claiming against someone's property

[flipnflap]

if someone owes you money and won't pay up, what is the procedure whereby you can claim against property they own?

[dennisb66]

If it's under £5000 you could start off in the small claims court.

[KerrAvon]

You can add a charge to the property but you cannot easily force the sale of the main residence. The amount will be paid next time the property is sold but that may be never. Other than that you must convince a judge to force to repossess and force sale, very difficult. Any solicitor will do that for a fee. However, as dennis says, consider small claims if the amount is < 5K.

[flipnflap]

thank you but how do you "add a charge to the property"?

[Barmaid]

For a straightforward money debt you can only get a charge on real property in two ways – one is by agreement and the other is to enforce a judgement. If the other side won’t agree (unlikely) the only way you can enforce against their property is firstly to get a County Court judgement. Then if it is unpaid, you apply for an interim charge then a final charging order. Thus your first step is to commence proceedings. If you have not already done so, you should start with a Letter before Action setting out what you are claiming and why and giving at least 21 days for them to respond.

[buildersmate]

All of the above (and particularly Barmaid's definitive answer) should tell you that putting a charge on the property is expensive in legal costs. So it is more likely to be useful if you are owed a figure into 5 figures.

Since the Small Claims Court is easier to use for a layperson, it may be useful to start there. Unfortunately you haven't told us how much you are seeking to recover.