Lenders who have signed up to the mortgage charter have committed to not force through a repossession within 12 months of a homeowner missing their first mortgage repayment (though they can still begin repossession proceedings).
This effectively means that while lenders are able go to court in order to repossess your home (where it has exhausted all other options) – in reality, any court proceedings would not begin until at least 12 months after you started missing mortgage payments.