High Court grants orders for possession of 117 properties

SOME 117 orders for possession of property were granted at the High Court in the first three months of 2011 – almost double the number in the first quarter of 2010.

Forty-eight of the properties were family homes. The average mortgage arrears of those repossessed also increased.

An order for possession can be granted after a lender takes legal action against a borrower who has fallen behind with their mortgage repayments. Under a code of conduct agreed with the Financial Regulator, legal action cannot be initiated until 12 months after the first default.

Figures compiled by The Irish Timesshow the High Court granted 117 orders for possession to lenders in January, February and March this year – more than for all of 2007 and almost double the first three months of 2010, when there were 68 orders.

Arrears have also grown. The average mortgage arrears of those against whom orders for possession were granted in 2009 was €32,500. For 2010, the figure was €43,300, and for the first three months of 2011 it was €43,500.

One family had arrears of more than €150,000 on their home in a case heard in March.

Of the 117 repossessions, more than 15 per cent of the properties were vacant and fewer than 10 per cent of borrowers had consented to the orders against them. Where orders were granted, the average stay of execution given by the High Court was 20 weeks. Last year, the average stay was 10 weeks.

The increase may be attributed to the fact that 48 of the properties were family homes. Eighteen were homes lived in by single people. Judges were inclined to give stays of up to six months were homes were involved.

The largest share of the orders, more than a third, was granted to Start Mortgages. A tenth was granted to GE Capital Woodchester Homeloans, with the rest divided between other lenders including AIB, ACCBank, Bank of Ireland and Stepstone Mortgages.

Most borrowers did not appear in court and did not send legal representation on their behalf.

Even in cases of obvious hardship, legal costs were almost always awarded to the lender. However, they were generally only granted at Circuit Court level because lenders had the option to pursue the orders through the Circuit Court instead of attending the more expensive High Court.

Many other properties were repossessed through the Circuit Court system. The most recent figures available, for 2010, show there were 306 for the entire year.

There are no official details available of the lenders pursuing repossessions at Circuit Court level.

However, according to a snapshot study by a Dublin firm of solicitors, State-owned lender Irish Nationwide Building Society issued more than 60 per cent of all home repossession proceedings at the Circuit Court in July this year.

The same study showed Bank of Ireland had 39 repossession cases, almost 22 per cent, of those before the Circuit Court in July.