A High Court judge has warned that the days of granting automatic costs for the legal professional in repossession cases are numbered.
Ms Justice Elizabeth Dunne was speaking after hearing a number of cases taken by financial institutions against mortgage holders in arrears.
The High Court hears cases for repossession or repayment of loan arrears every Monday.
Click here to read Emma McNamara's background to the sub-prime market
Recently, there have been a large number of cases taken by sub-prime lenders after their customers got into difficulty.
There were 39 cases listed yesterday, with 15 of them being taken Start Mortgages alone.
However, the legal bill can often be higher than the sum of money owing on arrears.
Yesterday, there was one case which involved arrears of €8,000 which were paid by a couple who then faced a legal bill to Start Mortgages of €12,000.
Ms Justice Dunne said she would like a comparison study of the costs with cases taken in the Circuit Court rather than the High Court.
She said she was concerned that people already in difficulty also had to pay large legal fees.
The Money Advice & Budgeting Service, which helps people in difficulty with their mortgages, urged people facing arrears not to bury their heads in the sand.
The service encourages people to tell their mortgage company of their problems, and to reply to all letters.
