You have a CCJ
A County Court Judgement is read differently depending on its age, size and whether it's been satisfied.
Understand your CCJ →Adverse credit doesn't end the conversation with a lender. It changes it.
This page is for anyone who's been declined for a mortgage because of a CCJ, a default, missed payments, a debt management plan, an IVA, bankruptcy or repossession, and wants to know what a lender actually sees when it looks at that history.
Check where you stand See what you can do in the six months before you applyWhere does your situation fit?
A CCJ, a default and an IVA don't sit the same way with a lender. Find the one that matches your history and see what actually matters to underwriting.
You have a default
Lenders weigh a default by how long ago it was recorded and what it was for, not just that it exists.
Check your default →You're on a DMP
A debt management plan changes how a lender views your current commitments and your ability to take on a mortgage.
See how a DMP is read →You have an IVA
Whether you're still inside an IVA or have come out the other end changes which lenders will look at you at all.
Read the IVA guide →You've been made bankrupt
Discharge date and what's happened since matter more to most lenders than the bankruptcy itself.
Read what changes after discharge →You've had a repossession
This is treated seriously, but not identically everywhere. What a lender needs to see varies by how long ago it happened.
See what lenders look for →
How it works
What actually happens between your application and a decision
An application with adverse credit behind it doesn't move through one single check. It moves through several, and the answer at each one shapes what happens next. Here's roughly how that sequence runs.
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Your credit file gets checked
When you apply, the lender runs a search against your credit file. This shows every CCJ, default, missed payment, debt management plan, IVA or bankruptcy on record, along with the dates and amounts involved.
Soft searchA preliminary check that doesn't show up as a formal application and doesn't affect your credit score.
Hard searchTriggered by a full application. This is visible to other lenders and does register on your file.
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The lender works out what it's actually looking at
A CCJ, a default and a missed payment carry different weight, because they represent different kinds of risk. The lender also checks when it happened, how large it was, and whether it's been satisfied, meaning paid off and marked as settled on the file.
SatisfiedMarked as paid. Most specialist lenders treat this more favourably, though the record itself still shows on your file.
UnsatisfiedStill showing as owed. This narrows the number of lenders likely to consider the application, though it doesn't close the door.
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The application gets placed in a credit tier
Lenders group applications by how much risk they represent. Where an application lands depends on type, age, size and satisfaction status together.
An old, small, satisfied default sits in a very different position to several recent, unsatisfied ones, even though both would technically count as a default.
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A high-street lender's system may filter it out before anyone reads it
Many mainstream lenders use automated credit scoring that screens out adverse credit before a human underwriter sees the file. A decline at this stage reflects that lender's automated criteria.
Automated declineThe application stops there and doesn't reach manual underwriting at that lender.
Passes the filterThe file moves through to a person for closer review.
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A specialist lender's underwriter looks at the whole file
Specialist lenders generally assess adverse credit applications manually. An underwriter weighs the age and size of the adverse credit against your current income, your recent payment conduct, and the deposit or equity you're bringing to the purchase. The date of a past CCJ is fixed and can't be changed. How you've managed credit since then is something you have influence over.
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A decision comes back
The result is an offer, a decline, or a request for more information before either. Which lender you end up with, and on what terms, comes down to that lender's own criteria at the time.
Offer madeTerms set on that lender's own reading of the risk.
DeclinedThe reasoning varies by lender. A decline at one doesn't predict the outcome at another.
More information requestedThe underwriter needs further detail before deciding either way.
The lender assessing your file makes that decision. The decision-tree eligibility tool maps where a combination of factors typically sits, but it can't tell you what a specific lender will decide.
Specialist lenders look at adverse credit differently to high-street banks
This directory sets out who they are, what they're regulated as, and how they assess applications — without attaching rates or approval odds to any name.
The Mortgage Works Nationwide Building Society
The Mortgage Works is the buy-to-let mortgage arm of Nationwide Building Society, offering buy-to-let mortgages to landlords including limited company and HMO borrowers.
- fca_firm_reference 189623 source
- lender_type buy-to-let specialist arm of Nationwide Building Society source
- product_types buy-to-let mortgages including purchase, switch, further advance, remortgage, HMO, limited company, and Energy Efficiency Further Advance source
- regulator_status authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) under registration number 189623 source
Barclays
Barclays is a major UK bank offering buy-to-let mortgages directly to consumers, typically suited to straightforward single-property cases.
- product_types buy-to-let mortgages for single property in personal name source
Landbay
Landbay is a broker-only specialist buy-to-let lender offering mortgages to limited companies, portfolio landlords, first-time landlords and HMO landlords.
- product_types buy-to-let mortgages for limited companies, portfolio landlords, first-time landlords and small and large HMOs and multi-unit freehold blocks source
Shawbrook
Shawbrook is a specialist lender offering buy-to-let mortgages on standard buy-to-let, HMOs, multi-unit blocks and semi-commercial property for larger loans.
- product_types buy-to-let mortgages including standard buy-to-let, HMOs, multi-unit blocks and semi-commercial property source
Foundation Home Loans
Foundation Home Loans is a specialist buy-to-let lender focusing on HMOs, student lets and multi-unit freehold blocks.
Kent Reliance OSB Group
Kent Reliance, part of OSB Group, is a specialist buy-to-let lender focusing on large HMOs, multi-unit blocks and complex ownership structures.
Aldermore
Aldermore is a specialist mortgage lender known for buy-to-let products accessible to self-employed landlords, limited companies and portfolio landlords.
Fleet Mortgages
Fleet Mortgages is a buy-to-let specialist lender focused on limited company borrowing, portfolio landlords and HMOs.
- product_types buy-to-let mortgages including limited company, portfolio landlord and HMO products source
Paragon Bank Paragon Banking Group
Paragon Bank is a specialist buy-to-let lender built around professional and portfolio landlords, offering buy-to-let mortgages including limited company and HMO products.
BM Solutions Lloyds Banking Group
BM Solutions is Lloyds Banking Group's buy-to-let mortgage brand, one of the largest lenders in the sector by volume.
Progressive Building Society
The only building society headquartered in Northern Ireland, based in Belfast and a BSA member.
- lender_type building society source
The type, age, and size of your adverse credit all shape what a lender actually sees, and that's worth working out before you apply again.
It won't tell you whether you'll be approved, since that's for a lender to decide, but it will show you how your particular combination of factors is typically weighed.