Do not ignore letters from your lender or the court. You should usually get at least 21 days’ notice of your court date.

Get legal advice as soon as possible. A solicitor could help you stop the repossession in court.

You can still negotiate a repayment plan while your lender is taking legal action. Continuing to make payments can strengthen your case in court.

If you or your solicitor do not go to your court hearing, it’s likely that your home will be repossessed.

Get legal representation if you’ve been sent court letters

It’s best to get a solicitor to represent you at court. A solicitor can also help you:

• negotiate a new or updated repayment plan with your lender

• check if your lender has followed the legal process

Find a solicitor on the Law Society of Scotland website.

If you have a low income, you could get legal help for free or at a lower cost.

Tell your solicitor any steps you’ve taken, like getting debt advice and proposing a repayment plan.

If you cannot get a solicitor, you could represent yourself, but it might be harder to stop the repossession. You can ask the court for more time to get representation.

Going to court

Your case will be heard at a sheriff court. Your lender will usually be represented by a solicitor.

At the hearing, you or your solicitor will have the chance to explain why it's not reasonable for your home to be repossessed. Tell the court:

• why you fell behind on mortgage payments

• what you’re doing to deal with the arrears

• what you’ve done to agree a repayment plan with your lender

• why you have not been able to stick to the repayment plan if you’ve missed payments

• how repossession would impact you – for example, if you’re disabled or have health problems that could get worse

The court may also ask you or your solicitor to put your arguments in writing. This is called lodging answers.

If your lender did not follow the correct process

You or your solicitor should tell the court if:

• your lender did not follow the pre-action requirements

• there were mistakes in notices they sent you

• the amount of arrears is wrong

This could mean that they have to start the repossession process again.

If you need more time

You can ask the court to set another date to give you time to improve your situation. For example, tell them if you need more time to:

• get debt advice to improve your finances

• show you can stick to a repayment plan

• sell your home so you can pay back the arrears

• apply to a government scheme to help clear the arrears

Decisions the court can make

The court can decide to grant the repossession or dismiss the case.

The court might not make a decision at the first hearing. They can:

• continue the case, which means they’ll set another date to look at your case again

• sist the case, which means your case is put on hold

For example, this could give you more time to get the right evidence, or give you a chance to stick to a new repayment plan.

If the case is dismissed

This means the court does not agree to the repossession. Your lender will have to start the process again if they still want to repossess your home.

For example, the case could be dismissed if:

• you’ve cleared your arrears before the hearing

• your lender did not send you the correct notices

• your lender did not follow the pre-action requirements

If the repossession is granted

This means your lender has the right to repossess your home.

They can sell the property to get back the money you owe them. If the sale does not cover the full amount that’s left on your mortgage, you’ll have to pay back the difference.

If your lender wants to evict you, sheriff officers will send you a letter that says when you must leave the property.

Your lender can still choose not to evict you if you agree to a new repayment plan. You may have to offer a lump sum of money toward your arrears before they’ll agree to this.

Recalling a repossession order

In some cases, the court may reconsider your case after a repossession has been granted. This is called recalling the case.

You may be able to recall the case if you missed your court date and nobody was there to represent you.

Your spouse or partner could also recall the case if they live in your home but they’re not on the mortgage.

You’ll need legal advice to check if your case can be recalled.

Find a solicitor on the Law Society of Scotland website.

If the property has been repossessed and the locks have been changed, you cannot recall your case.