After your possession hearing

Summary

You’ll have to leave by the date given in the order. You can apply to the court for the order to be suspended. This means you could stay in your home as long as you pay your arrears. To do this, you’ll need to fill in form N244. You can get a form from the court or download the N244 form on GOV.UK. If your offer is acceptable, the court will make a suspended possession order. You’ll need to pay off the arrears at a fixed amount each week or month on top of your normal mortgage payment. The terms of the arrangement will be set out in the order. If you don't follow the arrangement, your lender can apply to the court to evict you. If the court agrees, you’ll get an eviction notice 14 days before the eviction date. Find out more about eviction for mortgage arrears. In some cases, the judge will issue a suspended possession order to give you time to sell your home. They’ll only do this if you can make enough from the sale to clear the whole mortgage debt. This includes all the money you borrowed as well as your arrears. Find out more about selling your property to clear mortgage debts. If the court has made a suspended possession order, you can apply to change the terms of the order.

Key information

• •you can no longer afford to keep up your payments
• •the sale of your property is taking longer than the court has allowed
• •you or your money lender need more time to provide more information
• •you need more time to make a complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service
• •your lender doesn't turn up at the hearing
• •you haven't been able to get legal advice - for example, if you were in hospital
• •moving out of your home would cause serious problems because of your health
• •you can show you had a good reason for not attending the hearing - for example, if you were sick and have a note from your doctor
• •you have a defence against the claim
• •your mortgage lender didn’t follow the correct procedures
• •the judge got the law wrong
• •the judge has based their decision on something they’ve misunderstood

Practical guidance

• •Source: [After your possession hearing](https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/debt-and-money/mortgage-problems/after-your-possession-hearing/)

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