Some mortgage companies will not take on people with CCJs registered against them. However, some lenders are prepared to overlook CCJs from applicants if they relate to a past relationship, or a previous period of unemployment. 

Some banks and building societies approach applicants with impaired credit history on a case by case basis, while a number of specialist sub prime lenders will take on prospective borrowers who have had CCJs, but charge higher interest rates for the privilege.

Some lenders offer borrowers an alternative, known as a credit repair mortgage. These work by providing borrowers a mortgage at a rate which is more expensive to begin with. Following a period of between one and three years, if the borrower has made timely repayments they will be given the opportunity to switch to a standard rate without needing to remortgage.

A CCJ is a judgment from the County Courts (in England and Wales) against an individual. CCJs are issued against an individual usually as a result of them failing to meet contractual obligations with regard to payments to a lender, firm or individual.

Many people are unaware they have a County Court Judgement (CCJ) recorded against their name until an application for a mortgage is declined and the matter comes to light. For example, a small unpaid mobile phone bill which has been overlooked, could result in a CCJ being issued against a person without them knowing  because the company has been unable to trace them to arrange settlement due to a change of address.

The creditor (the person or organisation who is owed money) must have issued a default notice before being able to apply to the court for a CCJ to be issued.

Figures from the Registry Trust, the non-profit body that monitors county court judgements, reveal the number of County Court Judgments (CCJs) increased by 33 percent to 843,853 in 2006. 

See the compare mortgages section for a summary of some of the credit impaired mortgages currently available in the UK. 

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