We acted for an independent school to obtain a money judgment in respect of unpaid school fees. The debt was jointly and severally liable owed by a husband and wife. Despite numerous requests for payment, no payment or contact was received from either parent. We searched the Land Registry and noted that they owned a property jointly and the only other restriction on the property was the mortgage which was obtained at the time of purchase.
We submitted an application to the court for a charging order to enable our client to obtain security of the sums owed. Our client was aware that the parents were in the process of a divorce and therefore the property would be sold. In this instance, without the security, our client would face the position of having to locate a new address once the property was sold and the possibility that if they moved to rented accommodation that there would not be any assets over which to secure the debt at a later date.
Upon receipt of our application, the court granted an interim charging order which we registered at Land Registry. We send copies of our application and the interim orders to the parents and the mortgage company. We did not receive any objection from the parents, in fact, we did not receive any response at all. We received a standard letter of acknowledgement from the mortgage company and a final charging order was subsequently granted by the court without a hearing.
Upon receipt of the final charging order from the court, the parents made payment of the sum owed plus costs and interest and we subsequently applied to the Land Registry to avoid the restriction on the property.
