Joint CCJ possible?

manc1

I'm currently being taken to court due to a joint tenancy agreement (ex-housemate didn't pay rent for a number of months, the landlord has taken all of our deposits and is taking the rest of us - non-paying tenant has disappeared - to court for the outstanding £1000 or so).

There are 4 of us named on the court papers - so far we've only received the claim form. 2 of us have offered to pay our 'share' (i.e. 1/4) to the landlord directly in order to have our names taken off the court documents. The landlord has said he's not removing any names until full payment is received. The other two ex-housemates don't have the money to do this, so we're resigned to going through the courts.

The court will find in the landlords favour as we are legally liable, when this happens, I think (please correct me if I'm wrong) that a CCJ will be issued against me.

Can the CCJ be issued jointly or is it likely to be against each individual tenant?

I believe (again please correct me if I'm wrong) that if I pay off the outstanding debt within a month the CCJ will be removed from my credit file. If it were issued jointly, would this still be the case? I really really just want it all to be over and not to ruin my credit rating.

If anyone could offer any advice I'd be extremely grateful!

kirkbyinfurnesslad_2

Woooo hold your horses here

You really need to look at defending the claim, ensuring everything paper work is above board, i suggest you post on the housing board here

It wouldnt be a joint ccj but individual

National_Debtline

Hello there.

There are 4 of us named on the court papers - so far we've only received the claim form. 2 of us have offered to pay our 'share' (i.e. 1/4) to the landlord directly in order to have our names taken off the court documents. The landlord has said he's not removing any names until full payment is received. The other two ex-housemates don't have the money to do this, so we're resigned to going through the courts.

It appears that there is one tenancy agreement to cover all of you. If this is the case you will be held to have joint and several liability for the monies owing. This means you could be held responsible for the full amount outstanding - rather than the debt being divided up into equal shares.

Can the CCJ be issued jointly or is it likely to be against each individual tenant?

The landlord could entry the judgment against you individually, or issue a joint judgment where you would all be expected to contribute towards a sole instalment.

I believe (again please correct me if I'm wrong) that if I pay off the outstanding debt within a month the CCJ will be removed from my credit file. If it were issued jointly, would this still be the case? I really really just want it all to be over and not to ruin my credit rating.

That's correct, paying the judgment within the month would prevent it from being placed on your credit file.

Hope you find this information useful.

Best wishes,

David @ NDL.

manc1

kirkbyinfurnesslad - Thank you, I have posted on the housing forum previously but unfortunately I've been advised that we are legally liable due to the wording of our contract - 'joint and several liability'.

David @ NDL. - Thank you. If the landlord issues a joint judgment where we're all expected to contribute towards a sole installment, would it specify how much we were each to pay?

would the full amount need to be paid off within 1 month in order for it to not affect my credit file? I.e. if it said that I had to pay off xyz and I paid but the others didn't, would I be affected?

Thank you!

National_Debtline

manc1 wrote: »

David @ NDL. - Thank you. If the landlord issues a joint judgment where we're all expected to contribute towards a sole installment, would it specify how much we were each to pay?

Hello again, you can ask the court to set the instalment rate based upon affordability. The cases similar to this that I have seen usually have independnet court orders for each liable tenant. I can't saw for sure what might happen in your cases but I would imagine a landlord would seek an order like this as it is likely to be more likely that they'll more of their money back.

David.