Possession hearing

[Feelashamed]

If £900 of arrears has been paid, leaving £800 (which will be paid on 28/08/14), can someone please tell me the likelihood of loosing my home? I'm totally ashamed that I have had my head in the sand over our finances, now have to face up to reality!

[caro]

You have nothing to be ashamed about. Lots of people have difficulty facing their debts. You can't lose your home without a judge agreeing to it, and if you can show that you can pay your arrears, especially such a small amount, no judge will take your home from you.

 

Can you confirm if you really mean August 2014 and not 2013? You'd be expected to pay something off the arrears each month, but not more than you could afford.

[Feelashamed]

You have nothing to be ashamed about. Lots of people have difficulty facing their debts. You can't lose your home without a judge agreeing to it, and if you can show that you can pay your arrears, especially such a small amount, no judge will take your home from you.

 

Can you confirm if you really mean August 2014 and not 2013? You'd be expected to pay something off the arrears each month, but not more than you could afford.

 

Hi Caro, yes sorry wasn't sleeping, did mean 2013

[caro]

Have you got something from the court which has made you worry about losing your home?

[Rorschach]

Have you got something from the court which has made you worry about losing your home?

The letter of the law is that if you are over two monthly instalments behind then a possession order can be granted. However in reality it doesn't work like that. If you can speak to the judge I giving an offer a of payment I have no doubt that the judge will not make an order over your home. I speak as somebody who has experience of thousands of possession hearings.

[Lea_HTH]

It DOES work like that. If a s8 notice is validly served, indicating a ground 8; i.e. 8 weeks or two months in arrears depending on payment type at the time of service of the notice and on the day of a hearing, then the judge has NO DISCRETION - it is a MANDATORY ground. The only way to stop a tick box mandatory claim is to negotiate with the claimant outside of court and get them to agree to drop the ground 8 and for THEM to tell the judge they are dropping it in favour of a discretionary one.

 

Rorschach you've also gone from 'hundreds of possessions' to 'thousands of possessions' in a couple of posts! Don't give people false hope, it's unfair.

 

OP, if you have received a notice, indicate what type and what grounds, and how much your weekly/monthly rent is, and we'll take it from there.

[Feelashamed]

It DOES work like that. If a s8 notice is validly served, indicating a ground 8; i.e. 8 weeks or two months in arrears depending on payment type at the time of service of the notice and on the day of a hearing, then the judge has NO DISCRETION - it is a MANDATORY ground. The only way to stop a tick box mandatory claim is to negotiate with the claimant outside of court and get them to agree to drop the ground 8 and for THEM to tell the judge they are dropping it in favour of a discretionary one.

 

Rorschach you've also gone from 'hundreds of possessions' to 'thousands of possessions' in a couple of posts! Don't give people false hope, it's unfair.

 

OP, if you have received a notice, indicate what type and what grounds, and how much your weekly/monthly rent is, and we'll take it from there.

 

Hi

Thanks for the advice from all, the hearing is 23rd Aug, we have been told by the mortgage company that they will be asking for a suspended order as we have more than halved the arrears and will be clearing them the following week. All paperwork has gone to the court with this information in it. Our monthly mortgage payment is £470.

[Lea_HTH]

Oh, it's a mortgage. In which case the two month/8 week thing doesn't even apply!

 

You need to ask the judge to adjourn the hearing with liberty to restore for a fixed period of one year (you ask for the fixed period otherwise the adjournment will stand indefinitely) - this is the best outcome for you as the arrears will be cleared shortly and there is no need for a suspended possession order if one week later the arrears are cleared. If the judge doesn't seem sure, ask him/her to adjourn until after the date you say you can clear the arrears - that way when it next comes into court there won't be any arrears and he can adjourn with liberty to restore at that stage - he may see the sense in just doing the former in the first place in order to save you costs.

 

Do NOT agree to a suspended order - that is not in your best interests and if you clear the arrears it just isn't fair either.

[Feelashamed]

Hi, just to update, the hearing was adjourned today as we were below two months arrears. Practus solicitors agreed that it should have never gone to court despite what their clients were requesting! Unfortunately now have £100 court costs added!!!

Thank you for everyone's advice and reassurance

[caro]

Great news. Out of order about the costs though.

[Feelashamed]

We may try our luck and get them taken off the balance, especially as they lost!

[caro]

If costs weren't awarded I wouldn't have thought they could be added, but if they were you have no choice.