The court will need to see that you have missed payments, and that your landlord or mortgage lender used the proper procedures in trying to get the money you owe.  If your landlord has not done what it was supposed to do (eg. they didn't repair your house or flat) the court might not make a possession order.

If you are a council tenant, the court must decide if an order is reasonable.  It will take account of whether you are vulnerable (eg. if you are elderly) and whether you have tried to make payments.  If your landlord or mortgage lender proves their case, then the court usually grants a possession order.  But normally, if you start paying the money you owe, you won't be evicted.

The court can allow you to pay off the mortgage repayments you've missed over the years you have left on your mortgage.  It can also let you clear any payments you've missed on your council rent, depending on how much you can afford to pay.  If you then miss payments, the landlord or mortgage lender can ask for an eviction warrant.  You won't be warned of this beforehand, although the court should tell you the date of eviction.  At this stage, you can ask for a court hearing to ask the judge to call off (suspend) the eviction.  You should do this before the time you are to be evicted, because after that, your application will probably be refused.  You will need specialist legal help if you are in this situation.

The main exception to this procedure is:

• you have an 'assured shorthold' tenancy from a private landlord (eg not the council or a housing association) and;
• you have missed more than two months' rent payments.  In that case the court will automatically award a possession order against you and it cannot be suspended to give you time to pay.

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last updated 16/08/07