What is a CCJ?
A County Court Judgement (CCJ) is a court order that can be registered against you if you fail to repay money you owe. It's one of the more serious forms of adverse credit and stays on your credit file for 6 years.
How CCJs Affect Mortgage Applications
CCJs make mortgage applications more difficult but not impossible. High street banks will typically decline you, but specialist lenders exist specifically to help people in this situation.
Factors lenders consider with CCJs:
- How old is the CCJ? (older is better)
- Has it been satisfied (paid)? (satisfied is better)
- How much was it for? (smaller is better)
- How many CCJs do you have? (fewer is better)
- What was it for? (some causes viewed more sympathetically)
- How's your credit been since? (clean recent history helps)
Satisfied vs Unsatisfied CCJs
If you pay the debt within one month of the CCJ being issued, you can apply to have it removed from the register entirely. If you pay after one month, the CCJ remains but is marked as 'satisfied', which is viewed much more favourably by lenders.
If you have an outstanding CCJ, consider paying it before applying for a mortgage. Even if it's old, an unsatisfied CCJ looks worse than a satisfied one to lenders.
Deposit Requirements
With CCJs on your file, you'll typically need a larger deposit. While some lenders may consider 15%, most will want 20-25% or more, especially for recent or unsatisfied CCJs.
Which Lenders Accept CCJs?
Specialist adverse credit lenders have criteria specifically designed for people with CCJs. Some will consider applications even with recent or unsatisfied CCJs, though terms will reflect the risk.
Examples of CCJ-friendly criteria:
- Some lenders accept satisfied CCJs from day 1
- Others require 1-2 years since the CCJ was registered
- Maximum CCJ values vary (often £500-£5,000 total)
- Some ignore CCJs under a certain value (e.g., £300)
- Unsatisfied CCJs usually need longer time passed
Be honest about your CCJs. Lenders will find them on your credit file anyway, and being upfront helps us find the right lender for your situation first time.
Improving Your Chances
While you can't remove a CCJ from your file (unless it was issued incorrectly), you can improve your chances of approval.
Steps to improve your CCJ mortgage chances:
- Pay off the CCJ if possible (get it marked as satisfied)
- Save a larger deposit (25%+ opens more options)
- Maintain clean credit since the CCJ
- Use a specialist broker (like us!) who knows which lenders suit your situation
- Be patient - time passing helps as the CCJ ages