Practical guide

Residential possession

If you live in the property and your lender has mentioned court, there are steps it is expected to take first. This page sets out what those steps are, what happens at a hearing and where to get free help. It is information about published rules, not legal advice.

If you have a hearing date

Do not stay away. Free duty advisers attend most possession hearings and can speak for you on the day at no cost — ask at the court for the housing possession court duty scheme. Shelter (0808 800 4444) and Citizens Advice can also help before the hearing, and StepChange (0800 138 1111) can help with the payment side.

What the lender should do before starting a claim

These steps come from the Pre-Action Protocol for Possession Claims based on Mortgage or Home Purchase Plan Arrears, which applies to residential owner-occupied property in England and Wales.

  1. 1

    Tell you what you owe

    The lender should give you the total arrears, the outstanding balance, and the charges and interest that make up the arrears figure.

  2. 2

    Discuss the reason for the arrears

    It should ask why you have fallen behind, whether the problem is temporary, and what you can realistically pay.

  3. 3

    Consider a payment proposal

    If you make a proposal, the lender should respond within a reasonable period and give reasons in writing within ten business days if it refuses.

  4. 4

    Give you time where you are taking steps yourself

    If you are actively marketing the property, applying for benefits such as Support for Mortgage Interest, or have a claim on a payment protection policy, the lender should consider postponing.

  5. 5

    Warn you before starting a claim

    At least five business days before issuing, the lender should give you the arrears figure, the balance, and tell you it intends to start a possession claim.

  6. 6

    Treat court as a last resort

    A possession claim should not be started where a reasonable alternative has not been considered. A court can adjourn a claim where the protocol has not been followed.

The protocol does not stop a lender going to court. It sets out what the court expects it to have done first, and a lender that has not done it may have to explain why.

What happens at a possession hearing

  • A first hearing is usually short and takes place in the county court for the area where the property is.
  • You can attend even if you have not filed anything. Bringing evidence of your income, expenditure and any payments you have made matters more than legal argument.
  • The court can adjourn, or suspend a possession order on terms that you pay the monthly payment plus something towards the arrears, if it is satisfied you can pay the arrears within a reasonable period.
  • A reasonable period can be the remaining term of the mortgage, not a fixed short window.
  • A suspended order means you keep the property while you keep to the terms. It does not end the claim.

This page is about residential property

Buy-to-let is different.

The pre-action protocol applies to owner-occupied residential mortgages. On a buy-to-let mortgage a lender will often appoint a receiver instead of going to court, and no hearing takes place at all. If that is your situation, the LPA receivers hub is the relevant page.

Published records concerning possession and property sales

Decisions and documents already in this archive that deal with possession, repossession or the sale of a property in arrears.

Complaint not upheldOfficial source – Financial Ombudsman23 February 2026

DRN-6064258 – Buy-to-let term expiry, formal demand and rejected repayment proposals; complaint not upheld

An unregulated interest-only buy-to-let mortgage of a little over £111,000 taken out in early 2007 with another lender and transferred to Rooftop Mortgages Limited in 2016. The term expired in 2022 and the borrower could not repay. Rooftop agreed a number of informal term extensions. In March 2025 it issued a formal demand. The borrower proposed selling the mortgaged property at a likely price of £75,000, paying a £5,000 lump sum from savings and repaying part of the residue from the sale of a second property expected sometime in 2026. Rooftop rejected those proposals. The complaint was not upheld.

Complaint not upheldOfficial source – Financial Ombudsman5 January 2026

DRN-5818655 – Information about property disposals by LPA receivers; complaint not upheld

Three buy-to-let mortgages where, due to arrears, Rooftop appointed Law of Property Act receivers to manage the properties. The receivers decided the properties were not viable as lettings and sold them, the third sale completing in August 2025. The complaint, raised in March 2025, concerned information about the disposals and the receivers' conduct, and was not upheld.

Complaint not upheldOfficial source – Financial Ombudsman11 November 2025

DRN-5586287 – Shortfall sale declined in 2023 and agreed in 2024; complaint not upheld

A buy-to-let mortgage held on one property within a wider portfolio. In June 2023 the borrower told Rooftop his buy-to-let business was no longer viable and that he had a buyer for the mortgaged property, but that the sale would leave a shortfall of around £15,000 which he said would be covered by the equity from the sale of another property. Rooftop declined and required full repayment on sale. The other sale did not proceed and both properties were let again. In March 2024 Rooftop started enforcement action because of the level of arrears. In April 2024 the borrower asked Rooftop to hold off, served notice on his tenants and remarketed the property. Rooftop agreed; the property sold for around £35,000 less than the asking price, leaving a shortfall of over £60,000.

Complaint not upheldOfficial source – Financial Ombudsman8 October 2024

DRN-4759894 – Missing title deeds, a legal fee and a settlement offer; complaint not upheld

An interest-only mortgage taken out in May 2001 transferred to Rooftop in 2019; the term ended in May 2021. In July 2022 it emerged that the title deeds could not be located and had to be reconstituted, which was completed in August 2023. During that period the interest rate was set at 0% and no payments were required. The complaint concerned the lost deeds, a legal fee, resumed payments and a refused settlement offer, and was not upheld.

Complaint not upheldOfficial source – Financial Ombudsman27 June 2024

DRN-4705467 – Shortfall of £69,800.45 after a sale by LPA receivers; complaint not upheld

Receivers appointed by Rooftop sold a buy-to-let property at auction, leaving £69,800.45 still owing. The borrower said a letter from Rooftop meant she no longer owed it.

Outcome: The Ombudsman did not uphold the complaint. The shortfall was still owed, and the complaint about the sale itself was not one the service could consider against Rooftop.

Complaint not upheldOfficial source – Financial Ombudsman10 May 2024

DRN-4575956 – Time taken to respond to a shortfall settlement proposal; complaint not upheld

An interest-only mortgage where the borrower arranged an equity release agreement with another provider that would not cover the full balance owed to Rooftop. She asked Rooftop to accept a shortfall of roughly £14,000, initially in February 2023, and on 7 April 2023 proposed repaying it at £500 per month on an unsecured basis. She told Rooftop she needed an answer by 12 May 2023, when the equity release offer expired. Rooftop conducted a new income and expenditure assessment on 20 April 2023 and confirmed acceptance on 12 May 2023 by telephone and by email sent at 11:12 am. The borrower was unable to confirm the equity release offer in time and the replacement offer was £10,000 lower.

Complaint not upheldOfficial source – Financial Ombudsman15 September 2020

DRN-1852552 – Service charge payments made to a managing agent and charged to the mortgage; complaint not upheld

A complaint that Rooftop made payments to a managing agent claiming service charges on a leasehold property and added the cost to the mortgage balance. Rooftop had received copies of county court judgments recording that the borrower owed the managing agent money, and a copy of a section 146 notice said to have been served on her. Rooftop wrote to the borrower each time it received a request for payment. The complaint was not upheld.

Complaint not upheldOfficial source – Financial Ombudsman20 April 2019

DRN9682716 – Service charges paid after a forfeiture notice, field agent visits and disputed arrears; complaint not upheld

A leasehold mortgage originally taken out with another lender and later transferred to Rooftop. Rooftop paid service charges claimed by a management company after receiving a county court judgment and, later, a notice of proposed forfeiture, and charged a fee for making those payments. It also asked the borrower to pay arrears said to have been capitalised by the previous lender and sent field agents to visit. The management company later accepted that its notice was incorrect in parts and refunded the money paid by Rooftop, which put the account back into the position it would have been in. The complaint was not upheld.

Ombudsman decision about another lenderOfficial source – Financial Ombudsman24 October 2018

DRN6142717 – General comparator: breakdown of legal fees charged to a mortgage account (Barclays)

A complaint against Barclays about legal fees of £6,943 charged to a shared ownership mortgage account after possession proceedings were stopped. The borrower's relatives said Barclays had refused to give a breakdown of the fees. The Ombudsman obtained and reviewed the confidential breakdown, the solicitors' charging scheme and the invoices, was satisfied that reasonable legal fees had been charged, and did not uphold the complaint.

Complaint upheldOfficial source – Financial Ombudsman3 December 2013

DRN8820419 – Arrears and legal fees; Ombudsman ordered £300 of charges reversed

A complaint about the level of arrears and legal fees added to a mortgage account administered by Rooftop Mortgages Limited. Rooftop had already removed £230 of fees. The adjudicator recommended a further £250 be removed. The Ombudsman identified one additional monthly arrears management fee of £50, applied in July 2010, and ordered a total of £300 of charges to be reversed.

If you think the arrears figure itself is wrong, the fees and interest hub shows what published decisions have said about charges added to arrears, and the example letters include a request for an itemised breakdown.

If this is your situation

The practical steps for this topic, taken from the "Making the initial complaint, and referring it to the Ombudsman" playbook.

What to collect

  • The final response letter, or proof of the date you complained.
  • Your chronology and evidence index.
  • The documents you rely on, numbered and referred to in the narrative.
  • Your loss, with figures, and the non-financial impact described factually.

What to ask for

  • A clearly stated outcome. Refund of specified charges, correction of the account, a specific forbearance step, compensation for distress and inconvenience.
  • That each numbered issue is addressed separately.

Read the full playbook: Making the initial complaint, and referring it to the Ombudsman