Well done Mcjordi. I'm pleased it went well.

Yes I have read the thread and was very surprised that a lender has even contemplated giving the borrower any surplus. As the majority of those in receipt are likely to have some arrears, then it seems sensible to let it pay off those. I am going to have a nose into it as its an interesting point.

Yes it can get complicated for second mortgages where the money was used for a variety of things, but as you say, its worth the tooing and froing as every little helps.

It was due to end in June (and before that Dec 09) so now it will end in December 2010. I would be surprised if any lenders actually returned the 'overpayments' to the borrower. The money is designed to prevent repossession by paying mortgages not to bump up monthly income for spending on other things. It has a specific purpose and I think its quite right that it does. If it pays off come capital or arrears for people too, then that is great.

Good luck today. Try not to worry too much, just have the figures ready for the judge in the event that the council wont make an appropriate agreement before you go into the hearing. Hopefully, they will agree to adjourn on terms or at worst, ask for a Postponed Possession Order. That said, even an Suspended Possession Order is not the end of the world as long as you keep up the payments but its a bit heavy handed for your circumstances.

That is good to hear.

Not a lot. If there is a duty adviser they will do all the talking for you if you want but if there is no-one or they are busy, then you will just have to say you agree with the council when they say they are adjourning/withdrawing but want costs at £5 a week or whatever arrangement you come to. You are likely to be in and out within 5 minutes. Its dead quick and nowhere near as intimidating as you may think. Good luck!

It sounds like you are also a secure tenant (as mcjordi) and so that is the likely result. The arrears would have to be much higher for a judge to consider throwing you out, especially with a young family. If the arrears are cleared then no order plus costs is about right (its difficult to get out of costs once action has been started). £10 a week is quite high (the council would probably agree £5) but if you can easily afford it, then yes that sounds good.

It wont really make a difference to be honest.

Now that's what a call a good judge. Your tenancy was probably not as secure as mcjordi and so if he finds a judge with a similar attitude, all will be good.

On what you've told us, hugely unlikely. You shouldn't really settle for an SPO. With a secure tenancy you should get a PPO or have it adjourned on terms, if they continue with the case at all that is.

For arrears of just a few hundred, the judge can actually adjourn on terms (that you pay weekly rent plus £3.25 off the arrears) and not give any sort of possession order. Even if he wont do that, he can give a Postponed Possession Order instead of a Suspended Possession Order. The difference is that with a PPO, the council have to go back to court and the court decides next steps so the council cannot go straight for the eviction order if you fail to meet a future payment, as they can with an SPO. The relevant caselaw is Woodspring v Taylor. Costs are likely to be £169.50 which will need to be paid back from the agreed £3.25, however, the judge may decide its disproportionate for the council to pursue the claim and chuck it out. All depends on the judge. The duty adviser will be best placed to advise as they will know how each judge at that particular court operates.

That's generally true yes although if the council told you they would suspend, then they should have got a suspended order. As long as you keep up any agreed payment plan, then all should be well.

The arrears are comparatively small so it seems a bit off of the Local Authority to take possession action. Had you made and then broken previous agreements for repayments? I cant see a judge giving the council possession for such a small amount. Have you got it in writing that they were going to get a suspended order as opposed to a 28 day outright order? If so, they may have already gone against their own policy and as a council, that could potentially leave them open to a public law defence of unreasonableness (under Human Rights Act). Find out who runs the court desk at the court and go and see them as a public law defence is a bit complex. Desk could be run by CAB, Shelter, local solicitor or local law centre. As you are on IS, you should be able to get legal aid. If you have a disability, you may well be priority homeless (although arrears wont help your case ) and so, logically, there is little point in the council throwing you out as you could well end up back with them for housing.

Different lenders do different things - talk to yours and see what their view is. If they go for eviction you will get advance notice from the bailiffs. You can then apply to the court to suspend the eviction. As the arrears have reduced since the original order was made, that is a positive for you in terms of how a judge will view things. You will though need to come to some sort of new arrangement - as before with the monthly instalment plus something off the arrears. The arrears amount can depend on how long the mortgage has to run. In the meantime, if you are signing on, after 13 weeks, the DWP pay your mortgage. They pay for a capital value of up to £200k and it is paid at 6.08% regardless of your mortgage rate and so it many start paying off some of the arrears too.

Hi and sorry I should have made it clearer that duty desks are generally only staffed on possession days. The court wont stop the hearing unless confirmed by the claimant (the council) so that is not unusual. The duty adviser will see you on the day though - they try and see everyone with a hearing, just get there a good half hour before your case is due in. Good luck!

You can ask them to stop the action. Some councils will, others take the approach that you've only paid the arrears because they have taken action and so they go into court for them to collect the £100 costs anyway. Some will just ask the court to adjourn on the day and no costs. Worth a try as it will depend on the particular council's policy. If you have a good payment history they may call it off without costs, particularly as the arrears were only small anyway.

I'm not surprised Shelter are surprised - you are a secure tenant with no rent arrears. Its likely they will just adjourn the case on the day, if they don't pull it beforehand. Court fees are not rent and so they cant get a rent arrears order for them. Normally with fees they just get added on to the rent account and people pay them off at £3.25/£5 a week. You should check County Court Search to see if you will find a duty adviser at the court. They will represent you and hopefully agree with the council before the case goes in that it needs to be adjourned.

Do you still need advice?

Sorry to butt in but surely the court order will be for CMI (current monthly installment) plus £100. The CMI can go up or down so you have to pay whatever it is (£388, £499 whatever) plus £100. Dont know about the extra £3 but perhaps they have added the court fees to the arrears? Even if they have, a flat £100 on top of whatever the CMI is now will be what you have to pay.

Getting sacked could mean benefits are suspended for six months. Mortgage interest may not cover the monthly payments (the rate is due to go down in June) and another 3 months of arrears wont help the bigger picture.

Its difficult when you cant afford the repayments but sadly, sometimes the economics are against you. It may be worth asking Futures to follow the principles of the Homeowners Support Scheme which encourages lenders to accept payments at less than the interest only rate for a temporary period: http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/housing/pdf/1205889.pdf Do you have other (unsecured) debts which you can negotiate on to free up more cash for this most important debt?