Citizen's Advice welcomes repossession change

01/10/2009

New court rules to come into effect today (October 1st) will turn the spotlight on to lenders who want to carry out repossessions.

The regulations make it clear that local authorities should be told when a homeowner is facing the action, giving councils extra time to provide repossession advice for the households.

Responding to the change, a representative of financial charity Citizens Advice said that people in difficulty with their mortgage payments should inform their lender "straight away".

From there, various measures can be taken in order to hold off the possibility of future repossession - including the development of easy debt repayment plans.

Around 65,000 homes are thought likely by the Council of Mortgage Lenders to be repossessed this year - as the recession puts pressure on household budgets.

In 2008, this total stood at 40,000.

Catherine Torazzo at Citizen's Advice said: "Reminding lenders that they need to follow the pre-action protocol for mortgage arrears will, we hope, reinforce the fact that repossession needs to be a last resort."

She added: "Anyone struggling with their mortgage repayments should speak to their lender straight away - the earlier you engage with the problem, the more options will be available to you."

Data from the Financial Services Authority showed recently that new home repossessions over April-June 2009 were 23 per cent higher than those of the same period in 2008.

Tags; Housing Debt and Bills, Young Family Finances,

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