Ms Justice Heneghan recently granted leave for a County Laois couple to challenge their repossession order by judicial review.
The applicants’ legal team argued that there had been a failure by the County Laois Registrar when granting the repossession order to consider the fairness of the mortgage contract with Pepper Finance Corporation. It was argued that the Registrar had failed to consider the applicants’ legal rights guaranteed under the European Charter of Fundamental Rights and the 1993 Directive on Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts. Were the repossession to proceed it would result in a breach of the couples’ rights under Articles 7 (housing) and 26 (rights of people with disabilities) of the Charter. It was also argued that the repossession order was itself disproportionate and failed to take into account the circumstances of the applicant couple who were both in receipt of disability allowance.
By way of background the couple had been living in their family home for over 28 years and began to struggle with their mortgage repayments in 2006. They refinanced the original loan, signing the papers without the benefit of independent legal or financial advice. This loan was sold to Pepper Home Loans, now known as Pepper Finance Corporation in 2009. In 2014, they were served with repossession proceedings but had no money for legal representation. A repossession order was granted in July of this year. These proceedings are looking to challenge that decision
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