Tom Bailey & Greg Williams consider the effectiveness of the new mortgage possession pre-action protocol
'There are no specific consequences where a party is in breach of the protocol'
As any practitioner who has witnessed a possession list in their local county court will know, claims for possession are rising steeply, thanks in no small part to the “credit crunch”. Statistics recently published by the Ministry of Justice state that during the third quarter of 2008, 38,511 possession claims were issued, resulting in 29,516 possession orders being made, of which 47% were suspended possession orders.
Following consultation, a mortgage possession pre-action protocol was introduced last November. Its much heralded design was to stem the rising tide of mortgage possession actions.
The new pre-action protocol
Section I sets out the aims of the protocol together with the scope of its application.
The protocol is intended to have the following effect to:
ensure that the lender and borrower act fairly and reasonably with each other in resolving any matters concerning arrears;
encourage more pre-action contact between the lender and borrower in an effort to reach agreement; and
