Charging Order Threatened: What It Means and What to Do Next

A letter threatening a charging order is serious, but it does not mean somebody is arriving to take your home tomorrow.

A charging order is a court enforcement process used after a judgment. If you have received an interim order or application, there are deadlines for raising objections and important facts to check before the order becomes final.

This guide covers England and Wales.

Do these things immediately:

1. identify the judgment being enforced;
2. check the amount outstanding;
3. check whether the property is solely or jointly owned;
4. record the date the interim charging order was served;
5. keep evidence of any CCJ instalments you are paying;
6. read the objection or reconsideration deadline on the papers;
7. obtain free debt or legal advice if the property is your home; and
8. respond to the court, not just the debt collector, where a court response is required.

HMCTS says a charging order does not itself mean you must sell the property.

An order for sale would require a separate court application.

People use "charging order" to describe several different points in the process.

You might have:

• a creditor letter saying it intends to apply;
• a court application;
• an interim charging order;
• notice of a final-order hearing;
• a final charging order; or
• a later application for an order for sale.

Those are not interchangeable.

Find the heading on the actual court document and work from that stage.

Our explainer on how charging orders work gives the full structure.

A charging order is an enforcement step.

Ask:

• What CCJ or judgment is this based on?
• Is it actually yours?
• What was the judgment date?
• How much did the judgment require you to pay?
• Have you paid anything since?
• Is the outstanding balance correct?
• Was the judgment set aside or varied?

If you never knew about the CCJ or believe it was wrongly entered, the judgment itself may need urgent attention.

See how a CCJ can be set aside.

Do not assume objecting to the charging order automatically cancels the underlying judgment.

Read the service date and response instructions.

HMCTS currently distinguishes the procedure depending on which court route applies.

Civil National Business Centre

The current GOV.UK guidance says you can request reconsideration by a district judge and that the request must be received within 14 days of the order being served.

County court hearing

Where there is a hearing, HMCTS says written objections should be filed and served at least 7 days before the hearing.

Use the deadline on your papers and obtain advice if anything is unclear.

Missing the deadline can make it harder to put your evidence before the court in time.

An objection needs a reason.

Possible issues can include:

• the amount is wrong;
• the judgment has been paid;
• you are not the owner or beneficial owner of the property;
• the creditor has identified the wrong property;
• the application does not reflect payments made;
• a co-owner will be affected;
• other creditors are relevant;
• the judgment is being challenged; or
• there are other circumstances the court should consider.

If you are paying the judgment as ordered, include evidence.

GOV.UK says a charging-order application can still be made while instalments are being paid, but the judge will take that into account.

For judgments made on or after 1 October 2012, creditors can apply for a charging order even where instalments are being paid on time.

That does not remove the court's discretion or make your payment history irrelevant.

It means you should argue the actual circumstances instead of relying on an absolute rule that no longer applies.

Provide:

• payment records;
• the instalment order;
• your budget;
• equity information where relevant; and
• any evidence supporting your objection.

This can materially change how the charge is recorded and enforced.

If only one joint owner owes the judgment debt, the creditor is pursuing that person's beneficial interest.

Tell the court about:

• all registered owners;
• who owes the judgment;
• how the property is owned;
• any declaration of trust or ownership agreement;
• children or dependants living there; and
• other secured debts.

A non-debtor co-owner who receives court papers should not ignore them.

Legal advice can be particularly useful where beneficial shares are disputed.

Calculate a rough position:

property value - mortgage - earlier secured charges = approximate equity

Then consider the debtor's share of that equity.

A charging order can still be made where immediate recovery would be limited, but equity is relevant to the practical effect and to any later sale application.

Use a realistic property value, not the highest online estimate you can find.

A final charging order and an order for sale are different.

Civil Procedure Rule 73.10C allows a creditor with a charging order to bring a separate claim asking the court to order sale.

HMCTS says if an order-for-sale application is made, you can attend a hearing before the order is made.

If you have actually received order-for-sale proceedings, get legal advice urgently.

Do not treat them as just another debt-collection letter.

For a charging order securing money due under a regulated Consumer Credit Act agreement, the Charging Orders (Orders for Sale: Financial Thresholds) Regulations 2013 prevent enforcement by order for sale where the amount to be recovered is less than £1,000.

That rule is narrower than it sounds.

It applies to the order-for-sale stage in the specified regulated-agreement cases.

It does not mean:

• charging orders below £1,000 are universally impossible;
• every judgment debt is a regulated agreement; or
• an amount above £1,000 guarantees a sale order.

If the creditor is threatening sale, establish what type of judgment debt is involved.

If the debt is genuinely owed and affordable instalments are possible, a payment proposal can still be useful.

Keep it realistic.

Do not offer an amount that causes you to miss:

• mortgage;
• rent;
• council tax;
• energy;
• food; or
• other priority commitments.

Use our priority debt guide before diverting essential household money toward an unsecured judgment debt.

A free debt adviser can help you prepare an income-and-expenditure statement.

If the problem is that the CCJ instalment itself is unaffordable, there can be a separate route to ask the court to change the payment terms.

GOV.UK refers debtors to form N245 for applications to vary how and when a judgment is paid.

That is distinct from objecting to the charging order.

You may need to deal with both the judgment-payment position and the enforcement application.

Do not frame a genuine underlying dispute only as "I don't want a charge on my home."

If the judgment should not exist, get advice on:

• set aside;
• appeal where applicable;
• variation;
• payment evidence; or
• another appropriate court application.

A charging-order court is enforcing an existing judgment. The correct route for attacking that judgment can be different.

Ask for an up-to-date settlement figure and confirm:

• principal;
• judgment interest where applicable;
• court costs;
• payments already credited; and
• charging-order costs.

If you pay, keep proof and ask what is required to discharge any interim or final charge and update the Land Registry position.

Do not assume sending money automatically removes every registered entry the same day.

Do not make that decision just because an interim order arrived.

A charging order can remain as security without forcing an immediate sale.

Selling can have major housing, mortgage, tax and family consequences.

If the debt position means sale may eventually be necessary, compare an orderly voluntary sale with the risks and costs of further enforcement using professional advice.

The England-and-Wales charging-order process described here does not apply unchanged elsewhere.

Scotland uses different diligence and property-enforcement procedures.

Northern Ireland uses its own enforcement system.

Use jurisdiction-specific advice for property outside England and Wales.

Before the day ends:

• save every page of the court papers;
• identify the judgment;
• check service and response dates;
• list payments already made;
• obtain the latest mortgage balance;
• identify all owners and secured charges;
• contact a free debt adviser or legal adviser if needed;
• prepare any court objection in time; and
• keep copies of everything sent.

The worst response is assuming "charging order" means the home is already lost and therefore there is no point engaging.

Browse all our debt guides.

• GOV.UK / HMCTS — Respond to a charging order
• GOV.UK / HMCTS — Apply for a charging order
• Civil Procedure Rules — Part 73
• Charging Orders (Orders for Sale: Financial Thresholds) Regulations 2013
• GOV.UK — Pay or vary a CCJ

Related: Charging Orders Explained | How to Get a CCJ Removed | Priority Debts.