A judgment mortgage registers your judgment as a burden against property the debtor owns, converting an unsecured judgment into a charge on that property. It is often the best enforcement option available. It is not, usually, a way of getting paid this year.
What It Actually Produces
Security and patience. The debt attaches to the property and becomes a practical obstacle when the debtor comes to sell, remortgage or otherwise deal with it — which is when a great many judgment mortgages are actually paid, sometimes years later, because the transaction cannot conveniently proceed without dealing with the burden. That is a real and often substantial outcome, and it costs comparatively little to put in place. What it is not is an immediate remedy: registering the burden does not compel the debtor to pay, and realising it sooner requires further steps by way of separate application, with their own considerations including the debtor’s circumstances. Creditors who expect registration to produce a cheque are consistently disappointed; creditors who understand it as taking a secured position and waiting are usually satisfied in the end.
Equity Is Everything
The value of a judgment mortgage depends entirely on what is left after everything that ranks ahead of you. A property carrying a substantial mortgage and one or two prior judgment mortgages may have nothing meaningful behind it, in which case registering yours adds you to a queue rather than securing you a payment. So the work before registering is the same work that should have preceded proceedings: find out what is there. Check the existing charges, form a view on value, and work out whether there is realistic equity. Where there is, this is usually the first enforcement step to consider. Where there is not, the money is better spent on a different route — an instalment order if the debtor has income, attachment or garnishee if there is a wage or a third-party debt, or nothing at all if the honest answer is that there is nothing to reach. Note also that co-ownership complicates matters considerably, since a judgment against one owner does not simply reach the whole property, and that is a question to take advice on rather than assume.
For debtors: a judgment mortgage registered against your home is serious and worth taking advice about, but it is not an immediate loss of the property. Understanding what it does — and what would have to happen for it to be realised — is usually less alarming than the assumption, and free independent advice is available from MABS.
The full enforcement page is here, or ring 01 5827148.
Richard O’Shea — Solicitor
Solicitor at Mary Molloy Solicitors, established 1981, with offices at The Ormond Building on Ormond Quay — a short walk from the Four Courts. The firm advises creditors on recovery and enforcement, and, in separate matters, advises debtors who have received demands or proceedings. It is a law firm and not a debt collection agency: fees are agreed in writing at the outset and are never calculated as a percentage or proportion of what is recovered. 01 5827148 · richardoshea@marymolloysolicitors.com · LinkedIn
General information, not legal advice. This website contains general information about Irish law on debt recovery and enforcement. It is not legal advice and does not create a solicitor—client relationship. Every debt turns on its own facts — the documents, the dates, the parties and the debtor’s circumstances — and advice on yours requires a consultation. Statutory thresholds and figures referred to on this site are subject to change and should be confirmed before any step is taken.
A law firm, not a debt collection agency. Mary Molloy Solicitors provides legal advice and representation. It does not operate as a debt collection agency and does not conduct collection campaigns. Fees are agreed in writing with the client at the outset and are never calculated as a percentage or proportion of any sum recovered. In contentious business, a solicitor may not calculate fees or other charges as a percentage or proportion of any award or settlement.
No outcome is promised. Nothing on this site states or implies that any debt will be recovered, that any asset will be found, that any enforcement step will succeed, or that any claim will succeed. Recovery depends substantially on the debtor’s means, which are frequently unknown at the outset.
How payment may be demanded is regulated. Section 11 of the Consumer Credit Act 1995 makes it an offence to make a demand for payment by means calculated to cause alarm, distress or humiliation, or falsely to represent that legal proceedings have been or will be issued. Nothing on this site should be read as encouraging any such conduct. Mortgage arrears on a principal private residence are dealt with under a separate regulatory framework and are outside the scope of this site.
If you are the person being pursued. Free, confidential and independent money advice is available in Ireland from MABS, the Money Advice and Budgeting Service, and through the Abhaile scheme for people in mortgage arrears. You do not have to engage a solicitor to get help, and taking advice early generally improves the options available. This firm advises debtors in matters separate from those in which it acts for a creditor, and never both sides of the same debt — conflicts are checked before any substantive discussion.
Tax. Nothing on this website is tax advice. Questions about VAT on recovered sums, bad debt relief or the treatment of write-offs belong with your accountant or tax adviser and with Revenue’s own guidance.