when i was made bankrupt i did not live in the uk but still in the eu,the only connection with the uk was a property i jointly owned but did not live in,it was rented out but the tenant ran up debts as well as council tax,i can prove i lived outside the uk for four yrs before the bankruptcy order. can someone shed some light on this as ive been reading up on this but its unclear as there has to be a centre of interest thanks
The Centre of Main Interest (COMI) is open to interpretation. Normally it is the place where the person resides and carries on business.
Having said that if a creditor in the UK made you bankrupt then it wouldn't matter where you lived. This is the same for people who live in the US/Oz who are UK citizens and have left the UK less than 3 years ago. Although they are resident outside of the UK then are able to declare BR in the UK and this can include their debts in any country.
If you were declared BR due to the tenant running up debts but were living abroad then it will still be possible for a UK creditor to declare you BR in the UK.
The good news (if there is any) is that BR in the UK is shorter and probably not as stringent as other EU countries. Here in the UK BR only lasts for 1 yr but in Germany, for example, it lasts for 7 yrs.
cheers for the reply,surely its the tenent who should have been made bankrupt,but its the way thing go it was council tax debts the only good thing is i live in southern ireland dont know how long bankruptcy lasts but in disputing the debt as i can prove non residency its a shame i cannot have the uk council in court in ireland the compansation would be great,sofar they have not found my property in ireland. i applyed for anullment as i should never have been made bankrupt the hearing should be in the next couple of months. so the centre of intrest in the uk is complicated i should probably look at human rights instead but thanks anyway
You would think that it would be the tenant that would be made BR but I am not 100% certain. I know when I rented it was my name on the council tax bill so presumably it was me that would have been chased by the council and declared BR? Whether that then defaults to the owner of the property I don't know but definitely worth fighting.
do you need to live in the uk to be made bankrupt
Posted - 19 June 2009 : 15:56:05
