Debt Help Guides Menu - Please Select... A Guide to UK Mortgage Types Administration Orders - What is an Administration Order? Are Bank Charges Lawful ? Attachment of Earning Orders Bailiffs: What they are entitled to do and Your rights Bankruptcy IVA Comparisons Charging Orders - What is a Charging Order? Credit Reports, Credit Files and Credit Blacklists. Credit Reports: Fixing Errors on your Credit Report Credit Reports: Reasons for a Poor Credit Score Debt Consolidation Debt Help - Budgeting Tips FAQ - Dealing with debt, ways to help debt problems Gambling & Debt: Are gambling debts enforceable? Harassment from Creditors and Debt Collectors How Can I Consolidate My Debt Without a Loan ? How can I get a CCJ removed? Insolvency Glossary of Terms - Jargon Buster Limitation Act 1980 and Unsecured Debts. Loans UK - Secured Loans FAQ Loans UK - Unsecured Loans FAQ Mortgage Arrears - Advice for those with Money Problems New UK Bankruptcy and Insolvency Laws OFT (Office of Fair Trading) Debt Management Guidelines Refused Credit ? Refused a Loan ? Repossession Advice Sequestration - Bankruptcy in Scotland SIVA - Simple IVAs Statutory Demands Tax and Debt: Magistrates’ Courts Proceedings Tax and Debt: What is Distraint ? The Right to Offset - Why you should avoid debts with your Bank. Time Orders - What is a Time Order? UK Insolvency Forms UK Bankruptcy Advice - Truths and Myths, FAQ UK Insolvency Advice - Business Bankruptcy UK Insolvency Advice - Liquidation UK State Benefits What Debt Help Options are available to me ? What is a PVA ? (Partnership Voluntary Arrangements) What is a CVA ? (Company Voluntary Arrangement) What is a Trust Deed ? Which types of debts are Dischargeable within Bankruptcy ? Your legal rights: Coping with many Debts Your legal rights: Council Tax Debt Your legal rights: Dealing with Bailiffs & Debt Collectors Your legal rights: Gas, Electric and Water Bill Debts Your legal rights: Hire Purchase (HP) Debt Problems Your legal rights: Legal Protection for UK Residents with Debts Your legal rights: Loan and Credit Card problems Your legal rights: Rent or Mortgage Payments Your legal rights: When you can be in Prison with Debt.

Repossession Advice

The only way you can be evicted from your home is if the lender or freeholder of your home has legal grounds and the right procedure is followed. Repossession does not happen automatically, and at any stage of the process, it may be possible for you to stop it from happening. In the event that you have been threatened with repossession, you should seek out legal advice right away. Depending on what your personal circumstances happen to be, the process may be stopped, but you should always act quickly. If you are unable to pay your mortgage or any other loan that has been secured on your home, your lender may take legal action against you. It is possible, however, to avoid going to court in nearly every case.

 

My lender is trying to evict me

Most lenders will only try to repossess your home as a last resort. Lenders prefer to sort out your payment problems in other ways. Your options will most likely depend on what kind of mortgage you have; how far behind you are with payments, and the reasons for your arrears.

If your lender contacts you about your arrears, do not ignore them. If you respond, then the lender is a lot more likely to try and take you to court. If you do not know how to respond, get advice from a housing aid center or a citizen’s advice bureau. It may be possible that they can advise you as to how to control your arrears and keep your home.

Letters from your lender

Typically, before you receive anything else, you will get a letter that says you have missed a payment or two. It will normally ask you to confirm how you intend to catch up on missing payments, or contact your lender in order to discuss your financial situation.

In the event that your lender is not satisfied with your proposals, or your arrears continue to pile up, they will probably write to you once again. The second letter usually says that attorneys will get involved if you are not able to clear up your arrears. They will typically ask you to contact them within seven days to discuss the situation. Typically, it is better to negotiate with your lender before attorneys become involved, as they are usually less than helpful in these situations. You can negotiate with the help of your citizens’ advice bureau or your local housing aid center.

Letters from your lender's solicitor

Whenever attorneys get involved, they tend to begin by sending you a letter giving you seven days to pay off all your arrears, or to propose an alternate arrangement for doing so. If your response fails to satisfy them, then they can take court action against you without any further warning.
At this stage, it is worthwhile to continue trying to negotiate. Even in the event that you are unable to come to an agreement, it is likely that the court will be more sympathetic towards you if you tried to sort things out before legal action started. An adviser can help you through this process.

If the case goes to court

If you were not able to stop your lender from starting court action, this does not necessarily mean that your home will be lost. It is worth trying to negotiate a solution before the hearing takes places. If this proves to be impossible, then the court will listen to both sides before deciding what will happen to your home.

Before the case goes to court, you should do your best to get advice. The options available to you will depend on the reasons why you have been threatened with repossession. An adviser will be able to explain your options, and let you know whether or not the court will likely allow you to stay in your home.

The Court Process of Repossession

Repossession is a process that takes several stages. It can take a few months, or it can occur within a few weeks. You may be able to stop the process at any stage, however, so get advice immediately.

The earlier you take action, the more options will remain open to you and the less you will have to pay in legal fees. There are rules that govern the procedure of repossession that have to be followed at every stage – if any of them are not, then you may be able to stop the eviction or repossession of your home.

Reasons for repossession

In order for your home to be repossessed, there must be a legal reason. The most common reason is that you have not paid your mortgage. Leaseholders may also be evicted if they break the conditions of their lease, such as not paying rent or service charges. This is highly unusual, however.

The only other way you may be forced to leave your home is if the local authority makes a compulsory purchase order to buy your home. This happens sometimes when a major local development, such as a road-widening scheme, is planned. You should be entitled to compensation if this happens to you, and should get advice.

In the event that you are in arrears, you should try to pay as much as you can on a regular basis – even if court action against you has already started.

Notice from your lender

In the beginning, your lender or freeholder or their lawyer should contact you, asking you to solve the problem. If they are unhappy with your response, they should write to you in order to give a warning that they might pursue legal action against you. Only once they have done this are they able to apply to the county court for a possession order.

A court summons

The court should then write you to inform you that a hearing has been scheduled. This is a called a summons. You should get advice immediately upon hearing from the court. You should reply to the court. If you do not, this can greatly harm your case. An adviser should help you prepare for the hearing.

The hearing

At the hearing, the judge will hear evidence from you as well as your lender before making a decision. The judge may do any of the following:

• Adjourn the case
• Strike it out
• Allow you to stay in the property provided you keep to certain conditions, such as repaying the arrears in installments, or
• Give you time to sell your property to avoid repossession, or
• Decide that you should be evicted

The court order

Should the judge decide that your home is to be repossessed, the court order will assign a date for you to leave. If you do not leave by that date, then the lender will apply to the court for a bailiff’s warrant. At that point, the bailiff will write to you to let you know when the eviction will take place. On that date, they will come and remove you from your home.

Avoiding payment problems in the future

If you continue to have problems with your mortgage, get advice in order to prevent your arrears from increasing. We may be able to help you negotiate to avoid having your house repossessed.

 

FOR MORE ADVICE CALL 0844 800 4564