Repossession

Over the last number of years, as a result of the economic downturn, there has been an increase in the number of possession proceedings against homeowners and social tenants who have fallen behind in paying their mortgage or rent.

On the day when the Northern Ireland Court Service released figures showing a 20% increase in the number of possession orders granted, local advice charity Housing Rights Service says it’s concerned about the delay in setting up a Government task force to tackle the problem.

The decisions of the Supreme Court in the cases of Pinnock and Powell in 2010 and 2011 opened up the possibility of using a human rights argument when advising clients faced with possession action.

Here at Housing Rights Service we do a lot of work helping tenants who live in social housing deal with rent arrears and housing benefit problems.  There are so many different aspects to advising someone in this situation that I thought it might be helpful to look at some of the most important elements of a rent arrears case.