How to respond to a Civil Bill for Possession

What to do if you have received a Civil Bill for Possession

If you have received a Civil Bill for Possession, it means that your mortgage lender has made an application to the court for a Possession Order.

You will need to read the Civil Bill for Possession and any other documents that you have received in order to understand the case that has been made against you. You will need to gather your own evidence such as your mortgage documents in order to prepare your case. For more information on what is in your civil bill you can visit our Civil Bill for Possession explained page.

You should speak to support services for repossession to get information and advice about what you will need to do. You can speak with support services at any stage but the earlier you speak with support services the better they will be able to help you.

If you ignore the Civil Bill the court may make an Order for Possession against you, without your involvement in the court hearing. This is known as a "Judgment in Default."

Next steps

There are a number of steps in the court process. You will find information on what you need to do in each of these steps in the sections below.

You should complete an Entry of Appearance form (Entry of Appearance form (Form 5)) to let the court know that you have received the Civil Bill and are acknowledging it.

When you file an appearance, the County Registrar will keep your case on their list for a period of time. This is to allow for engagement between you and your mortgage lender. Support services can help you with this. If you cannot come to an agreement, your case will be heard before a judge.

Complete your Entry of Appearance form

This form must contain the following information (some of which you will find on the Civil Bill that you received):

• The name of the Circuit and County where the claim is being defended.
• Your mortgage lender's name as the Plaintiff and your name as the Defendant.
• The name and court office of the County Registrar and the name and address of your mortgage lender's solicitors.
• Your signature and the date that you signed the form.

Submit your Entry of Appearance form

You must submit your Entry of Appearance form to the Circuit Court office listed on the top of the Civil Bill. You do not have to pay a court fee to submit this form.

You should make three copies of the Entry of Appearance form: one for the court office, one to serve on the mortgage lender, and one for your own records.

Serve your Entry of Appearance form

You must serve (the sending of a copy of a court document in line with the relevant court rules) a copy of the Entry of Appearance form on your mortgage lender or their solicitor within ten days of receiving the Civil Bill.

You will need to provide proof of service at your court hearing. If you fail to serve this form within ten days, you must obtain written permission for late service from your mortgage lender's solicitor.

For more information on serving and proof of service, please see our serving and proof of service page.

Did you know

If you are looking for more time to pay any mortgage arrears including interest due, you must include Standard Financial Statements and details of payment proposals in your Replying Affidavit. Support services for repossession such as MABS can help you prepare this.

An Affidavit is a sworn statement setting out the facts and relevant documents to be considered by the court as part of your case. In repossession cases an Affidavit is known as a Replying Affidavit.

You should provide the grounds (reasons) on which you do not agree with your mortgage lender's case in this document.

You can only give oral evidence in court if you are given permission by the County Registrar or Circuit Court Judge. You will be sworn in (a formal declaration in the court to tell the truth) by the Court Registrar to give oral evidence.

You should consider contacting support services for repossession or getting legal advice if you are going to complete a Replying Affidavit.

Your replying affidavit must contain the following information (some of which you will find on the civil bill that you received):

Your replying affidavit must contain the following information (some of which you will find on the civil bill that you received):

Complete your Replying Affidavit

Your Replying Affidavit must contain the following information (some of which you will find on the Civil Bill that you received):

• The title of your case/case record number.
• Your name as the Defendant.
• Your occupation and address and confirmation that you are over eighteen years of age.
• You can include documents such as bank statements, payslips and similar financial documents as evidence in your case.
  • You should list these documents in separate numbered paragraphs in your Replying Affidavit.
  • You should attach these documents to the back of your Replying Affidavit. These attachments are called "exhibits." They should be numbered as "exhibit 1", "exhibit 2" and so on.

Swearing your Replying Affidavit

You must sign your Replying Affidavit and any exhibits in person in front of a solicitor (but not your own solicitor) or a Commissioner for Oaths (a person who is authorised to witness signatures on some legal documents, particularly affidavits) and swear that the information provided is correct before filing it with the court office and serving it on your mortgage lender.

There is a statutory fee payable to the solicitor or Commissioner for Oaths who witnesses your signature on your Replying Affidavit. The current statutory fee for Commissioner for Oaths is €10.00 per signature and €2.00 per exhibit. Solicitor's fees may vary.

Submit your Replying Affidavit

Once the Replying Affidavit has been sworn, it can then be submitted to the court office. There is a €15 fee for submitting your Replying Affidavit to the court office.

You can pay the court fees at your local court office (or in Dublin, at the Stamping Office in the Áras Uí Dhálaigh building in the Four Courts complex). You can pay these fees by card or cash.

You should make three copies of your Replying Affidavit. The original will be stamped and kept on file in the court office, you'll need one copy to be served on the solicitor of your mortgage lender and you will need a copy for your own records.

Serve your Replying Affidavit

You must serve (the sending of a copy of a court document in line with the relevant court rules) your Replying Affidavit at least four days before your return date (your court date mentioned above) on the solicitor of your mortgage lender. You will need to provide proof of service at your court hearing.

For more information on serving and proof of service, please see our serving and proof of service page.

When is your court date

You will find the date your case will be heard in the Circuit Court on your Civil Bill for Possession. It is important that you attend court on this date for the hearing of your case.

Your case will be included with other types of cases. These are generally called a Motions list.

Most County Registrar's Civil or Motions lists are published online. You can find this information by searching your case number on the Circuit Court legal diary.

Before your court hearing

Before your court hearing, make sure that you have completed all necessary documents. For more general information about preparing for and going to court, please see our preparing for civil law court page.

You can bring a friend or family member for moral support and to take notes if you wish. However, they can not take part in court proceedings.

On the day of your court hearing

On the day your case is being heard, you must be present at the time the list starts and bring all documents relevant to your case.

The County Registrar's Civil or Motions Lists is usually displayed in the Courthouse. If you are unsure of where to go, please ask at the office counter which courtroom you should go to for your hearing.

Support services such as MABS have a court mentor (whom provides information and support about the repossession and court process. However, they cannot give you legal advice or speak for you in court) present at all County Registrar Repossession lists. Please visit our support services for repossession page for more information on supports available and what the Court Mentor can do for you.

There may also be a duty solicitor (provides advice to borrowers who do not have a solicitor at court. They may be able to speak for you in court) present who you can talk to.

Support services can be engaged at any stage in the repossession process. To find more information on support services and how they can assist you in repossession, see our support services for repossession page.

Your case being heard by a County Registrar

The Court Registrar (assists the County Registrar with administrative matters and are in charge of court documents and evidence) will call through the list and ask people to identify themselves when their case name and number are called out. Please identify yourself by standing or raising your hand when your case is called out. This is known as a 'call over.'

You may be asked a question about your case by the County Registrar, this is used to help the County Registrar decide what order cases will be heard in. Once the order of cases is decided, the court will begin. You will need to wait your turn for your case to be heard. If you are unsure, please ask the Court Registrar.

During your case hearing

When your case is called, the solicitors or barristers for your mortgage lender will provide the County Registrar with details of the case being made against you. You will be given an opportunity to give your side of the story. The County Registrar may ask you questions in Court about the evidence that you have submitted in your Replying Affidavit. You can only give oral evidence in court if you are given permission from the County Registrar. To give oral evidence you will be called to the witness box and sworn in by the Court Registrar.

The County Registrar may:

• Adjourn the case to another hearing date to allow you speak to your mortgage lender and/or support services. This may happen a number of times.
• Request more information and documents from you or your mortgage lender.

It is important that you attend the court for all of your case hearings to make sure that your side of the story is heard.

Result from your case hearing

Your case may have a number of adjournments before the County Registrar will make their decision.

The County Registrar may:

1. Grant the Possession Order.
2. Dismiss/strike out the case.
3. Transfer the case to a Circuit Court Judge.

The County Registrar can also decide who pays the legal costs of the case.

You can appeal the Country Registrars decision. Please visit the repossession appeals page for further information.