Breathing Space and CCJ Enforcement: What the Debt Respite Scheme Means for Creditors

You have a county court judgment, the debtor has not paid, and you are about to apply for a warrant or an attachment of earnings. Then a letter arrives from the Insolvency Service: the debtor has entered Breathing Space. Your enforcement is paused for the moratorium, which for a Standard Breathing Space lasts up to 60 days.

The Debt Respite Scheme (Breathing Space Moratorium and Mental Health Crisis Moratorium) (England and Wales) Regulations 2020 created a statutory pause on all enforcement action against qualifying debts. It applies to CCJs. If you are a judgment creditor, here is what changes and what stays the same.

How Breathing Space Works

A Standard Breathing Space is arranged through a debt adviser — for example, Citizens Advice, StepChange or another approved provider — who checks eligibility and registers the moratorium. A Mental Health Crisis Breathing Space does not require the debtor to engage with debt advice, though a debt advice provider starts it using evidence from an Approved Mental Health Professional (AMHP). HMCTS and creditors are notified.

There are two types:

• Standard Breathing Space: Lasts up to 60 calendar days. Available once in any 12-month period. The debtor must be receiving debt advice and must not have had a previous Standard Breathing Space in the last 12 months.
• Mental Health Crisis Breathing Space: Lasts as long as the debtor's mental health crisis treatment, plus 30 days. Approved by an Approved Mental Health Professional. No 12-month restriction.

What Creditors Cannot Do During the Moratorium

The moratorium creates a strict legal bar. During an active Breathing Space, you cannot:

• Apply for a Warrant of Control (N323) or Writ of Control
• Apply for an Attachment of Earnings Order (N337)
• Apply for a Third-Party Debt Order (N349)
• Apply for a Charging Order (N379) — but an existing charging order made before the moratorium stays in place
• Instruct a High Court Enforcement Officer
• Add interest, fees or charges to the judgment debt
• Make direct collection contact with the debtor; debt collection communication should go through the debt adviser

If you have already issued an enforcement application, or enforcement proceedings have begun, notify the court in writing. Tell any instructed bailiff or HCEO to pause action. A County Court judge may permit an enforcement step during the moratorium on specified grounds; apply using Form N244C.

What Creditors Can Still Do

Breathing Space does not wipe the debt or cancel the judgment. You can:

• Continue to hold an existing Charging Order — the moratorium does not discharge it
• Submit a proof of debt if the debtor enters a formal insolvency process after the moratorium
• Ask the debt adviser to review whether the debt should be included if you believe the debtor does not qualify. You must request this review within 20 days of the debt entering Breathing Space. If you disagree with the decision, you can apply to the debtor's local County Court using Form N244D to cancel the moratorium or remove the debt, within 50 days of the debt entering Breathing Space.

You can also continue to keep an internal record of the debt. The moratorium pauses enforcement, not the judgment itself. Once the moratorium ends, tell the court and submit the relevant request to continue enforcement from the point it stopped; there is no fee to restart paused enforcement. The judgment balance is reduced by any payments made during the moratorium.

What Happens After the 60 Days

When the moratorium ends, the debt adviser notifies the Insolvency Service and all creditors. Three outcomes are common:

1. The debtor pays in full during the moratorium. You apply for a Certificate of Satisfaction (Form N443, £19) and the case closes.
2. The debtor enters a debt solution. An Individual Voluntary Arrangement (IVA), Debt Relief Order (DRO) or bankruptcy petition follows. Your enforcement rights depend on the specific insolvency regime — in most cases, enforcement against the individual is barred and you file a proof of debt instead.
3. No solution is reached. The moratorium expires and you can ask the court to continue enforcement from the point it stopped, without a restart fee. For a Standard Breathing Space, any enforcement hearing already scheduled is adjourned to no earlier than 14 days after the moratorium ends. The debtor cannot apply for another Standard Breathing Space for 12 months.

Practical Steps for Creditors

If you receive a Breathing Space notification, check the Insolvency Service register to confirm the dates. Mark the moratorium end date on your calendar and tell the court when it ends so enforcement can continue from the point it stopped. If you believe the debtor did not qualify, first ask the debt adviser to review whether the debt should be included; if you disagree with the decision, apply to the debtor's local County Court using Form N244D within 50 days of the debt entering Breathing Space.

Our CCJ Enforcement Guide covers what to do before, during and after a Breathing Space moratorium, including the full enforcement decision tree for when the pause lifts.

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