The court may decide to dismiss the application if your arrears are small or you have already cleared the arrears.  This ruling is rarely used. The court will usually grant a suspended possession order.

The court may decide to adjourn the case (i.e. put it off until a later date) for a number of reasons:
•    to give you time to come up with a realistic plan to repay your arrears;
•    to allow you to resolve any dispute with your lender about the amount of money owed;
•    if you are about to get a payment from the Social Security Agency or from an insurance claim which would will make it easier to pay the debt;
•    to give you time to start making payments which will clear the arrears.

Please note this is not an exhaustive list. You should ask for an adjournment if you need more time to prepare for court.

If you have almost cleared the arrears, the lender may ask to have case adjourned generally. This means it still exists in the court records, but it is not active. It can be brought back to life if you fall into arrears again.

If you have entered into an agreement with your lender to pay your monthly mortgage AND put an additional amount each month towards clearing the arrears, the court may decide to grant the lender what is known as a suspended possession order. You will need to draw up a suitable repayment proposal if you are asking the court for a suspended possession order. An adviser can help you draw up a plan.

The suspended order is still granting possession to the lender, however the possession is suspended for a reasonable period of time to give you a chance to pay off the arrears. It is up to the court to decide what is a reasonable period depending on your personal circumstances. This may even be for the entire life of the mortgage, if that would mean that the repayment proposal is realistic and sustainable for you.

To keep the possession order suspended, you will have to honour your part of the bargain, i.e. make the payments which you have agreed with the lender.

As long as the order is suspended, your lender shouldn’t take any further steps to evict you or take possession of your property. However, if you breach the repayment agreement either by missing a payment or not clearing the debt within the agreed period of time, your lender can apply to court for leave to enforce the possession order.The court will usually give your lender possession and you will have to pay the court costs.

The court gives your lender possession of your home but allows you longer than 28 days to find alternative accommodation. If you can make some payments towards the arrears it may be possible to negotiate a repayment plan with your lender.

The court gives your home to your lender. You must move out within 28 days. If you don't move out within the 28 days your lender must ask the Enforcement of Judgements Office to evict you. You will have to pay any fees the lender pays to have you evicted.

If you know that you can't keep up your mortgage payments you may want to sell your home yourself, rather than having it repossessed and sold at auction. If you need more time to do this, you would need to get a Mallett Letter for the court. This letter must be from your estate agent and should contain the following information:
•    that the property is for sale;
•    the market price of the property;
•    the likelihood of it selling.
The court will then give you more time to sell your home. Contact a local advice agency for more information if you wish to draw up a Mallett letter

You may be able to ask the court to cancel or suspend the order if you feel that the order should not have been made in the first place. This might be because:
•    you didn't receive the court papers;
•    you didn't know you had a right to defend the case;
•    you didn't attend the court hearing;
•    you didn't reply to the court in time and you had a good reason for not replying. If you had replied the court may have made a different order or no order at all.
You can ask the court to change the terms of a suspended possession order if your circumstances change. For example, you can't keep up the payments because you have lost your job. It will be easier to do this if you have kept to the conditions and your lender agrees to the change. To cancel, suspend or change an order, you will need to apply to the court by filling in a specific form. You may also have to pay a fee. The court will set a hearing date when your application will be considered.

If a lender starts legal action because you are in arrears, the lender will add the legal costs to your mortgage account.

If you have a secured loan or second mortgage, the court may be able to reduce your payments by either:
•    changing the interest rate on your loan;
•    lengthening the term of the loan.
This is called a time order. You will need to tell the judge at the hearing that you want a time order. A time order can only be granted for certain types of loan, depending on when the loan was taken out and the amount you borrowed. A time order has not yet been granted in Northern Ireland, therefore you should seek specialist advice if you are considering this option.