header-logo header-logo

Property: Beg, borrow or steal?

12 March 2009 / Edward Peters KC
Issue: 7360 / Categories: Features
printer mail-detail

Edward Peters considers recent cases about mortgage possession and adverse possession

The Council of Mortgage Lenders recently announced that the number of homes repossessed by mortgagees in 2008 rose 54% to 40,000, and that it expects there to be about 75,000 repossessions in 2009. Under s 36 of the Administration of Justice Act 1970, where a mortgagee brings an action for possession of a dwelling, the court has various powers of adjournment, suspension or postponement if it appears to the court that, in the event of its exercising the relevant power, the mortgagor is likely to be able, within a reasonable period, to pay any sums due under the mortgage. The question of how those powers should be exercised has produced a large and still-growing body of case law. A recent case underlines the fact that mortgagors intending to rely on the provisions of s 36 should ensure that they have adequate evidence before the court of their proposed means of repayment, and not expect that the court will be indulgent and grant

If you are not a subscriber, subscribe now to read this content
If you are already a subscriber sign in
...or Register for two weeks' free access to subscriber content

MOVERS & SHAKERS

DWF—19 appointments

DWF—19 appointments

Belfast team bolstered by three senior hires and 16 further appointments

Cadwalader—Andro Atlaga

Cadwalader—Andro Atlaga

Firm strengthens leveraged finance team with London partner hire

Knights—Ella Dodgson & Rebecca Laffan

Knights—Ella Dodgson & Rebecca Laffan

Double hire marks launch of family team in Leeds

NEWS
The Supreme Court issued a landmark judgment in July that overturned the convictions of Tom Hayes and Carlo Palombo, once poster boys of the Libor and Euribor scandal. In NLJ this week, Neil Swift of Peters & Peters considers what the ruling means for financial law enforcement
Bea Rossetto of the National Pro Bono Centre makes the case for ‘General Practice Pro Bono’—using core legal skills to deliver life-changing support, without the need for niche expertise—in this week's NLJ
In this week's NLJ, Steven Ball of Red Lion Chambers unpacks how advances in forensic science finally unmasked Ryland Headley, jailed in 2025 for the 1967 rape and murder of 75-year-old Louisa Dunne. Preserved swabs and palm prints lay dormant for decades until DNA-17 profiling produced a billion-to-one match
Small law firms want to embrace technology but feel lost in a maze of jargon, costs and compliance fears, writes Aisling O’Connell of the Solicitors Regulation Authority in this week's NLJ
Charlie Mercer and Astrid Gillam of Stewarts crunch the numbers on civil fraud claims in the English courts, in this week's NLJ. New data shows civil fraud claims rising steadily since 2014, with the King’s Bench Division overtaking the Commercial Court as the forum of choice for lower-value disputes
back-to-top-scroll