There are only a few legally valid defences, such as:
•    unfair relationship;
•    undue influence;
•    misrepresentation;
•    mis-selling.

You should seek legal advice if you believe that your mortgage difficulties are a result of one of the above.

While you may not always have legal grounds for a defence, the court may sometimes also consider any mitigating circumstances in your case, such as:
•    redundancy;
•    reduced income;
•    bereavement;
•    relationship breakdown;
•    ill health;
•    awaiting a decision on benefit entitlement;
•    dispute with lender over amount owed;
•    repayment of the arrears before the hearing;
•    if your mortgage decisions were influenced by bad advice.

If you think you have a defence or there are some mitigating circumstances in your case, you should discuss this with an adviser and be prepared to explain this in court.

If you can't agree how much you owe to your lender, the Master may adjourn the case and set a new hearing date. This gives you and your lender time to get more information to prove the amount of arrears. For example, the lender should provide proof that payments have been missed and you can show proof that you have made payments.

In the meantime, you can continue to negotiate with your lender and make payments to reduce the arrears

If all the arrears have been cleared by the time of the court hearing, the case should be dismissed or adjourned generally. However, you may still have to pay your lender's legal costs for bringing the case to court. If you think you shouldn’t be paying for this, get advice – you may sometimes be able to argue that you shouldn’t be expected to pay these costs.

If your lender doesn't complete the particulars of claim correctly, the judge may not allow them to present any new information at the hearing. In rare circumstances, the claim may be dismissed and the lender will have to reapply to the court to evict you. You should not have to pay their legal costs. However, the court normally allows clerical errors to be amended.

If your lender cannot prove the reason why they want to repossess your home, the court will dismiss their claim for possession. You should not have to pay their legal costs.

The court may decide to adjourn a case or delay telling you to leave if:
•    the arrears built up because of illness or unemployment, but you can now make the payments;
•    you have an outstanding benefit claim that will clear or significantly reduce the arrears;
•    you are selling your home and the proceeds from the sale will clear the arrears, but you need more time to complete the sale (if your home is in negative equity, it may be unlikely that you get more time to sell);
•    you are arranging to clear the arrears soon and are able to prove this;
•    you can prove that you will have sufficient funds to clear or significantly reduce the arrears in the near future.

The court may also look at your agreement if the terms were extortionate. This doesn't just look at the amount of interest you were charged but examines all the terms and your personal circumstances when you signed the agreement.

This is not very common. If you’re not sure whether the terms of your agreement are extortionate, you will need to take legal advice. Alternatively, you should contact Trading Standards on 028 9025 3900.