Court rejects bid to stop bank selling Roscommon property

A man has lost his legal bid to prevent a bank selling his property in Co Roscommon. Kevin Woods had appealed to the High Court against an order of Roscommon Circuit Court granting KBC Bank Ireland possession of a premises at Corey, Kilmore, Carrick-on-Shannon, Co Roscommon.

IIB Homeloans advanced a €284,000 loan to Mr Woods in January 2007, in relation to the property, and its mortgage was registered with the Land Registry in February 2009.

It was also not disputed Mr Woods had periodically defaulted on repayments, initially to IIB Homeloans and later KBC Bank Ireland.

KBC Bank Ireland had argued it was entitled to a possession order on the grounds including a February 2009 approval by the Minister for Finance to the transfer of the mortgage from KBC Mortgage Bank to KBC Bank Ireland. As a result of that approval, the bank was not required to actually register its mortgage charge over Mr Woods’ property, it argued.

In his High Court proceedings the core issue raised by Mr Woods was that KBC Bank Ireland was required to register its charge, and its failure to do so disentitled it to a possession order.

In his judgment Mr Justice Robert Eagar dismissed that argument. He held the charge obtained by IIB over the property was transferred to KBC Bank Ireland under the 2009 scheme agreed by the Minister for Finance. That scheme had the effect of not requiring a formal registration of the charge.

On foot of that finding, the judge dismissed the appeal, and said the bank was entitled, under the relevant clause in the mortgage, to sell the property.