Before it goes to court

What your mortgage lender must do

Before a mortgage lender can repossess your home, they must:

  • tell you how much you owe
  • consider a request from you to change the way you pay your mortgage
  • respond to any offer of payment you make
  • give you reasons for turning down your offer of payment within 10 days
  • give you a reasonable amount of time to consider any proposal they make
  • give you 15 days’ written warning if they plan to start court action
  • tell you the date and time of a repossession hearing
  • let your council know within 5 days of getting notification of the date of the court hearing, in case you need to apply to the council as homeless

Finding a solution

Even if your mortgage lender starts a court action, you may still be able to reach an agreement with them.

You’ll still need to attend court to tell the judge about the agreement, unless the court tells you the hearing’s been cancelled or postponed.