In assessing what would be a reasonable period to postpone a possession order to allow arrears to be paid, the starting point should be the agreed duration of the mortgage term.

Concerned the sale of a freehold by a landlord to his tenant, with a loan for the purchase being provided by the landlord. The loan repayments amounted to a 57 per cent premium on top of the actual sum advanced for the loan. This was held void.

Clauses in a mortgage that have been obtained unconscionably will be struck out as void.

A clause in a mortgage over a 20-year leasehold estate postponed redemption until the final six weeks of the lease. Held void.

A clause postponing the ability to redeem must not have the effect of rendering the right illusory.

A mortgage was created and three years later the parties entered into a second agreement giving the mortgagee the right to purchase some of the mortgaged property. The right was deemed invalid. The second agreement was seen as a reconstruction of the initial mortgage entered into three years previously. The mortgage and the option to purchase were therefore not truly independent transactions.

Where a right to purchase some or all of the mortgaged property can be seen as part of the mortgage transaction, that right will be held void.

A clause in a mortgage over freehold property postponed the ability to redeem for 40 years. The clause was held valid.

As per Fairclough.

The mortgage contained a right of first refusal for the benefit of the mortgagee to buy sheepskins produced by the mortgagor at a best price for a period of five years. The loan was repaid after three years but the court upheld the continued exercise of the right of first refusal beyond the mortgage term.

Parties to a mortgage can agree for the mortgage to contain a collateral advantage which is to last beyond the duration of the mortgage itself, provided they have acted freely and the clause itself is reasonable.

Linking the interest rate to the Swiss franc, leading to large interest payments when currency values fluctuated, was upheld as valid. Equality of bargaining power existed, and since the lender was a private individual anxious to preserve the capital value of his investment, in the circumstances, the hard bargain was a fair one.

A clause will not be struck out of a mortgage agreement for being unreasonable. It must have been imposed in a morally reprehensible way.

Mortgage created over a public house contained a clause tying the mortgagor into selling the mortgagee’s liquor for the entire duration of the lease, not just for the duration of the mortgage. The clause was held void.

Upon redemption, the mortgagor should get back his property in virtually the same state as when the mortgage was created, unencumbered by any collateral advantages in favour of the mortgagee.

The mortgagee wished to lease the mortgaged property, despite the fact that rent acquired would cover no more than a third of the mortgage interest payments. Realising that the effect of this would be to increase their debt, the mortgagors requested a sale which was granted by the Court of Appeal.

Under s 91 LPA 1925 the court has a jurisdiction to sell mortgaged property independent of the mortgagee’s right to do so.

A mortgage of a ship was created and 12 days later the mortgagee was granted an option to purchase the ship. The option was held valid.

An option created independently of mortgage transaction, even where the option relates to purchasing the mortgaged property, can be upheld as valid.

Eight conjoined appeals by wives seeking to have mortgages held void as against them on the basis they were obtained by undue influence. In each case, the mortgages appeared to be for the principal benefit of the husbands.

Established key steps a lender must take to avoid being affected by undue influence asserted over the borrower.

A mortgage of stock gave the mortgagee an option to buy the stock within 12 months of the date of the mortgage. The option was held void.

A mortgage should not include clauses which prevent a mortgagor from ever being able to repay the loan and get his property back.