Charges up
With property values in decline, judgment creditors will be keener than ever to seek priority over co-creditors by obtaining a charging order which can be relied on as security in the event of the judgment debtor’s bankruptcy. If that means putting off enforcement by sale until the market improves and clocking up what is becoming an increasingly handsome 8% judgment debt interest rate (where applicable) in the meantime, then “so be it”, as they might say. However, if the judgment debtor enjoys little or no equity in their property, the court is likely to refuse to make a final charging order. Other well established grounds for refusal are that the debt is too small (not defined but judgment creditors owed less than £200 could struggle before a district judge) or the application is oppressive (for example, because of delay).
The recently published Judicial and Court Statistics for last year reveal that charging order applications were up by 42% over 2006 and had increased by 722% over six years. In Yorkshire Bank Finance Ltd v Mulhall and another [2008] EWCA Civ 1156, [2008] All
