Help!

bellevuesmile

Can anyone help please?
My sister and brother-in-law are struggling. He went missing last week and when the police found him he had taken an overdose. He is extremely ill and disclosed that he is a gambling addict, he has taken out a mortgage for £170k and is in arrears of £11k with a possession order from the courts against their home. My sister knew nothing about this.

They are both now signed off work sick, he for severe mental illness and my sister as at the moment she needs to be with him incase he attempts to take his life again. It is a real mess.
She has written to both the lender and courts to explain the situation but has yet to hear back from them.

Any advice gratefully accepted.
Thanks

fatbelly

If they didn't attend the hearing then they would not know the details of the possession order.

The fact that they do means they have have had the written confirmation

Let's assume it is the default option of possession within 28 days. Once that expires the lender can apply for a warrant to evict.

What they can do depends now on where they are financially. Briefly they could apply to the court to vary the present order or wait and then apply to suspend the warrant.

If they can get someone to help them run through the figures and work out whether any of the options to stay in the property (or remortgage?) are realistic that would help. Otherwise they need to be looking at alternative accommodation and consider trying to sell quickly maybe under an Assisted Voluntary Sale scheme.

I would trust Shelter for advice, probably National Debtline, maybe CAB if they have a local experienced specialist. But don't wait too long on this as the clock is now ticking fast

ManyWays

I agree with @fatbelly - Shelter or National Debtline will probably be easier to talk to quickly that a local Citizens Advice service, who may not have a specialist anyway. 

There is also the possibility of a Mental Health Breathing Space, I havent dealt with one for mortgage arrears so I have no useful experience. 

Although the possession order is clearly the most pressing issue, he may well have a stack of other debts which need to be put on hold. 

This is very specialist stuff, asking for help on internet forums can be dangerous as many people may guess. 

RAS

Is sister on the deeds? I presume she is not in this new mortgage? She'd be advised to speak to the advisors as recommended and then try and contact the lender by phone on Monday as letters take time to be opened and passed to the right people. Is there any documentation in the house that would help?

If she's not on the mortgage there may be issues with security questions?

As a back up, can you help by providing either shelter or storage if they have to leave urgently? 

fatbelly

Yes, one of the occasions where Breathing Space (mental health or normal) may be useful in giving an extra 60 days'or possibly longer. But that doesn't change the need to act quickly on this

It doesn-t look like Shelter can do BS but they give a list of those who can

https://england.shelter.org.uk/housing_advice/eviction/breathing_space_help_with_rent_or_mortgage_arrears

bellevuesmile

fatbelly said:

If they didn't attend the hearing then they would not know the details of the possession order.

The fact that they do means they have have had the written confirmation

Let's assume it is the default option of possession within 28 days. Once that expires the lender can apply for a warrant to evict.

What they can do depends now on where they are financially. Briefly they could apply to the court to vary the present order or wait and then apply to suspend the warrant.

If they can get someone to help them run through the figures and work out whether any of the options to stay in the property (or remortgage?) are realistic that would help. Otherwise they need to be looking at alternative accommodation and consider trying to sell quickly maybe under an Assisted Voluntary Sale scheme.

I would trust Shelter for advice, probably National Debtline, maybe CAB if they have a local experienced specialist. But don't wait too long on this as the clock is now ticking fast

Thanks for your replies.

On the document from the court dated 23rd September it states that:     'it is ordered that application is adjourned to the first open date after 23 March 2026' - which i take to be that their property won't be repossessed at the current time.

Also it says that during the adjournment the defendant shall pay the currently monthly installments per moth towards the arrears starting on 17th October 2025.

We're getting some advice locally but will also get my sister to contact StepChange as hopefully they can offer an option to them. With my brother-in-law's mental health so very bad their income will be considerably lower and what they can afford to pay will also be lower. Its like an absolute nightmare, i'm trying to help as much as i can but we're also trying to get the appropriate mental health support too

ManyWays

Stepchange would be pretty low on my list of firms to talk to about this. You need a debt adviser who deals with mortgage repossessions and can look at the whole picture in the round, that is not StepChange. If a good adviser recommends a DMP or an IVA as part of the solution, then at that point Stepchange could provide that.

Brie

ManyWays said:

Stepchange would be pretty low on my list of firms to talk to about this. You need a debt adviser who deals with mortgage repossessions and can look at the whole picture in the round, that is not StepChange. If a good adviser recommends a DMP or an IVA as part of the solution, then at that point Stepchange could provide that.

I agree.  this is a time when Citizen's Advice which has a more holistic approach may be a better service as they may well be able to get some legal advice.

I also think that a Mental Health and Debt Form should be a top priority.  This with a Breathing Space in place due to the husband's mental health crisis could buy them a LOT of time.  BS is normally 60 days but a MH version is for the length of the crisis (which may be months or years) and then 60 days after that is resolved.  Potentially this could stop a repossession.  It would also be of help with whatever other debts there likely are.  

OP - if you are able to assist your sister by finding out what other debts there might be and get them all put on hold that may help her be able to recover a bit so she can better look after the situation.  Start with any bank statements and, importantly, check that the council tax is being paid!!!  Things like credit card bills and other non priority debts can wait.  Look after the bills that will help them keep a roof over their heads.  

Best of luck with this - do come back for more advice or support when it's required.