Unpaid Self Storage Fees UK: The County Court Route in Numbers

As at 18 October 2026, the court fee to issue a county court claim for unpaid self storage fees in England and Wales is £35 to £455 for claims up to £10,000, then 5% of the claim up to £200,000 (fee 1.1). On 18 October 2026 we found no figure for how much of a county court debt is recovered in the Ministry of Justice’s April to June 2026 release: its tables count claims, judgments and orders, not money.

We did not search HM Courts & Tribunals Service management information or answers to Freedom of Information requests. It is general information, not legal advice. It covers England and Wales, with two official pages each for Scotland and Northern Ireland, and starts where the pre-action steps end, at the decision to issue a claim.

When can an operator take unpaid fees to the county court, and how is that different from the lien route?

gov.uk’s guide to making a court claim for money, read 18 October 2026, says a claim for money owed by a person or business can be made to a county court, online or by post.

The guide says a claim can be made online unless the amount is not known, there is more than one claimant, the claim is against three or more people or organisations, a party has no address in England or Wales, or the claim is against a government department; otherwise it goes by post. The guide also says a claimant may need legal advice if the claim is complex.

It also says a claim cannot be made if the claimant is told that the person owing the money is protected by the Breathing Space scheme. gov.uk’s guidance for creditors, last updated 22 July 2021, adds that in a breathing space the court will not issue a money claim or process a default judgment.

The steps before a claim (the pre-action steps, the penalty rule, interest on late commercial payments, limitation and Breathing Space) are in our late fees guide. The reminder ladder that comes before any court step is in our glossary entry on dunning, and a Direct Debit that is cancelled, unpaid or claimed back is covered by our guide to taking payments.

Selling uncollected goods under the Torts (Interference with Goods) Act 1977 is a different route, with its own notice rules, set out in our guide to abandoned storage units and the Torts Act and our glossary entry on the storage lien.

On 18 October 2026 we found no judgment on Find Case Law or the British and Irish Legal Information Institute on a storage operator’s claim for unpaid licence fees; Find Case Law says it does not routinely receive judgments from the County, Crown or Magistrates courts, so the search says little about county court claims. The widest search, “self storage” alone, gave 46 results on Find Case Law.

On 18 October 2026 the search of the British and Irish Legal Information Institute for “self storage” with “penalty” reported 19 results and listed 18, so the finding above does not cover the one result it did not list.

What does it cost to issue a claim?

As read on 18 October 2026, the court fee to issue a money claim is £35 to £455 for a claim up to £10,000, then 5% of the claim up to £200,000, and £10,000 above that or where the claim is not limited (fee 1.1 of Schedule 1 to the Civil Proceedings Fees Order 2008).

By band, the fee is £35 up to £300, £50 up to £500, £70 up to £1,000, £80 up to £1,500, £115 up to £3,000, £205 up to £5,000 and £455 up to £10,000.

EX50, the HM Courts & Tribunals Service fees guide (updated 13 July 2026), the order as it stood on 9 March 2015 and gov.uk’s court fees page, read 18 October 2026, print the same nine bands.

As read on 18 October 2026, the order’s latest revised text shows no amendment marker on fee 1.1 for the 2026 change, and the amending order S.I. 2026/642, in force 13 July 2026 after S.I. 2026/665 postponed it, did not list fee 1.1 or the hearing fee (fee 2.1). It did list the application and enforcement fees printed here.

The fee is worked out on the claim and any interest together. Our calculation, from gov.uk’s own example of £1,000 owed with £11 of interest after 50 days: the claim is £1,011, which falls in the band up to £1,500 (£80), not the band up to £1,000 (£70).

Our calculation from the bands: a claim of £5,000 pays £205 and one of £5,000.01 pays £455, an increase of £250 for one penny.

gov.uk’s guide, read 18 October 2026, says a blank “amount claimed” is charged £10,000.

On 18 October 2026 we found no separate Money Claim Online or bulk-centre issue fee in the current fee order, EX50 or gov.uk’s court fees page for money claims; the order as it stood on 9 March 2015 had a separate lower fee 1.2, removed from 18 May 2021.

As read on 18 October 2026, the hearing fee (fee 2.1) is payable by the claimant when the court fixes a trial date. It is £27 for a small claim up to £300, £59 up to £500, £85 up to £1,000, £123 up to £1,500, £181 up to £3,000 and £346 above £3,000, then £619 on the fast track and £1,334 on the intermediate or multi-track.

The small claims amounts date from 30 September 2021 and the track amounts from 8 April 2025, and EX50 says a claim is struck out if the fee, or an application for help with fees, is not made by the date in the court’s order.

Where no other fee is specified, an application costs £321 on notice and £126 by consent or without notice (both amended on 13 July 2026). As read on 18 October 2026, the note to fee 2.5 of the fee order says a request for judgment on admission or in default is not an application and no fee is payable for it.

gov.uk warns that further fees may follow and says “You may be able to claim the fees back if you win the case”; this guide does not say they will be.

How do you start a claim, and what are the time limits?

A claim is started when the court issues the claim form, on the date the court enters on it (rule 7.2 of the Civil Procedure Rules, CPR). The gov.uk guide, read 18 October 2026, says a claim that cannot be made online goes by post on paper claim form N1, sent to the Civil National Business Centre with a cheque or postal order for the fee.

gov.uk’s page for form N1 points to a newer online Money Claims service for claims of £25,000 or less. Its entry page was marked as a beta service on 18 October 2026 and allows interest only at one rate from one date.

As read on 18 October 2026, Money Claim Online takes, under Practice Direction 7C, a specified sum below £100,000 (excluding interest and costs) against one defendant, or two for a single amount against each, whose address for service is in England and Wales. EX50 gives £99,999.99 as the maximum for Money Claim Online.

The notes to form N1A say the claim needs a specified amount or the words “I cannot say how much I expect to recover”, a concise statement of the facts and details of any interest, the last two under the heading Particulars of claim.

The court serves the claim form unless a rule says the claimant must, the claimant tells the court it will, or the court orders otherwise (CPR 6.4(1)). Posted first class within the United Kingdom, a claim form is deemed served on the second business day after posting (CPR 6.14); through Money Claim Online it is deemed served on the fifth day after issue (Practice Direction 7C, paragraph 5.7).

As read on 18 October 2026, CPR 7.5(1) requires the claimant to complete the service step before midnight on the calendar day four months after issue. Our calculation: a claim form issued on 2 November 2026 has until midnight on 2 March 2027. Particulars of claim are in or served with the claim form, or served within 14 days after service of the claim form and no later than that limit (CPR 7.4).

How long a claim can be brought at all is the limitation question, a different clock from the four-month service limit. The “Time limits” section of our late fees guide covers England and Wales, and our guide to customer records retention covers the limitation and records clocks nation by nation.

What happens when the customer does not respond, admits or defends?

If the defendant does not respond in time, the claimant may request judgment in default on the conditions in CPR 12.3; if the defendant admits the claim, judgment on the admission; if the defendant files a defence, gov.uk says the claimant may have to go to a hearing or complete a questionnaire and pay an extra court fee.

When particulars of claim are served, the defendant may admit the claim, file a defence (or both, for part of it) or file an acknowledgment of service (CPR 9.2).

gov.uk’s guide for the person who receives a claim, read 18 October 2026, lists the choices as pay in full, offer a different amount or defend, and says they can ask for another 14 days to respond if not paying in full.

As read on 18 October 2026 and counted in clear days (CPR 2.8), an acknowledgment of service is due within 14 days after service of the claim form, or of the particulars where the claim form says they are to follow (CPR 10.3(1)). A defence is due within 14 days after service of the particulars of claim, or 28 days if an acknowledgment is filed (CPR 15.4(1)).

The parties may agree to extend a defence by up to 28 days (CPR 15.5).

Judgment in default may be entered only on the conditions in CPR 12.3, including that the time to respond has expired. For a specified sum the request goes on form N205A or N225, and judgment is for payment immediately unless it states a date or instalments (CPR 12.4 and 12.5). The court may set a default judgment aside if the defendant has a real prospect of successfully defending the claim or there is some other good reason (CPR 13.3).

Our calculation, for five weekday issue dates from 2 to 6 November 2026 and no agreed extension: where the court posts the claim form with the particulars of claim on the day of issue and nothing is filed, the earliest request for default judgment falls 17 to 19 days after issue. It falls 31 to 33 days after issue if an acknowledgment is filed. These are the earliest possible days, not a measure of how long claims take.

For a claim through Money Claim Online the same count gives 20 to 22 days, which assumes paragraph 5.7 of Practice Direction 7C governs; we did not establish that for the newer service.

Where a defendant admits a specified sum, the claimant may request judgment, which the court enters in line with the admission and any agreed or court-set time to pay (CPR 14.2).

The sources differ on mediation. For a claim of £10,000 or less that the defendant disputes, gov.uk’s guide says the claimant will be told “you must attend mediation”, and the N1A notes say “You will be required to attend mediation”. CPR 26.6 refers a claim to the Small Claims Mediation Service only where all parties indicate that they agree. This guide does not say which governs.

The Ministry of Justice’s Table 1.4 counts 367,953 judgments in the county courts in April to June 2026 (provisional), 346,257 of them default judgments; across the latest four quarters 1,233,335 of 1,315,589 were default judgments (our calculation).

How many claims are issued and defended, and how long does a hearing take?

For April to June 2026 (provisional), the Ministry of Justice reported 495,234 money claims issued (Table 1.2), 82,000 claims defended of all types and 60,000 money claim defences (its bulletin). For small claims that reached trial in that quarter, the median time from issue to the first trial or hearing was 41.0 weeks (Table 1.5).

The Ministry of Justice published “Civil justice statistics quarterly: April to June 2026” on 3 September 2026 as accredited official statistics for England and Wales. The latest quarter is provisional, January to March 2026 is revised and the next update is due on 3 December 2026.

The Ministry defines money claims as claims made by an individual, company or organisation for a specified amount of money, counted across the county courts.

On 18 October 2026 we found no table label or data category in the Ministry of Justice’s Civil Justice Statistics Quarterly for April to June 2026 that names storage, a licence fee or any single debt type among money claims; it divides money claims only by claim value. We searched the bulletin, the guide, the quality statement, the Sankey guide, both workbooks and the data files.

The bulletin says the rise in claims valued under £500 was likely driven by a rise in claims connected with parking on private land, an inference with no table behind it.

Table 1.2 gives 495,234 money claims issued in April to June 2026 (provisional) against 437,957 a year earlier, within 571,250 claims of all types, and 1,639,830 in the 2025 calendar year. Our calculation: money claims were 86.7% of all county court claims in April to June 2026, and 244,659 of them (49.4%) were for £500 or less.

The Ministry reports 82,000 claims defended, of all types, in April to June 2026 and says “claims defended as a proportion of claims issued” remained stable at 14%. Its tables count the defences filed in a quarter whichever quarter the claim was issued in, so that ratio compares two flows, not the fate of one set of claims.

The cohort view follows the claims issued in one period. Our calculation from the Ministry’s case-progression data, pooling money claims issued in 2023 and 2024 by claim value: 7.0% of 1,279,447 claims up to £500 were recorded as defended, against 29.4% of 175,829 claims from £5,000 to £10,000. The Ministry says figures for recently issued claims are likely to be revised more heavily than older ones.

The Ministry counts 12,000 trials in April to June 2026, 75% of them small claims trials. For small claims that reached trial it reports a median of 41.0 weeks from issue (a mean of 48.5), and 55.9 weeks for fast, intermediate and multi-track claims.

The measure counts only cases that concluded at trial, not those concluded by other routes such as mediation. It relates to cases whose first trial or small claims hearing took place in the quarter, whenever the claim was issued.

The Ministry notes that a small proportion of its stage data, from allocation to final hearing, may be missing or incomplete for money claims between 16 November 2023 and 17 July 2024, and its quality statement says there “may be a degree of inherent inaccuracy as the data comes from an administrative database”.

What can be added to a claim: interest and fixed costs?

The gov.uk guide, read 18 October 2026, says the interest rate is usually 8% for debts other than a late commercial payment, and that a claimant claiming a specified amount works the interest out themselves.

Section 69 of the County Courts Act 1984 lets a judgment include simple interest at the rate the court thinks fit or as prescribed.

Table 2 of Practice Direction 45 sets fixed commencement costs in a claim for the recovery of money or goods where the court serves the claim form: £50 for a claim worth over £25 up to £500, £70 over £500 up to £1,000, £80 over £1,000 up to £5,000 and £100 over £5,000. The N1A notes say the fixed sums for a legal representative’s costs may be claimed only where one has been instructed.

Section 17 of the Judgments Act 1838 gives a judgment debt interest, at the 8% a year that the Judgment Debts (Rate of Interest) Order 1993 substituted for judgments entered after 1 April 1993. For a county court judgment, the County Courts (Interest on Judgment Debts) Order 1991 uses the section 17 rate (article 5, substituted in 1996).

On 18 October 2026 legislation.gov.uk published the 1991 Order only as made, so its amended text is not available as one document. As made, it covered a county court judgment of not less than £5,000; the 1998 amending order extends it to a judgment of any amount for a “qualifying debt” under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998.

Interest runs from the date of the judgment unless the court orders otherwise, or from a later payment or instalment date (article 3), but is not payable under the Order on a judgment given in proceedings to recover money due under an agreement regulated by the Consumer Credit Act 1974 (article 2(3)(a)).

Interest stops once the judgment creditor takes proceedings in a county court to enforce payment, unless those produce no payment; a charging order is not such a proceeding (articles 2 to 4).

On 18 October 2026 no source we read says whether a storage licence fee owed by a business is a qualifying debt under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998. The 1998 order’s explanatory note describes a qualifying debt as a debt to pay the contract price under a contract for the supply of goods or services where both parties act in the course of a business.

Our reading, an inference from the 1991 Order as made and its 1996, 1998 and 2019 amendments: a county court judgment under £5,000 that is not for a qualifying debt carries no interest under that Order, and on 18 October 2026 we found no other source of interest on such a judgment; we did not read the 2014 amendments.

On 18 October 2026 no source we read says how interest runs on a county court judgment once it is transferred to the High Court for enforcement.

How is a judgment enforced, and what does each route cost?

The court’s guide to what to do when a defendant has not paid (EX321, updated 3 November 2025) says “The court will not enforce the judgment unless you ask it to”, and lists four routes: a warrant of control, an attachment of earnings order, a third party debt order and a charging order.

EX321 says a fee is payable for any action and that the court “cannot guarantee you will get your money back”. EX321 also says the court adds the fee to the money the defendant already owes but cannot return what the claimant has paid if the claimant does not get the money from the defendant.

Before a claimant chooses a route, EX321 lists points to consider, starting with whether the claimant is likely to get the money and the court fee from the defendant, and says court staff cannot say which method to choose.

On 18 October 2026 the Ministry’s April to June 2026 release held no amount paid, collected or recovered: its tables count applications and orders, not money.

As read on 18 October 2026, a warrant of control costs £96 (fee 8.1). The gov.uk warrant page, last updated 13 July 2026, prints £94 for a county court warrant and £80 for a High Court writ, where the fee order and EX50 print £96 and £82; the order is the authority, and this guide prints its figures.

As read on 18 October 2026, the sources word the county court limit differently. The warrant page says the court cannot be asked to issue a warrant “for more than £5,000”, gov.uk’s Enforce a judgment page names form N323 for a debt of “£5,000 or less”, and the Money Claim Online welcome page and EX321 also rule out a county court warrant for more than £5,000.

As read on 18 October 2026, article 8(1)(a) of the High Court and County Courts Jurisdiction Order 1991 says a county court money judgment is enforced against goods only in the High Court where the sum is “£5,000 or more”. Article 8(1A) makes an exception for a judgment on a Consumer Credit Act 1974 agreement, which is enforced only in the county court.

The wordings differ for a sum of exactly £5,000. The order is the authority, so this guide says below £5,000 for the county court, with article 8 beside it.

Under regulation 6 of the Taking Control of Goods Regulations 2013, as amended from 1 May 2026, notice of enforcement must be given not less than 14 clear days before the enforcement agent takes control of the goods. The minimum becomes 28 clear days if a debt advice provider asks for it on behalf of the debtor before the notice period ends, but not for non-eligible business debt.

The amending regulations, S.I. 2026/366, define non-eligible business debt by reference to regulation 5(6)(d) of the Debt Respite Scheme (Breathing Space Moratorium and Mental Health Crisis Moratorium) (England and Wales) Regulations 2020.

On 18 October 2026 legislation.gov.uk showed that paragraph only as made. It covers debt incurred in connection with a business carried on by a debtor who, at the point of the application for a moratorium and for the purpose of that business, is registered for VAT or is a partner in a partnership with any other person, where the debt solely relates to that business.

As read on 18 October 2026, an attachment of earnings order costs £139 (fee 8.7). The N337 guidance (updated 12 October 2023) says the amount owed must be £50 or more, while the form’s landing page says “more than £50”, so the two differ at exactly £50.

In the High Court the claimant asks for a writ of control, which needs a certificate of judgment on form N293A; as read on 18 October 2026, sealing the writ costs £82 (fee 7.1). The gov.uk warrant page and EX321 both say that procedure is different and can be complicated and more expensive.

On 18 October 2026 we found no fee for a certificate of judgment, the step before a High Court writ of control, in the fee order, EX50 or gov.uk’s court fees page; the fee those sources print for the High Court route is £82 for sealing the writ. We did not ask a court office or read the guidance to form N293A.

Across the latest four quarters, Table 1.8 shows 12,158 attachment of earnings orders applied for and 7,209 made, 3,119 third party debt orders applied for and 826 made, and 26,444 charging orders applied for and 21,056 made (our calculation). These count applications and orders, not money, and are not a success rate.

gov.uk’s guide for a person with a judgment against them, read 18 October 2026, tells that person to pay the claimant or the claimant’s solicitor, and adds “Do not pay the court”.

What does a judgment do to a credit record?

Trust Online says most monetary county court judgments (CCJs) appear on the Register of Judgments, Orders and Fines, which Registry Trust Ltd keeps under contract to the Ministry of Justice, and gov.uk says “Banks and loan companies use this information to decide whether to give you credit or loans”. On 18 October 2026 we read no page of a credit reference agency, so this section reports the Register and what gov.uk says about it.

As read on 18 October 2026, the Registrar removes an entry six years from the date of the judgment (regulation 26(a) of the Register of Judgments, Orders and Fines Regulations 2005), and gov.uk and Trust Online say the same. A debt satisfied one month or less from the judgment leads to a request to cancel the entry, and one satisfied later to a request to mark it satisfied (regulation 11).

Every High Court and county court judgment is returned to the Registrar, subject to exemptions, and a contested judgment is not registered until an instalment order is made or applied for, an enforcement step is taken, or an order to obtain information or a certificate of judgment is applied for (regulations 8 and 9).

Since S.I. 2026/697, in force 20 July 2026, the return also carries the claimant’s full name, with exceptions such as a court order protecting the claimant’s identity. The transitional period runs from 20 July 2026 to 19 October 2026, and our reading, an inference, is that the Registrar’s duty to record claimants’ names starts on 20 October 2026.

As read on 18 October 2026, Trust Online’s undated page says “The Register does not contain details of the claimant”, and the explanatory note to S.I. 2026/697 refers to “a three-month period between the sharing of data and its publication in the Register”.

On 18 October 2026 we found no source that says when a claimant’s name becomes visible to someone searching the Register once it is recorded, in the 2005 Regulations, S.I. 2026/697 or the Trust Online pages we read.

What changes in Scotland and Northern Ireland?

This guide is for England and Wales, and gov.uk says there is a different process to make a court claim in Scotland and in Northern Ireland. We relied on two pages for each, so what follows is only the headline limit, the form of claim and the issue fee, as read on 18 October 2026.

In Scotland, the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service says Simple Procedure is for payment of a sum of money of £5,000 or less, with the ordinary cause procedure above £5,000. From 1 April 2026 the fee to lodge a claim form in actions for sums of money of £300 or less is £23 and in all other actions £127; a second fee schedule applies from 1 April 2027, which we did not read.

In Northern Ireland, nidirect says a small claim is in general one worth not more than £5,000 and that above that the claimant must either abandon the excess or issue a civil bill in the County Court (up to £30,000).

The Department of Justice’s fees page, read 18 October 2026, shows no date of its own and lists the fee to lodge a small claim as £49 up to £300, £81 up to £500, £113 up to £1,000, £163 up to £3,000 and £244 above £3,000.

On 18 October 2026 we read no Wales-only procedure and no Welsh-language form; S.I. 2021/588 (fees) and S.I. 2026/697 (the Register) each say they extend to England and Wales. We did not check enforcement, interest, registers or time limits in Scotland or Northern Ireland.

What this guide does not cover

• Before the claim. The pre-action steps, penalty rule, limitation and Breathing Space are in the late fees guide linked above, and Direct Debit indemnity claims in the taking payments guide.
• Selling the goods. The sale of uncollected goods is in the abandoned units guide linked above.
• Interest and credit law. We did not apply the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998 or the Consumer Credit Act 1974 to a licence fee.
• Fees and help. Help with fees (we did not check whether a business claimant can qualify), High Court costs beyond the writ fee and the Taking Control of Goods fees.
• Other routes and challenges. Administration orders, insolvency, counterclaims, set-aside and appeals.
• Other nations and languages. Scotland and Northern Ireland beyond the headline limit, claim form and fee, and Welsh-language forms.
• Data we did not read. Credit reference agencies, any storage-specific statistic and any figure for sums recovered.

Questions to put to the court and an adviser

• The court office or the Civil National Business Centre: which warrant limit applies for a sum of exactly £5,000, and which minimum applies at exactly £50 for an attachment of earnings order?
• The court office: does any court fee apply to the certificate of judgment for a High Court writ of control?
• A solicitor or debt adviser: is a given licence fee a qualifying debt under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998?
• A solicitor or debt adviser: could a given licence agreement be a regulated agreement under the Consumer Credit Act 1974?
• A solicitor or debt adviser: what applies to interest on a judgment under £5,000 that is not for a qualifying debt, and to interest and enforcement once a judgment is transferred to the High Court?
• The court: is small claims mediation required of the claimant, or does it need all parties’ agreement?
• Registry Trust: when does a claimant’s name become visible to someone searching the Register?
• HM Courts & Tribunals Service or the Ministry of Justice: does any management information show sums collected through enforcement?

Sources

All read on 18 October 2026.

• Fees: the Civil Proceedings Fees Order 2008, Schedule 1, the same Schedule as at 9 March 2015, S.I. 2021/588, S.I. 2026/642 and S.I. 2026/665; EX50, Civil court fees (updated 13 July 2026), and gov.uk’s Court fees page.
• Starting and defending a claim: gov.uk’s guide Make a court claim for money, including Make a claim, After you make your claim, Claim the interest, mediation and the hearing; Respond to a court claim for money; form N1 with its notes N1A and claim form.
• Online services: the Money Claims service entry page and the Money Claim Online welcome page.
• Civil Procedure Rules: Parts 2, 6, 7, 9, 10, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 26 and 27; Practice Direction 7C; Part 45 and Practice Direction 45.
• Statistics: the Ministry of Justice’s Civil justice statistics quarterly: April to June 2026, published 3 September 2026, with its bulletin, guide, quality statement, Sankey guide, accessible tables and data files.
• Enforcement guidance: HM Courts & Tribunals Service’s EX321, gov.uk’s warrant of control guidance, Enforce a judgment, the attachment of earnings guidance and form page, and EX325 on third party debt orders and charging orders.
• Enforcement rules: Civil Procedure Rules Part 70, Part 71, Part 72, Part 73, Part 83 and Part 89; the High Court and County Courts Jurisdiction Order 1991, article 8; the Taking Control of Goods Regulations 2013, regulation 6, as amended by S.I. 2026/366.
• Breathing Space: regulation 5 of the Debt Respite Scheme (Breathing Space Moratorium and Mental Health Crisis Moratorium) (England and Wales) Regulations 2020.
• Judgment interest: Judgments Act 1838, section 17; the Judgment Debts (Rate of Interest) Order 1993; the County Courts (Interest on Judgment Debts) Order 1991 with its list of changes and the amending orders of 1996, 1998 and 2019; County Courts Act 1984, section 69.
• The Register: the Register of Judgments, Orders and Fines Regulations 2005 and S.I. 2026/697; Trust Online’s help pages on the registers, satisfying a judgment and information on the registers; gov.uk’s county court judgments for debt, including pay the judgment and CCJs and your credit rating; gov.uk’s Breathing Space guidance for creditors on the courts, last updated 22 July 2021.
• Scotland and Northern Ireland: the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service’s Guide to Simple Procedure and Sheriff Court fees; nidirect on small claims and the Department of Justice’s small claims fees.
• Searches: Find Case Law and the British and Irish Legal Information Institute, between them for “self storage” alone and with “licence fee”, arrears, “penalty”, “unfair term” or “late payment”, and for storage with “licence fees” and arrears, including the four searches that our late fees guide ran on 10 October 2026.