Does a possession order go on the tenant's record?

Updated August 2026 · Based on official gov.uk guidance · General information, not legal advice

This is one of the most-searched and most-misunderstood questions in eviction — asked by landlords deciding whether to pursue arrears, and by tenants worried about the fallout. The honest answer has a twist most guides get wrong.

The possession order alone: not a credit-file entry

A possession order is a housing decision — it returns the property to the landlord. By itself it is not a debt and does not appear on the Register of Judgments, Orders and Fines (the public CCJ register), so it does not show up as a CCJ on a credit file.

The money judgment: exempt — until you enforce it

Where the order includes a money judgment for arrears and costs, here is the part almost everyone gets wrong. A money judgment made as part of possession proceedings is exempt from registration on the Register of Judgments, Orders and Fines — so it does not automatically appear on the tenant's credit file. This is not a rule of thumb; it is written into the regulations. Regulation 9(d) of the Register of Judgments, Orders and Fines Regulations 2005 exempts "an order for the payment of money arising from an action for the recovery of land (whether for costs, payments due under a mortgage, arrears of rent, or otherwise), until the creditor takes any step to enforce the order". So it is only registered, and only then visible to credit searches, once the landlord takes a step to enforce the money — for example a warrant to take control of goods, or an attachment of earnings order.

The distinction that catches people out: a warrant of possession is not a step to enforce the money. The warrant that gets a bailiff to your property recovers the property. It does nothing to the money judgment and does not, by itself, put anything on the tenant's credit file. Only enforcement aimed at the debt does that.

But there is a trapdoor in the same rule, and it is easy to fall through. Civil Procedure Rule 83.26(6) says that where a warrant of possession is issued, you are entitled "by the same or a separate warrant, to execution against the debtor's goods for any money payable under the judgment or order". So the same application can be used to chase the arrears as well as the property — and the moment it does, you have taken a step to enforce the money. That lifts the exemption, and the judgment becomes registrable. Two boxes on one form, and only one of them touches the tenant's credit file. Know which is which before you sign it.

One related detail, because it trips people up in the opposite direction: if the possession order was suspended on terms that the tenant pays the arrears by instalments, rule 83.26(7) requires you to certify how much is still owed and that an instalment remains unpaid before a warrant is issued at all.

And note that a possession order is not a money judgment in the first place. If you want the arrears as an enforceable debt, you have to have claimed them — either as part of the possession claim or as a separate money claim.

If you are weighing up enforcement, the prior question is whether your paperwork stands up at all — a deposit failure or a defective notice can undo the possession claim the money judgment sits inside. Our free check goes through it. No sign-up, no email. Take the free check →

Why this matters commercially. If your aim is simply to get a CCJ recorded against the tenant, obtaining the money judgment is not enough on its own — you have to take an enforcement step to register it. That step costs money and effort, against a tenant who by definition has not been paying. Decide whether a mark on their file is worth throwing good money after bad.

What	On the credit register?
Possession order (property only)	No
Money judgment in the order, not enforced	No — exempt
Warrant of possession (removing the tenant)	No — it enforces the property, not the money
Warrant used to take the tenant's goods as well (CPR 83.26(6))	Yes — that is enforcing the money
Money judgment once you take a step to enforce the debt	Yes — registered, visible for 6 years

Recover the money separately, and realistically. County court bailiffs recover the property, not the arrears — that is a separate money claim. Weigh the cost of enforcement against what you will realistically recover before you spend a penny chasing it.

Sources: Regulation 9(d), The Register of Judgments, Orders and Fines Regulations 2005 (SI 2005/3595); Civil Procedure Rule 83.26(6) and (7).

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