Bankruptcy Orders made by the Insolvency Service Adjudicator’s Office (ISAO). How do we make a Court application?

We were recently instructed by Joint Trustees in Bankruptcy to make an application for possession and sale in relation to the matrimonial home held in the joint names of the bankrupt and his spouse. The Bankruptcy Order had been made by the ISAO following the presentation of the bankrupt’s own petition for bankruptcy. The Joint Trustees in Bankruptcy had been appointed by the ISAO. The 3 year “use it or lose it” expired in mid-January 2022, so we had to ensure that we issued the application correctly.

We were mindful of the recent appeal before Peter Knox QC in Re: Jakir Hussain [2021] EWHC 3276 (Ch). This decision is authority that the proper form of application under section 335A of the Insolvency Act 1986 is by way of Insolvency Act application notice under rule 1.35 of the Insolvency Rules 2016 and not by way of a Part 8 claim. In our situation, were insolvency proceedings “on foot” meaning we could make an Insolvency Act application?

On checking the Court finder, the Court with jurisdiction for the application was Central London County Court (Bankruptcy and Companies). We made enquiries of that Court, but they were unable to assign a Court number to use in the application. We had the BKT number from the ISAO but that could not be used. They did in fact confirm that as it was an ISAO appointment, there were no insolvency proceedings “on foot” and the form of application was an originating application, and the fee payable was £280.

The devil is in the detail…

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