Mortgage with a CCJ

A CCJ is a judgment placed on your credit record if you fail to make your agreed repayments. Both individuals and companies can be issued with County Court Judgements.

If you get to this stage, you will be contacted by the creditor attempting to issue the CCJ. Repayment or contact for payment arrangements is required to avoid legal action. The letter of claim will outline steps you can take to stop proceedings from going ahead.

Getting a mortgage with a CCJ on your credit file is not impossible.

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Author: Carl Shave - CEO and co-founder
Last updated: 19 Mar 2024

What happens if I get a CCJ?

After you have been contacted about a CCJ, you should respond to either pay the debt or dispute it. You can explain your financial circumstances, which will be considered when a judgment is made. If you are in financial difficulties, the court may allow you to pay off the debt in instalments.

If you take no action, you will receive a County Court Claim Form.

If you do not respond to this, you might be ordered to pay the amount in full, immediately. If the court decides there is a debt to pay, you will be sent a judgment detailing:

  • How much you owe.
  • How you should pay (in full or by instalments).
  • The payment deadline.
  • Who you should pay.

An introduction to Bad Credit Mortgages

Bad Credit Topics

Whether it be late payments, defaults or CCJs, we’re here to help you secure a mortgage.

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What impact will a CCJ have on my credit file?

A County Court Judgment (CCJ) can have a serious negative impact on your credit. It can affect your chances of getting a credit card, opening a bank account, or finding a mortgage.

You do have to wait for bad credit marks to be removed from your credit file before applying for a mortgage. With the right expertise and guidance, it’s possible for you to get a mortgage sooner than you might have expected.

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How can I stop a CCJ?

Pay debt in full within 30 days to avoid a CCJ. This includes any interest and court fees. If paid within 30 days, the judgement will not be recorded against you.

If you do not pay, or plan to pay in instalments, it will be entered on the register. It will also show on your credit record.

If you are unable to pay the full amount, you may request an additional 14 days to respond. If you do not respond in time however, you may need to pay more or receive a judgement.

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How long does a CCJ last on your file?

In the UK, a CCJ stays on your credit report for 6 years

A CCJ will be marked as satisfied after 30 days if you pay the debt. Any company checking your credit score will see that you have paid.

Most people will receive written communication from the courts outlining the details of a CCJ. If you’re wondering how to check if you have a CCJ, you can do a CCJ register search. There is a small fee – each search costs between £6 and £10.

You can also request a copy of the information held about you from credit reference agencies.

 

A discharged CCJ is a County Court Judgment that has been paid in full. It will still be visible to the court and other creditors for 6 years.

A CCJ may be discharged early if you can prove circumstances beyond control.

Having a discharged CCJ will still have a negative impact on your credit score. However, it will be less severe than if the CCJ was not discharged. As time passes, the negative impact of the CCJ will gradually decrease, and your credit score will improve.

Yes, it is possible to gain a mortgage when you have one or more CCJs on your credit file. However, there are a number of key CCJ mortgage criteria that will impact a lender’s decision. These include:

  • How recently the CCJ was registered. The older, the better. CCJs registered more than 3 years ago have less impact on your credit score than those registered within the last year. One thing that will help if you have a recently registered CCJ is having a larger deposit.
  • The number of CCJs. If you have one or more recent CCJs, then your options are more limited. Typically, lenders will not want to see more than two CCJs within 2 years for high LTV mortgages. If you have a bigger deposit, they are likely to be more flexible if the CCJs are over twelve months old.
  • How much the CCJ was for. Some lenders have rules regarding the value of CCJs that affect their LTV ratio they are prepared to offer. Incidentally, that does not mean if you have larger value CCJs you cannot get a mortgage, but you should expect to have to accept a lower LTV – say 65% to 75%.
Age of CCJ Possible LTV Effect
Less than 12 months If the CCJ was registered within the last twelve months, then it should be a maximum of £1,000 for you to be considered for an 85% LTV mortgage.
Within 24 months If the CCJ was registered within the last twelve to twenty-four months, then it 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 then the amount will have little effect. If it is more recent, however, the value will have an impact on any possible loan offer.

 

  • Whether the CCJ is marked as ‘satisfied’, and when it was satisfied: if your CCJ is satisfied you will have a bigger pool of lenders to choose from, but if it is not you should still have options.

 

Status of CCJ Impact on lending
Can I get a mortgage with a satisfied CCJ? Those lenders that insist a CCJ has been satisfied fall into two categories: those that insist it has been satisfied for a minimum of 12 months before a mortgage application is made, and those that are happy so long as it is satisfied prior to the application.
Can I get a mortgage with an unsatisfied CCJ? If your CCJ remains unsatisfied – and you do not want to part with the money to see that it is – then the date it was registered is important. There are specialist lenders who will consider your application, but they are likely to insist the CCJs are at least two years old.

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Mortgage with a CCJ FAQs

When you pay off a debt, you should receive a letter confirming the debt is cleared and the creditor will notify the court, so the public register can be updated. This can take a few weeks to show.

If the CCJ still isn’t showing as ‘satisfied’ after this time, contact the court for advice (have the details of the judgment handy). For a small fee they can provide a certificate of satisfaction which you can show to a prospective lender while you sort out your credit report details.

Make sure you have proof of payments made to your creditor so if they don’t tell the court you’ve paid, you can prove you have cleared the debt. If you paid by standing order, use bank statements.

Although Having a CCJ against your name can be daunting, try not to worry. Not only can we canvass the market to help you find the right deal on a bad credit mortgage with a CCJ, but there are steps you can take to improve your credit rating.

  • Make all of your payments on time, including your rent, utilities, and credit card bills.
  • Try to utilise no more than 30% of your available credit.
  • Avoid applying for a new credit card too frequently.
  • By following these tips, you can gradually improve your credit score and rebuild your financial health.

In principle, most lenders will consider accepting an application for someone with CCJs. The most critical elements in being accepted, however, is when the CCJs were registered and how much they are for. If they are deemed too recent, then most high street lenders will likely decline you.

Specialist lenders will take a more pragmatic view and have specific criteria to cater for CCJs. Lenders such as those below usually consider those with CCJs. We regularly use these but our overall reach is much wider. Their criteria can be very exacting, so we strongly recommend using a broker.

  • Precise
  • Pepper Money
  • Aldermore
  • Kensington
  • Bluestone

Approaching a lender for a mortgage after satisfying your CCJ can help your chances of being accepted. However, a lender will not automatically approve you just because your CCJ is now settled.

The fact that it was registered in the first place is still something the lender will factor in. If you have not settled the CCJ yet and are considering repaying it to help with a mortgage, it is best to check first what impact this may have. You may even be better holding the funds back as an additional amount of deposit or to reduce an existing mortgage amount.

If you have a CCJ and have been declined for a mortgage, you may need advice from a specialist mortgage advisor. Typically, a mortgage broker who regularly deals with these types of mortgages are best placed to provide this advice. Our specially trained and qualified CCJ mortgage brokers are here to help you, contact us today for your free advice.

You can also try our bad credit calculator to check your eligibility.

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At Just Mortgage Brokers, we have a specialist bad credit team that endeavours to help our clients secure affordable bad credit mortgages with CCJs and other adverse credit events. Those with mixed credit histories are usually best served by specialist lenders that cannot be found on the high street.

With years of experience working with a network of bad credit lenders across the UK, we know exactly where to turn to find a mortgage to suit the particular needs of every client, regardless of their credit history.

As unlimited market brokers, we have access to a wide section of the market, which means we are not tied to products from any particular lender. This impartiality and unlimited access to the market gives us the very best chance of obtaining a competitively priced bad credit mortgage with a CCJ.

 

Why choose Just Mortgage Brokers for your Bad Credit Mortgage?

  • This is our speciality – it’s what we do
  • Direct access to lenders underwriters enabling us to discuss your situation in detail
  • Exclusive deals available
  • Broker only bad credit lenders available to us giving you greater choice
  • Unlimited mortgage broker – giving a wide range of lenders at our disposal
  • Great customer reviews

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