Getting a CCJ for unpaid rent

A CCJ for rent arrears is a county court judgment ordering your former tenant, or a guarantor, to pay the rent they owe. You get one by bringing a money claim and winning it, or by default if they don't respond. If the judgment isn't paid, you can apply to enforce it, for example with an attachment of earnings order (£139) or a warrant of control (£96). A CCJ stays on the public register for 6 years unless it is paid in full within one month.

This page covers landlords in England. For the steps before a claim, see the rent arrears guide.

How to get a CCJ for rent arrears

1. Send a letter before claim and allow 30 days for a reply, following the Pre-Action Protocol for Debt Claims. Use the letter before claim template.
2. Issue a money claim online or on paper form N1. See Money Claim Online for rent arrears.
3. Get judgment:
   • if the defendant doesn't respond, request default judgment online or on form N225 or N227;
   • if they defend a claim of £10,000 or less, it goes to free HMCTS mediation first, then a hearing if needed.

If the tenant was still in the property when you claimed possession, you may already have a money order for the arrears from the possession claim. That order can be enforced in the same ways as a CCJ, so you don't need a new claim. See claiming rent arrears in your possession claim.

What a CCJ means for the former tenant

• It is entered on the Register of Judgments, Orders and Fines and stays there for 6 years.
• If it is paid in full within one month, it is removed.
• If it is paid later, it can be marked as satisfied (form N443, £19).
• Anyone can search the register at trustonline.org.uk.

Enforcing a CCJ: your options and the fees

If the judgment isn't paid, you choose how to enforce it. These are the fees from 13 July 2026:

Method	What it does	Form	Fee
Order to obtain information	The debtor must answer questions about their income, assets and debts	N316	£69, plus £139 if a bailiff serves the order
Warrant of control	County court bailiffs act to recover the debt; for debts up to £5,000	N323	£96
Writ of control	High Court enforcement officers act; for debts of £600 or more	N293A + writ	£82
Attachment of earnings order	Payments are taken from the debtor's earnings	N337	£139 per defendant
Third-party debt order	Money owed to the debtor by a third party, such as a bank, is used to pay you	N349	£139 per third party
Charging order	The debt is secured against property the debtor owns	N379	£139 per order
Judgment summons	The debtor is summoned to court over the unpaid judgment; take advice before using it	—	£139

Between £600 and £5,000 you can use either a county court warrant or a High Court writ of control.

Choosing an enforcement method

What you know about the debtor	A method to consider
Nothing reliable	Order to obtain information first
They are employed	Attachment of earnings order
They have goods of value	Warrant of control or writ of control
They have money in a bank account	Third-party debt order
They own property	Charging order

Fees add up, so start with the method most likely to work. If the debtor has no income or assets, enforcement may recover nothing.

If your judgment is against more than one person, such as two joint tenants, or a tenant and a guarantor, check how each fee is charged: an attachment of earnings order costs £139 per defendant, and a third-party debt order £139 per third party.

Keep a running record of anything paid after judgment. When you apply for enforcement you need to give the correct balance, and asking for more than is owed causes delay.

Worked example

You get default judgment for £2,400 against a former tenant in December 2026. Nothing is paid within a month, so the CCJ stays on the register.

1. You apply for an order to obtain information (£69). The answers show the former tenant is employed full time.
2. You apply for an attachment of earnings order (£139), so payments come from their earnings.
3. Your enforcement fees so far: £208, on top of the original issue fee of £115 for a £2,400 claim.

Breathing Space and enforcement

If the debtor enters a debt respite Breathing Space, enforcement must stop. The court won't issue warrants or writs, and you must not contact them about the debt or add interest, fees or charges while it lasts. You can carry on once it ends. See Breathing Space and rent arrears.

Mistakes to avoid

• Applying for several enforcement methods at once without knowing the debtor's finances.
• Forgetting a money order you already have from the possession claim.
• Enforcing during a Breathing Space.
• Budgeting with fees from before 13 July 2026, when most court fees went up.

What to do next

If you don't have a judgment yet, start with Money Claim Online for rent arrears. For all the ways to recover money from a tenant who has gone, read recovering arrears after the tenant has left. The full fee list is on possession claim court fees.