Interim Charging Order on my property in my ex name where do i stand ??

[debbie251]

my friend is currently splitting with his ex partner and have been discussing the sale of his house and custody of the children. whilst this is being done they are all still living in the joint house and he is continuing to pay the mortgage.
He has now received a letter saying that an ICO has been made for debts in her name on the property. Can someone please point him in the right direction as to what all this means as the company involved wont speak to him or explain what is happening. He just wants to sell up and move on.
Many thanks in advance for any help you can offer.

[tonywiltshire]

A charging order is a court order that secures a debt owed to another creditor, usually against the person’s interest in a property. It is in two parts Interim and final charging order. It is not usually a major problem as it normally means when the property is sold the debt must be paid, which many District Judges believe to be fair and provided it does not lead to an order for sale it often means the house holders ignore it.
If your friends are selling the house the charging order will be an entry on the Land registry and the debt will be paid on sale of the property. It is unlikely that the debt is small if it incurs a charging order so it will reduce the amount of equity to be shared. I am assuming the couple are both owners of the property and probably have a debt or debts, which were incurred jointly and severally.
If they wish to object to the interim order being made final they should have the hearing transferred to their local court and they should also file at court and serve on the creditor written evidence stating the grounds of their objections not less than seven days before the hearing. They may wish to obtain legal advice.

[themas]

You say the ICO is for debts in the ex-partner's name, so I assume they are only in her name & not joint ones. If so, the ICO is only against her interest in the house & would come entirely out of her share of the equity if the house is sold.

If the house is sold & there is sufficient equity to pay off the charge as well as the mortgage then there should be no problem. However, if there is not enough equity the charge holder will quite likely object to any sale & a potentially difficult situation can arise. It is sometimes possible to get a Court to order a sale in such circumstances but this involves time & cost.

Despite that, it is very unlikely a judge will decide against making the ICO final. Best solution is to find some way of getting this debt paid off if at all possible.

[debbie251]

thanks for those replies. the debt is in her name only and not in his and from what he can see it is for nearly £20000 so he is not in a position to pay it off for her so they can move on. I will pass your answers on to him and suggest he gets legal advice on the situation.

[tonywiltshire]

Debbie, As long as your male friend did not guarantee the £20K loan to the female he is not responsible for the loan, he will probably feel no moral responsibility if she brought the loan to the relationship and he has not benefited from it. As it is an interim charging order on a jointly owned property as themas says the problems will arise if there is insufficient equity in the property to pay off the debt a charging order can only be made against the female’s beneficial interest in the property.

Some District Judges make the interim order final as a matter of course others do not and some creditors believe they can apply for a charging order at any time, which is not correct as a charging order can only be made if judgment has been entered and the client has defaulted on agreed payments. If they wish to object to the order being made final they will probably need to get legal advice from a Solicitor who has experience in their local District court who will discuss their case in detail and advise.

[debbie251]

Thanks Mark I have advised him to 1. talk to her about it and find out what she owes the money for and 2. to seek legal advice. From the look of the letter that he received regarding this matter she has defaulted as it states that it involves CCJs . again many thanks for your help :)