Form N379: Apply for a Charging Order on Land

At a glance

• What it does: a charging order turns an unpaid judgment debt into a secured charge on the debtor's land or property, without forcing a sale.
• Legislation: Charging Orders Act 1979, as amended; procedure under CPR Part 73 and Practice Direction 73.
• The form: Form N379 is the application notice (for land); verified by a statement of truth; filed at the Civil National Business Centre for county court applications.
• The order itself: the interim charging order is drawn up on Form N86; a final charging order, once confirmed, is drawn up on Form N87.
• Two-stage process: interim charging order first (on the papers, no hearing); then, if needed, a hearing where objections are considered before a final order is made.
• Service deadline: the creditor must serve the interim order on the debtor, any co-owner, and other specified persons within 21 days (CPR rule 73.7).
• Register it: protect the interim order at HM Land Registry (or under the Land Charges Act 1972 for unregistered land) promptly to preserve priority.
• Order for sale is separate: a charging order alone does not compel a sale; that requires a further claim under CPR rule 73.10C.
• Court fees: check the current fee on GOV.UK before filing — fees change periodically and help with fees may be available.

This guide covers England and Wales only. It is not a substitute for legal advice on your specific situation.

What a charging order actually does

A charging order is a court order that converts an unpaid judgment debt into a secured interest over an asset the debtor owns. Where that asset is land or a property — a home, a buy-to-let, a commercial unit, or a bare plot — Form N379 is the route in.

The power to make a charging order comes from section 1(1) of the Charging Orders Act 1979: where a person is required by a judgment or order of the High Court, the family court, or the county court to pay a sum of money to another, the appropriate court may impose a charge on that person's property to secure what is owed.

The charge sits on the debtor's interest in the land. Once registered against the title at HM Land Registry (or registered as a land charge for unregistered land), it gives the creditor a secured position: if the property is sold or remortgaged, the outstanding debt must be discharged from the proceeds before the debtor receives the balance.

A charging order is not the same as seizing cash or forcing a sale. It is a security right — patient, but powerful in the right circumstances. Under section 3(4) of the 1979 Act, once made, the charge has the like effect and is enforceable in the same way as an equitable charge created by the debtor in writing.

When a charging order makes sense

Charging orders tend to work well where:

• the debtor has equity in a property but no obvious liquid assets to chase;
• other enforcement methods (such as a warrant of control or a third-party debt order) are unlikely to recover the full sum; or
• the creditor is willing to wait for the property to be sold or refinanced rather than needing immediate payment.

The creditor gets meaningful security without having to chase wages or bank accounts repeatedly. The downside is that a charging order does not guarantee quick recovery — if the debtor never sells or remortgages, the creditor may need to take the additional step of applying for an order for sale.

Before applying, it is worth considering how much equity the property appears to hold, bearing in mind any existing mortgage and the likelihood that other creditors also have or will seek charges. The court must, under section 1(5) of the Charging Orders Act 1979, consider all the circumstances — including whether any other creditor would be unduly prejudiced by the order — so full disclosure of what you know about the debtor's financial position and other creditors is required.

Worked example: Priya's position

Priya, a fictional sole trader, obtained a county court judgment for £14,000 against a former client who has not paid. She learns the debtor owns a flat, registered at HM Land Registry, with roughly £40,000 of equity above an existing mortgage. There are no other known creditors. Because the debtor has no obvious income to attach and does not appear to hold significant savings, but does hold equity in land, a charging order under Form N379 is a realistic route — though Priya knows it secures the debt rather than producing an immediate payment, and that a further application would be needed later if the debtor does not sell or remortgage voluntarily.

The legislation and rules that govern the process

Two sets of rules govern charging orders on land:

• The Charging Orders Act 1979 — the primary legislation. Section 1 confers the power to make the order and identifies which courts and judgments qualify. Section 2 defines the property that can be charged, including land under section 2(2)(a). Section 3 supplements sections 1 and 2: it deals with the registration and mechanics of the charge, including the application of the Land Registration Act 2002 and the Land Charges Act 1972, confirms the charge takes effect as an equitable charge, and (at section 3(5)) gives the court power, on the application of the debtor or any person interested in the charged property, to discharge or vary the charging order at any time.
• Civil Procedure Rules Part 73, supported by Practice Direction 73 — the procedural rules governing how to apply, how the interim and final charging order stages work, who must be served and when, and how enforcement by sale proceeds.

Practice Direction 73 sets out the information that must go in the application notice and confirms that Form N379 is the correct form for applications relating to land (Form N380 is used instead where the asset is securities, such as shares or an interest in a fund in court).

What goes on Form N379

The application notice must be verified by a statement of truth. Practice Direction 73 requires it to contain the following information:

1. The name and address of the judgment debtor.
2. Details of the judgment or order to be enforced (claim number, court, date, and amount).
3. The amount of money remaining due under the judgment, including any interest and costs accrued.
4. If the judgment debt is payable by instalments: whether the instalment order was made on or after 1 October 2012, and the amount of any instalments that have fallen due and remain unpaid.
5. The names and addresses of any other creditors of the debtor known to the judgment creditor.
6. Identification of the property to be charged, including the HM Land Registry title number where the land is registered.
7. Details of the debtor's interest in the property — for example, sole owner, joint owner with a named co-owner, or a beneficial interest under a trust.
8. The names and addresses of the persons on whom the interim charging order must be served.

A judgment creditor may, in a single application notice, apply for charging orders over more than one asset and rely on more than one judgment. Where the court decides to make interim charging orders over more than one asset, it draws up a separate order for each one.

Incomplete or inaccurate information on the form causes delays or rejection. The form is signed with a statement of truth — this is not a formality.

The two-stage court process

Stage 1 — the interim charging order

County court applications go to the Civil National Business Centre (CNBC), not to a local court. The application is initially dealt with on the papers, without a hearing (CPR rule 73.4).

For a straightforward application to charge the debtor's interest in land, a court officer or judge can make the interim charging order. It imposes a provisional charge over the debtor's interest in the property immediately. The order itself is drawn up on Form N86.

The interim order is not yet final. It is, however, registrable — and the creditor should register it at HM Land Registry without delay.

Stage 2 — service and the final hearing

Within 21 days of the interim charging order being made, the judgment creditor must serve copies of the interim order, the application notice, and any supporting documents (CPR rule 73.7) on:

• the judgment debtor;
• any co-owner of the property;
• the debtor's spouse or civil partner (if known and not already the debtor or a co-owner); and
• any other creditors identified in the application or directed by the court to be served.

The creditor must also file a certificate of service and, where required, a statement of the amount outstanding.

If anyone objects, they must file written evidence setting out the grounds not less than 7 days before the hearing (CPR rule 73.10A(2)). The matter may be transferred from the CNBC to the judgment debtor's home court — the county court hearing centre for the district where the debtor resides or carries on business.

At the hearing, the court may, under CPR rule 73.10A:

• make a final charging order confirming the charge continues, with or without modification;
• discharge the interim order and dismiss the application;
• decide issues in dispute between the parties; or
• direct a trial of any contested issues.

Where nobody objects, the court can make the final charging order without a hearing. Once confirmed, the final charging order is drawn up on Form N87. The court considers the criteria in section 1(5) of the 1979 Act — all the circumstances, including the debtor's personal situation and the risk of undue prejudice to other creditors — before confirming the charge as final.

Registering the charging order at HM Land Registry

Section 3(2) of the Charging Orders Act 1979 applies the Land Registration Act 2002 to charging orders in the same way as other orders and writs issued to enforce judgments.

For registered land, the interim charging order should be protected by entering a notice against the registered title as soon as it is made — HM Land Registry's Practice Guide 76 sets out the registration mechanics. This gives the creditor priority over any later disposition of the land. Delay risks loss of priority if, for example, the debtor transfers the property or a further mortgage is registered first.

For unregistered land, the charge is protected instead by registering it as a land charge under the Land Charges Act 1972.

Registration at HM Land Registry (or the Land Charges register for unregistered land) is the creditor's own responsibility — the court does not do this automatically.

Joint ownership: what the court can charge

Where the debtor owns the property jointly with another person — a spouse, civil partner, or business partner — section 2(1)(a) of the Charging Orders Act 1979 allows a charge on any interest held by the debtor beneficially. The charge attaches only to the debtor's share, not to the co-owner's interest.

In practice this means:

• the co-owner must be served with the interim charging order;
• the charge does not prevent the co-owner from dealing with their own share; and
• enforcing the charge by sale where the co-owner is in occupation engages the Trusts of Land and Appointment of Trustees Act 1996, which gives the court additional discretion to weigh the interests of occupants.

Joint ownership is not a bar to a charging order, but it adds complexity at the enforcement-by-sale stage.

Paying by instalments: a specific nuance

Where the judgment debt is being paid in instalments, section 1(7) of the Charging Orders Act 1979 (inserted by section 93 of the Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007, in force from 1 October 2012) confirms that a charging order can still be made even though no instalment is overdue. The court must, however, give weight to the absence of default when exercising its discretion under section 1(5).

An important practical consequence follows: where a charge has been imposed in respect of an instalment judgment made on or after 1 October 2012, the charge cannot be enforced by an order for sale unless there has been a default in payment. The security sits on the property but cannot be forced into cash while the debtor keeps up.

The order for sale: a separate application

A charging order does not compel a sale. If the creditor later wants to force the property to be sold to recover the debt, they must bring a further and distinct claim under CPR rule 73.10C.

The claim for an order for sale:

• must be made using the Part 8 procedure;
• must include written evidence identifying the charging order and the property, stating the amount outstanding, verifying the debtor's title as far as known, identifying prior charges and their amounts, and providing an estimate of the likely sale price;
• where the property is residential, must state whether any notice of matrimonial home rights is registered against the title.

Courts approach orders for sale cautiously where the property is the debtor's home or where vulnerable people are in occupation. The Trusts of Land and Appointment of Trustees Act 1996 applies to beneficial interests, giving the court a structured discretion. An order for sale is not automatic and requires its own separate analysis and application.

The county court has jurisdiction to determine a CPR rule 73.10C claim where the amount owing under the charge does not exceed the county court's financial limit. Larger amounts, and charging orders originally made in the High Court, are dealt with in the High Court, typically the Chancery Division or an appropriate Chancery district registry.

What the court fee is

Current court fees for charging order applications are published by HMCTS in the fees guide (EX50) on GOV.UK. Fees are reviewed periodically and change over time, so check the current amount before filing. If your income is low, you may be able to apply for help with fees.

A practical checklist before you file

1. Confirm the judgment is in place. Check the claim number, court, date of judgment, and the exact sum outstanding including any interest and costs awarded.
2. Identify the property accurately. Obtain the HM Land Registry title number and check who is registered as the proprietor and whether there is an existing mortgage.
3. Identify other creditors. The form asks about other creditors you are aware of. Be accurate and candid — incomplete disclosure can undermine the application.
4. Complete Form N379 fully. Every field required by Practice Direction 73 is load-bearing. The form must be verified by a statement of truth.
5. File at the Civil National Business Centre. County court applications for a charge over land go to the CNBC, not to a local court.
6. Pay the court fee. Check the current fee on GOV.UK.
7. Register the interim order promptly. As soon as the interim charging order (Form N86) is made, register it at HM Land Registry to protect priority.
8. Serve on time. Serve the interim order, application notice, and supporting documents on all required persons within 21 days of the interim order.
9. Watch for objections and attend any hearing. Come prepared to address any objections and to confirm the outstanding sum to the court, so the final order (Form N87) can be made.

Related enforcement steps

A charging order is one route among several under the county court enforcement toolkit. If you are weighing it against other options, or want a broader introduction to the paperwork involved in county court claims and enforcement, see our guides to county court forms generally and to county court terminology.

This guide provides general information about the charging order process in England and Wales. It is not legal advice on your specific circumstances.

Last reviewed: August 2026 by a non-practising solicitor · Next review due: August 2027 or on legislative change.