The Law...

"No one, I am sure, by the light of nature ever understood an English mortgage of real estate"

Samuel v Jarrah Timber and Wood Paving Corpn Ltd [1904] AC 323 at 326 per Lord Macnaghten

Regrettably, the state of the English Law of mortgages has not improved since then. It is beset with complex and largely historical concepts of land law; it has been overlaid with a considerable body of caselaw; and is now increasingly subject to statutory and procedural intervention.

The main content of this website comprises a number of sub-pages dealing, in logical order, with all the main legal topics which arise in mortgage possession actions, from pre-action considerations such as the availability of Government initiatives and the application of the Pre-Action Protocol to post-enforcement issues such as sales at an undervalue and limitation. There are numerous references to decided cases and statute, and where possible we have linked these to free public information websites such as Bailii (the British and Irish Legal Information Institute website), OPSI (the Office of Public Sector Information) and HM Courts Service. There are other useful sites too. For mortgage lending information see the Council of Mortgage Lenders website. For information about repossessions and homelessness, see the Shelter website. And for statistics on national and regional mortgage repossession activity, see the Ministry of Justice website.

The content of the pages will change from time to time to reflect changes in law, practice and procedure, but for up to date information, please check the monthly updates.