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The Daily Insight Hub

Can credit card companies put a charge on your house?

Author

Andrew Campbell

Updated on January 20, 2026

A charging order secures a debt you have with a creditor against your property. This means if you sell or remortgage your home before the debt is cleared the charging order will be paid off from the proceeds. A creditor can only get a charging order if they already have a County Court judgment (CCJ) against you.

Can property be seized for unsecured debt?

When you leave a secured creditor unpaid, that creditor has the right to seize the asset you used as collateral when you incurred the debt. Unsecured creditors do not have the automatic right to seize and sell your home. They can, however, earn this right by taking you to court.

How long can a credit card company come after you?

Each state has a law referred to as a statute of limitations that spells out the time period during which a creditor or collector may sue borrowers to collect debts. In most states, they run between four and six years after the last payment was made on the debt.

Can you lose your house over debt?

Credit card debt is unsecured debt. In order to lose your home, several things would have to happen. Mortgages are secured debt, and the mortgage holder would have first rights if the home were foreclosed on to pay a debt. Once that happens, there is often not enough money left over to pay anyone else.

Can a credit card company place a lien on my house?

Yes it’s possible for a lien to be placed on your home for certain debts, but a debt collector’s threats to do so may be illegal. Here is what you need to know to protect your property. When can a credit card company place a lien on your property? A credit card is an unsecured debt.

What happens if you have a lien on Your House?

A lien on your home means you cannot sell the house, and technically your creditor’s can force the sale of your home to satisfy the judgment, although this is relatively rare. If you have questions about credit card debt liens or other non-payment issues, you should contact an experienced attorney.

Can a creditor put a lien on my house for unsecured debt?

Unsecured creditors have to go through a long route before you get thrown out of your house. To understand this process better, it is important to learn more about what unsecured debts and liens are, as well as the lien process in case you have unsecured debt.

Can a credit card company collect on a house?

Credit card collection efforts are done in a one off capacity. If a creditor or debt buyer sues, they are typically suing for one debt individually. That one debt is normally not of an amount large enough to justify the costs of trying to force the sale of an asset like a home in order to collect.