have taken responsibility of your finances and taken steps to improve your credit can be very beneficial for your application.
A few steps you can take to help yourself and improve your credit rating:
- Paying off your debt as soon as possible shows lenders that you are responsible and can manage your finances.
- Making payments on time will also show lenders that you are reliable and trustworthy.
- Try to never utilise more than 50% of your available credit, as someone with lots of credit will be perceived as someone who is uncertain on their finances.
- Avoid regularly applying for new credit, as it can damage your credit score further.
- Dispute any inaccurate information on your credit report. This will help to improve your score.
As we have mentioned, specialist mortgage lenders are usually your best option if you have recently had a CCJ. And these lenders aren’t always easily accessible to the general public, therefore a broker or intermediary is required to pair both the lender and the borrower.
Although, this is only one of the benefits that come with using a mortgage broker like us.
Through their experience a mortgage broker will also be able to help you prepare your mortgage application, to ensure it’s presented in the best possible light to lenders. This is regardless of whether you are applying to a niche specialist lender or a big high street name.
As with any mortgage application, a lender will always assess the risk of a potential borrower to help them determine if it is worth lending to them. In turn, having a CCJ will instantly show a lender that you are risky, as you have experienced financial issues in the past, regardless of if you are now in a much better financial position.
A great way to present yourself as a lower risk borrower, even with a CCJ, is by providing a larger than average deposit. This way a lender won’t need to lend as much of their money, against the overall value of your property.
Therefore, in their eyes, if you were unable to make mortgage payments, they wouldn’t have as much money tied up and ‘at risk’ in your property.
On top of this, providing a large deposit can also allow you to unlock more competitive mortgage products with better interest rates. Which can ultimately save you money in the long run, as you won’t be paying as much to borrow money.
CCJ Mortgage Advice
Don’t let previous bad experiences with high street lenders or mainstream brokers deter you. Our specialist team works with hundreds of people in similar circumstances to yours every year. We help them to get back on track, obtain a suitable mortgage and own a home.
We’ll do everything we can to assist you in securing a mortgage with CCJs or other adverse credit events. Most of the specialist lenders who are set up to help you are not found on the high street. We have many years of experience working with specialist mortgage lenders, which means that we can help you to find a mortgage that fits your needs.
We’re unlimited mortgage brokers with access to the whole mortgage market. This means that we’re not tied to any products or packages from any lenders. Our impartiality and unlimited access means that we are able to give you honest, in-depth advice. We walk you through the processes and give you the best chance of success in getting a competitively priced mortgage.
Commonly asked questions about CCJs
Across the market there will be many lenders who will consider someone who has CCJs on their credit file. The main aspects to being accepted for a mortgage are when the CCJ was registered and the amount. Invariably, if they are deemed too recent, many high street lenders will decline the application.
Fortunately, there are specialist lenders who are specifically geared towards lending to those that have CCJs. Criteria will be very specific. When using these lenders, we strongly recommend you utilise the services of a bad credit broker. Some of the recognised lenders in this sector are:
- Precise
- Pepper Money
- Aldermore
- Bluestone
When a court rules against you, they will send you a judgement detailing:
- how much you owe (the debt amount plus any court or legal fees),
- who you should pay (not necessarily the court, more likely the creditor or their representative),
- when you should pay by and how you should pay.
If they are aware that you are in financial difficulties, the court may allow you to pay in instalments.
Criteria for loan applicants will vary from lender to lender. They will usually consider the age of a CCJ in conjunction with its size when deciding. Some lenders may be more lenient if:
- the CCJs are older than 2 years,
- if their value is less than £1,000 in the last year, or,
- £2,500 in the year before that.
If you are able to put down a bigger deposit, they are likely to be more flexible about CCJs.
Having one or more CCJs will affect what you could afford to pay on a mortgage. Because of this, it could influence what lenders are willing to offer you. The older the CCJ, the less impact it will have.
If you have more than one, and they’re comparatively recent and yet to be satisfied, this will carry more weight in their decision. As ever, if you have a sizeable deposit, then a lender is likely to be more flexible with their criteria.
If you have paid off the debt, the creditor or their agent should send you a letter confirming this. They should also contact the court to advise them you have satisfied the CCJ. This does not happen instantly, but you should request new copies of your credit reports. You confirm this through the three main credit reference agencies after a few weeks.
If it is still not showing as ‘satisfied’, then you need to notify the court right away for advice. Make sure you have a copy of the judgement details and proof of payments handy. They can provide you with a certificate of satisfaction for a small fee. You can show this to a prospective lender while your credit report details are updated.
It is never wise to sweep financial problems under the carpet. Ignoring a CCJ means in the least it will stay on your record as unsatisfied for six years. It can lead to action being taken such as a bailiff visit or a charge on your property.
References
[1] Experian, County court judgments and your credit file – How long does a CCJ stay on your credit report? (n.d.) – https://www.experian.co.uk/consumer/guides/ccjs.html
Phil Scott
Director
About the author
Phil has worked in the financial services industry since 1992, having started with a large insurance company. He went self employed in 1996 as an Independent Financial Adviser before setting up his first company, Needham Market Home Financial in 1999.
After four years, he decided to concentrate solely on mortgages and related insurances, and The Mortgage Centres was born. Since then, Phil has been influential in the opening of several new offices as the business continues to grow.
Qualifications
Financial Planning Certificate: 1,2 & 3
Year Attained: 1992
Certificate in Mortgage Advice and Practice (CEMAP)
Year Attained: 2001
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