CCJ Problems

[ben85]

Hello people.

Basically I'm in a bit of a hole. Around 4 months ago both me and my brother were issued with CCJ's after we left a rented property owing rent.

Not only were the CCJ's issued/served to the wrong address (our parents address) i.e. we could not even dispute them due to not receiving them there were several mitigating factors in why I left owing rent.

The property was in a state of disrepair (no hot water or heating as a result of the boiler being broken for our final 2 months in the property) and as a result I refused to pay the final two months rent as the landlady made no attempts to repair this - despite me reporting it to her THREE times.

Despite this my brother decided to continue to pay his half of the rent but as I've stated above we were both later issued with a CCJ by the landlady for the two months arrears plus some fabricated damages/cleaning costs.

My main area of concern is that brother works in the Financial Sector and is at risk of losing his job as his contract states he is not allowed any CCJ's in his name (due to the nature of his work and dealing with other peoples money). I'm obviously not happy about the CCJ in my name but as a minimum I would like it to be transferred into my sole name as like I said he did even pay his half of the rent.

What can I do? We are running out of time with my brother and his employer. Any help is appreciated! Many thanks

[hc4361]

You should never stop paying rent in those circumstances. There are proper procedures and steps to follow to make the landlord carry out the repairs.
Are you able to prove the repairs needing doing and that you asked the landlord several times?
You cannot transfer the debt solely to your name. The best you can do is pay the money you owe as soon as possible.

[ben85]

Well yep I'm aware of that now. There is not much I can do to prove that the boiler wasn't working! It was a long time ago now. I'm probably wasting my time on this site if the best advice I can get is 'pay the money you owe'. Thanks anyway.

[themas]

1. You can apply to Court for a "set aside" order. The judge only has to grant this if convinced the outcome of the case would have been very likely to be different had you known about it before the CCJ was granted. If granted, set aside means the CCJ does not exist & never has.

2. The main reason you can give for wanting set aside is your brother's employment problem - i.e. that he would have made very certain the debt was paid when the Court claim was issued as he knew he could not have a CCJ. Of course, this will not work unless he/you actually can pay off the debt. I do not know whether you should pay it before applying for an order (you need advice on this either from the Court office or from an experienced money adviser) - it may be that the Court would not hear an application if you had already paid - but if not you must be able to demonstrate the means to pay it immediately an order is granted.

3. The legal position is - as with any joint debt - that you & your brother are both jointly & severally liable for the full amount of the rent. This is why he has a CCJ as well as you.