Sharp fall in house repossessions

THERE has been a dramatic decrease in the number of repossessions orders granted in the Dublin High Court over the last month.

Yesterday Judge Brian McGovern presided over a sitting of the High Court where only two repossession orders were granted.

The previous week saw four repossession orders granted to mortgage providers, compared with the average over the last year of the High Court granting more than 10 repossession orders at each of its weekly Chancery Summons sittings.

Forty-eight cases were adjourned yesterday. One case involved a €521,000 debt accumulated from a €390,000 loan from Carlisle Mortgages for 66 acres of agriculture land in Co Kilkenny. The judge refused to grant a repossession order even though no scheduled mortgage repayments had been made.

Another case saw Start Mortgage’s take voluntary possession for a property on which €40,000 arrears had been accumulated. Ten cheques issued to the mortgage provider by the client had been returned due to insufficient funds.

Despite the former property owner offering to immediately give up possession of the house, Judge McGovern ruled that a week was to be given for a letter explaining the circumstances to be translated into Polish and delivered to the house’s tenants.

He said that this action must be carried out by the mortgage provider as the tenants have rights in this matter.

The mortgage holder said these tenants will be vacating the house prior to May 22 to return to Poland

Free Legal Advice Centre (FLAC) director general Noeline Blackwell said: “Currently judges have no option other than to adjourn a case or grand the order. In FLAC, we are calling for more powers to be provided for the court to look at the terms of mortgages and see if they are fair. Powers should also allow for the circumstances of a person to be taken into account and whether these are so changed that they cannot pay at the moment, but perhaps will be able to in the future and the debt should be deferred.”

In November last, Justice McGovern said that, after granting nine possession orders, his mounting weekly court list dealing with mortgage defaulters were a catalogue of “misery“.

In February this year, Master of the High Court Edmund Honohan told banks and lawyers they should remember the courts have discretion whether or not to grant possession orders and the behaviour of the lender is a relevant factor which may determine the outcome of a case.

He added that new market conditions demanded new legal solutions – “better still, solutions that are both legal and equitable” – and orders for possession will not be made “as a matter of course”.