Alternatives to a Property Possession Order

The courts have power to do the following:

a) To "adjourn" (postpone the matter so that it is dealt with at a later date) the proceedings to allow you to pay the amount you owe within the period of adjournment.

b) "Suspend" or "stay" the possession order if there is a possibility that within a reasonable period of time you will be able to repay the amounts due or put right any breach of your agreement with the lender. This usually involves a court making a possession order, but that order is not enforced unless you fail to pay what is owed.

c) Postpone possession for a period of time the court considers to be reasonable, (this will usually only be done if you can convince the court that after the end of that period you will be able to pay the normal repayments as well as the arrears).

However, this does not apply to "all monies" charges.
When deciding what is a "reasonable period" the court can take account of the whole of the remaining part of the original term of the mortgage in deciding whether the borrower could pay off the arrears by instalment over that period.

Often legal charges of mortgage deeds will give a lender the right to demand the whole outstanding amount if instalment payments have fallen into arrears. The court will usually only require the normal instalment plus the arrears to be paid in order to prevent a possession order. They will not require the whole amount of the loan to be paid in one payment.

There is case law to suggest lenders should spread the arrears over the remaining term of the loan, rather than just over a few years.
 

Property Foreclosure - for non-payment of loan or mortgage

Private Housing