thy sure can, you would need to go to court to obtain an order for sale. more info off our factsheet on negative equity:
SELLING YOUR HOME
You may be able to sell your house with permission from your lender. You will need their agreement as they can stop a sale going through if the sale price will not cover the outstanding mortgage. You will need to persuade them that you have obtained the best possible price for the property. Point out that if the house was sold by your lender they would be likely to get a much lower price as the property would be empty and could fall into disrepair.
The FSA Mortgage: Conduct of Business Rules say that a lender must "deal fairly" with anyone in arrears. It also says the lender must "give consideration to the customer being allowed to remain in possession to effect a sale". This means that if you cannot afford to stay in the house, the lender must look seriously at allowing you to sell the house yourself whilst you are still living there.
If your lender refuses to let you sell the house it is possible to apply to the county court for an order for sale under the
Trusts of Land & Appointment of Trustees Act 1996. The court can order a sale on whatever terms it thinks reasonable, even if your lender objects.
In some circumstances you can use
Palk v Mortgage Services which is a case where the lender was ordered to sell the property after repossession rather than rent it out indefinitely. This was because the rent would not have covered the interest being added to the mortgage so the debt was still growing.
In the
Halifax v Barratt case the court let the borrowers sell the house for the "best possible price" even though the Halifax refused permission for the sale.
The borrowers were also allowed to take the sale costs out of the sale proceeds before the money went to the lender.
- Talk to the lender about selling your home yourself.
- You may have to prove to your lender that sale is the last resort and the sale is in everyone's financial interest.
- Provide your lender with full information about your financial circumstances.
- You will need evidence from several independent estate agents that you have found the best sale price for your home.
- The lender may ask you to sign an extra agreement saying how you will repay the shortfall debt.
- Consider handing the keys in and making an arrangement to clear the shortfall once the house is sold by your lender. This is only an option if you do not want a new mortgage in the near future as your details will be on the Mortgage Possessions Register for six years.