Getting a Mortgage with a CCJ

A County Court Judgment (CCJ) can seriously impact your credit record and affect your ability to secure finance for up to six years. But with the right advice and guidance, it’s still possible to get a mortgage. 

Read on to find out how, with our help, you can boost your chances of getting a mortgage with a CCJ. 

What is a CCJ?

A County Court Judgment (CCJ) is a court order that can be served against you after failing to repay money you owe, usually after all other attempts to recover these debts have failed. The money owed must be repaid in one lump sum or instalments. 

CCJs are placed on the Register of Judgments, Orders and Fines for six years unless you repay the total amount within one month (along with proof of payment in writing to the court). 

If the debt is settled after one month, you can have this recorded as ‘satisfied’ (or what’s also known as ‘discharged’). However, it will still remain on the register for six years.  

How does a CCJ affect your credit score?

Regarded as a severe form of bad credit, any CCJ recorded against you will show on your credit report and reduce your overall credit score until it can be removed from the Register of Judgments after six years have passed. 

This can impact your ability to secure any type of finance, as lenders will see you as a higher-risk borrower than someone who doesn’t have a CCJ on their credit record. 

How to check if you have a CCJ

If you have a CCJ, you will have received written notification from the court when the judgement was confirmed outlining how much is due to be repaid, the timescale and frequency for repaying, and to whom the payment is to be made. 

If, for some reason, you weren’t aware or are unsure if a CCJ is still recorded against you, there’s two things you can do: 

• Download your credit reports. To get a complete picture of the information held by all three credit reference agencies, use CheckMyFile** - it’s free for the first 30 days and then £14.99 per month after that (you can cancel anytime)

• Check the Register of Judgments, Orders and Fines*. The register is available to the general public, and you can check to see what information is held in your name (there is a small fee - each search costs between £6 and £10). 

**When you click through to our affiliate links, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. We only recommend sites we trust and believe in. 

Can you get a mortgage with a CCJ?

Yes, it’s possible. A CCJ can be quite a complex credit issue, which not all mortgage lenders are willing to accept. So, you’ll stand a much better chance if you seek the help of a specialist mortgage broker first and avoid the temptation of going directly to a high-street lender. 

An experienced mortgage broker will be able to identify the mortgage lenders with the best track record of arranging mortgages for people with CCJs.  This will save you a lot of time and give your mortgage application a better chance of being accepted. 

Rather than relying on a computer to make their decisions for them, these lenders have actual humans assessing each application on a case-by-case basis. For CCJs, this involves reviewing in detail the following criteria:

• When the CCJ was first registered

• The number of CCJs registered

• How much money was owed

• Whether the CCJ has been marked as ‘satisfied’

At Haysto, our team of Mortgage Experts already has relationships with lenders who help people with CCJs secure mortgages they’d previously thought were impossible. 

We could help you achieve the same outcome. All you need to do is make an enquiry to get started. 

How does a CCJ affect your mortgage application?

Getting a mortgage with a CCJ will largely depend on when it was registered, how many CCJs you have, the amounts involved, and when the debt was satisfied. This information is important because it will determine how many mortgage lenders will consider your application. 

For example, more mortgage lenders will accept a CCJ registered over three years ago than one in the last three months.  

Every mortgage lender will assess each of these factors against their eligibility criteria, but in general, here’s how they could affect your application:

• When the CCJ was registered. The closer your CCJ gets to the six-year mark, the better your chance of getting a mortgage. Any CCJ older than three years will have a larger pool of lenders prepared to consider your application. A select few will consider applicants with a CCJ registered within the last 3-12 months. 

• The number of CCJs. Having more than one CCJ will naturally make getting a mortgage more difficult. Some lenders will only accept one CCJ, but lenders such as Pepper Money and Aldermore will consider applications with multiple CCJs. 

• The amount of the CCJ. Several high-street lenders, such as Barclays (£200)* and HSBC (£500)*, will place maximum value limits on an application, whereas most specialist bad credit mortgage lenders would have no maximum limit. 

Source: Criteria Brain

• Satisfied or unsatisfied. Most, if not all, high-street lenders will insist the CCJ is satisfied before considering your application. It’s not impossible to still get a mortgage with an unsatisfied CCJ. Depending on when it was registered, certain specialist lenders will consider this (typically, it must be more than two years old).

In a broader sense, a CCJ's overall effect is to reduce the number of mortgage lenders willing to consider your application. As a result, if you do secure a mortgage, the interest rate on your repayments and deposit requirements will likely be higher. 

This is where using the services of a mortgage broker can be so important. They can assess your situation to take account of the above criteria and help you apply to a lender offering the best terms available for these types of mortgage applications. 

How much deposit will you need for a mortgage with a CCJ?

If you have a CCJ over two to three years old, the mortgage deposit requirements are typically 10%-15%. If your CCJ was relatively recent, still unsatisfied or for a large amount, you will likely need a higher deposit (15%-30%). 

How much can you borrow for a mortgage with a CCJ?

Mortgage lenders use a multiple of your annual income when calculating how much you can borrow, typically 4.5 x salary. Having a CCJ doesn’t change this calculation. For example, if you earn £40,000 per year, you could potentially borrow up to £180,000 (4.5 x £40,000).  

However, a CCJ could affect how much you could borrow by a lender placing a limit on the maximum loan-to-value (LTV) as a condition of your mortgage offer. 

So, let’s say you want to buy a property worth £200,000. Using the same affordability calculation and without a CCJ, you could borrow £180,000, leaving a deposit of £20,000. But, with a CCJ, a lender might place a maximum LTV of 70% as a condition of the mortgage offer, which works out to £140,000, leaving a higher deposit requirement of £60,000.  

How to improve your chances of getting a mortgage with a CCJ

If you have a CCJ and want to apply for a mortgage, there’s a few steps you can take to give yourself a better chance of success: 

• Check the current status of your CCJ. Reviewing your credit record to see when your CCJ was first registered and whether it’s now been recorded as ‘satisfied’ is important. A mortgage application has a better chance of being approved if your CCJ is older and discharged.  

• Repair your credit score. A CCJ will lower your overall credit score, so it’s wise to take measures to rebuild it before you apply. This includes making sure you’re registered on the electoral roll, and managing your finances by paying all your bills and any other credit payments on time. You should also avoid applying for any other forms of credit unless absolutely necessary.

• Save as much deposit as you can. A higher deposit will strengthen your application. If you have any family members willing to help, lenders will accept a gifted deposit with a letter from the donor as evidence of the source of funds. 

• Speak to a mortgage broker. Your chances of getting a mortgage with a CCJ will be much higher if you have an experienced advisor helping you find the most suitable lenders to approach and guide you through the application process.  

Which mortgage lenders accept CCJs?

Several mortgage lenders specialise in helping people with CCJs and will assess applications on a case-by-case basis. These include Bluestone Mortgages, Pepper Money, Aldermore, Kensington Mortgages, Buckinghamshire Building Society and Vida Homeloans. 

A specialist mortgage lender will adopt a more practical approach and actively look for reasons to approve your mortgage. However, it's wise to approach a mortgage broker first rather than apply directly to a lender who may not be best placed to help with your specific case and risk being declined.