Order for sale and CCJs

A creditor may apply for an order for sale if you owe them money and they already have a county court judgment (CCJ) and final charging order against you.

If an order for sale is granted, you’ll be forced to sell your property and use the money to pay your debt.

In this guide, we look at what options you have if a creditor tries to get an order for sale against your property. This information applies to England and Wales.

What is an order for sale?

An order for sale forces you to sell your property and use the proceeds to pay your debt, even if you owe a small amount compared to the value of your property. Before getting an order for sale, a creditor must get a final charging order, which secures the debt against your property. They must also have a CCJ against you. There are two stages to a charging order: an interim and final order. Our guide on charging orders explains this in more detail.

A creditor may agree to wait until you’re ready to sell your home once they have a charging order, or they may apply for an order for sale. This depends on how quickly they want the debt paid off.

If your final charging order is agreed with a condition of regular payments and you miss or make a late payment, the creditor might apply for an order for sale.

When can’t a creditor get an order for sale?

A creditor can’t get an order for sale if both of the following apply:

your debt is covered by the Consumer Credit Act
you owe less than £1,000, including court costs

To find out if your debt is covered by the Consumer Credit Act, check your credit agreement. It should be written at the top of the first page.

Your creditor also can’t get an order for sale if you:

pay the debt in instalments
are up to date with payments
were issued the CCJ on or after 1 October 2012

If you’ve missed payments, try to catch up before the court hearing – this can prevent an order for sale being granted.

What happens if my creditor applies for an order for sale?

The court will send an acknowledgement of service form and a copy of the creditor’s claim. You have 14 days to send the form back, along with any written evidence to stop the order. The creditor then has another 14 days to reply. They can write to you asking for more time (up to 28 days). If you don’t agree, they can ask the court. If the court agrees, you may be charged a fee for this service.

You can make an offer of payment at any time. Provide a full financial statement along with an affordable repayment plan. The court may accept these terms and suspend the order for sale under the condition that you keep up with payments.

There’s always a court hearing if a creditor applies for an order for sale – it’s essential that you attend. You can get free legal advice before the hearing from Citizens Advice. The judge decides whether to issue an order for sale, not your creditor. During the hearing, they will consider:

if there’s enough equity in the property to clear the debt after paying your mortgage – a judge isn’t likely to grant an order for sale if you can’t repay the debt with the proceeds
what the property means to you and other people in the household, such as whether it’s a family home
the potential impact on the wellbeing of other occupants, including children, if the property is sold
if you can repay the debt in another way, such as through an attachment of earnings order – this takes a fixed percentage directly from your wages until you’ve paid what you owe

These points can be included in your written evidence to stop the order and you discuss them at the hearing.

What if I need more time?

Write to your creditor if you need more time – you can ask for another 14 days. If you miss the deadline, ask the court for more time by completing an N244 form. There’s a fee of £303 to do this. If the court doesn’t receive your acknowledgement of service form, you can’t take part in the hearing.

When can an order for sale be granted in court?

The court may grant an order for sale if:

the debt and property are in your name
the debt and property are jointly owned
the debt is in your name, but the property is jointly owned – this can happen but is less likely, especially if you can prove the joint owner will be severely affected

If you own the property with someone else, they should also attend the court hearing.

Your civil or married partner may attend as well, even if they aren’t a joint owner. They may be entitled to a share in the property’s value in certain circumstances, such as if they help with mortgage – this is called having a beneficial interest. The court may decide it’s unfair to force others out of the home who aren’t responsible for the debt.

Court gavel, books and scales of justice

What happens if an order for sale is granted?

If the order for sale is granted, you may ask for it to be suspended under certain conditions, such as until your children are older. The creditor won’t be able to take further action until these conditions no longer apply. This gives you more time to pay the debt.

If an order for sale is granted without a suspension, you’ll be given 28 days to either pay the debt in full or leave the property. If you don’t, the creditor can apply for another court order called a warrant of possession. This forces you to leave the property. If you’re facing homelessness because of an order for sale, speak to the court. You can also get free advice from Shelter.