Using form N244 to stop mortgage repossession

Repossession is when a mortgage company takes your home because you have not paid, and it is a last resort¹. If your lender has already gone to court and bailiffs have given you a date, form N244 is the application that asks the court to suspend the warrant of possession, which is the order that lets them evict you².

You can use form N244 to ask the court to suspend the warrant, and it can also be used after the repossession hearing without notice, though you might have to pay a fee³. The application costs £16⁴. The hearing that follows usually lasts about 10 minutes⁵.

The important thing is timing. Get form N244 to the court as soon as the bailiffs give you a date when they are coming, because taking it to court on the day is very risky². The form itself is short, but the reasons you give and the evidence you send with it are what the judge reads before deciding whether you keep your home.

Form N244 asks the court to suspend a repossession warrant

A warrant of possession is the court's authority for bailiffs to remove you from your home. Form N244 is the standard application notice used to ask the court to change or pause what has already been ordered. In a repossession, its purpose is to ask the court to suspend the warrant².

The same form does different jobs in different situations. It is used to apply for a stay of execution, which is the High Court equivalent of pausing enforcement⁷. It is also the form for varying a county court judgment, where you admitted the claim and the rate of payment was set at a hearing, was set by redetermination, or you could have applied for a redetermination but have run out of time⁸. In Wales, the same form is used to ask the court to suspend the warrant of eviction¹⁰.

The legal basis for asking the court to vary a payment is practice direction 14 6.1 of the Civil Procedure Rules⁸. You do not need to quote this to use the form, but it is what the court is applying when it considers your request.

If you are a tenant rather than a homeowner, the position is different but the form is the same. Where your landlord's lender is repossessing, you can use form N244 to ask the court to delay the eviction, and you might have to pay a fee³. The rest of this page deals with the homeowner's application, which is the most common use.

When to send it: as soon as the bailiffs give a date

The notice of eviction is the document that tells you the date the bailiffs will attend. It is also the document you need in front of you to fill in the form, because it carries the court name, the claim number and the warrant number that identify your case².

Send the form as soon as that date arrives. The guidance is explicit that taking form N244 to court on the day of the eviction is very risky². Courts need time to list a hearing, and a judge needs time to read your evidence. An application that arrives on the morning of the eviction may not be dealt with before the bailiffs attend.

There are other deadlines in the wider enforcement system that show how strictly courts treat timing. If you want to vary a county court judgment, you must submit your N244 application within 14 days of receiving the order to pay¹¹. For a warrant of control, a different form, N246A, must reach the court within 16 days of the postmark on the envelope the order came in¹³. These are not the repossession deadline, but they show the pattern: courts work to fixed periods and applications that miss them are harder to pursue.

Filling in form N244 question by question

You can download form N244 from GOV.UK to print or fill in online, or get a paper copy from the court². Most court forms can be found using the court form finder on the HM Courts and Tribunals Service website, and application forms can be filled in online and printed off to sign and send to the court¹⁰.

The form is short. Here is what goes where.

• Question 2: you will normally tick the box that says 'defendant'¹⁴.
• Question 3: explain what order you are asking the court to make and your reasons¹⁴. This is the heart of the application. For a repossession, you are asking the court to suspend the warrant, and you set out why.
• Question 4: tick 'no', meaning no draft of the order is attached².
• Question 5: tick 'yes' to have the application dealt with at a hearing. Most applications will be dealt with at a hearing, so tick 'yes'¹⁵.
• Questions 6, 7 and 8: leave blank¹⁴.
• Question 9: write 'Claimant', meaning who should be served with the application².
• Statement of truth: sign the statement of truth at the bottom of the form and send the complete form back to the court¹⁰.

Keep a copy of everything you send. After you send in form N244, the court tells you when your hearing will be⁴.

Evidence to send with your application

The judge reads your application before the hearing, so the documents you attach do most of the work. Evidence that helps includes medical evidence such as a doctor's letter about health problems, wage slips or benefit letters, and a budget showing your monthly income and spending².

At a repossession hearing more broadly, the evidence list is: your defence form, proof of income such as payslips or details of benefits, evidence if you are selling your home, proof if your situation will change very soon, and any letters you have from your lender⁵. Bring 3 copies of all the evidence you have⁵.

If you are disputing the arrears themselves, show proof of the payments you have made, such as your bank statements or paying-in slips¹⁶. If you are a tenant asking the court to delay an eviction by your landlord's lender, take evidence of your tenancy to show the judge, for example your tenancy agreement and bank statements that show your rent payments³.

A budget is worth preparing carefully. It shows the judge what you can realistically pay towards the arrears each month, which is the basis on which a suspended warrant usually works.

The court fee: £16, with help for low incomes

The application costs £16⁴. The same figure is given for going to court on an eviction hearing⁴. Some sources give the fee as £15⁷, and the GOV.UK guidance on suspending a warrant of possession or a High Court writ of possession also gives £15¹¹.

If you cannot afford the fee, help is available. You can get help with court fees if you have a low income and less than £4,250 in savings⁶. The application for help is made separately from form N244, so allow time for it to be assessed before your hearing date.

The hearing and what the judge can decide

A repossession hearing is short, about 10 minutes⁵. One source gives 15 minutes as the estimate to write on the form¹⁷. Usually the people in the room are you, your adviser or solicitor, your lender's representative, and the judge⁵.

The judge has a range of options. On an eviction hearing, the judge may decide that your eviction should go ahead, or stop your eviction for now, for example if you can pay back your rent arrears each month⁴.

The most common outcome for a homeowner who can show a realistic payment plan is a suspended warrant: you stay, on condition you keep to the payments the court sets. If you break those conditions, the lender can ask the court to enforce the warrant again.

If you do not go, the judge usually makes a decision against you⁵. On an eviction hearing the guidance is blunt: you will be evicted if you do not go to the hearing⁴. If you cannot attend, you will need to complete form N244 to apply to postpone, sent to the county court where the hearing will be or has been held¹⁸.

If the hearing does not go your way

If the judge decides the eviction should go ahead, there are still steps that can be taken. Form N244 can be used after the hearing without notice to ask the court to suspend the warrant, though you might have to pay a fee³. This is the route for a change in circumstances after the hearing, such as a new job or a lump sum becoming available.

Where the property is sold after repossession, the money is used in a set order. Your lender and any other secured debts will use the money to clear your debt with them, you will get any money left over, and if the sale does not cover your debt, you may be asked to pay this back²⁰. You remain responsible for mortgage payments until the home is sold²¹. If you sell voluntarily instead, you will still have to repay the full amount outstanding on your mortgage, and your lender can take legal action against you to get back any unpaid debts even after the property is sold²².

A repossession stays on your credit record for up to 6 years²³. It can affect your chances of getting credit from other lenders²⁴. Car repossession information is normally kept on your credit reference file for six years²⁵.

If you are left without a home, there is help with finding somewhere to live²³. Free, impartial advice is available from Shelter England, Shelter Cymru, National Debtline and Business Debtline, and from your local council's housing team.