Free repossession advice helps more than 33,000 people
Thousands of families have been able to celebrate the Christmas holidays having been helped by the government's Housing Possession Court Duty Schemes to avoid eviction from their homes.
The latest figures from the Legal Services Commission's schemes, which provide last-minute emergency help to homeowners and tenants facing court, show that 33,176 people across England were helped between October 2008 and September 2009.
On average last year, 76% of people helped by these schemes were able to return home immediately following repossession hearings that might otherwise have led to eviction, equipped with specialist advice on the best way to avoid future any future repossession orders. Taken with the cases seen by 80 additional government-funded court desks across the country, four out of five had the immediate threat of repossession halted.
The findings come as the Ministry of Justice releases new proposals that will guarantee homeowners the chance to access court protections when their lender intends to repossess and sell their homes. The plan, outlined in a consultation document published today, seeks to close a legal loophole which lender could use to sell an owner-occupied residential property without the approval of the owner or the courts.
Together, these findings and proposals provide further evidence that the measures taken by government during the recession have paid real dividends for struggling householders - and will continue to do so.
Justice Minister Bridget Prentice said: ‘Losing your home is one of the most traumatic events anyone can face, and the government is working hard to ensure that this never happens before borrowers have received all the help available to them, including financial assistance and debt advice.
‘These schemes have helped prevent thousands of homeowners being taken to court by their lenders. And in those cases which do end up in the court, we're providing last-minute specialist advice, often making a dramatic and very real difference in preventing repossessions and evictions at the eleventh hour, for both mortgagees and tenants.
‘And now we're doing more. Under the existing law lenders have the right to repossess and sell a property without seeking either the agreement of the owner, or of the courts. While there is no evidence that owner-occupiers are being treated in this way, the government proposals published today would close this loophole and prevent any future instances of "rogue lenders" behaving this way.'
Housing Minister John Healey said: ‘Thanks to this government action, repossessions are running at half the rate of the 1990s and over 330,000 families have benefited from free help and advice over the past year. But we know the risk of repossession will continue through next year, so I want to be sure that everything is being done to help struggling homeowners. That's why we want to close this loophole, so lenders cannot repossess a property without going through the proper legal process. This is on top of the steps we're taking so repossession really is the last resort.'
The Housing Possession Court Duty Schemes provide free on-the-day advice and representation in England and Wales for those facing repossession. The 112 desks, funded by the Legal Services Commission through the Ministry of Justice, cover the vast majority of all possession claims issued. A further 80 desks in other courts are funded by the Department of Communities and Local Government.
David Keen, 34, from Newcastle, used his local scheme after his father passed away in 2007 and he spent a large part of his savings on the funeral. Shortly afterwards his mother was diagnosed with cancer and also passed away. At the same time, Mr Keen was made redundant, and fell behind on his mortgage repayments. He was sent repossession notices but couldn't afford a lawyer, until he heard about the court duty scheme and was able to fight the order and stay in his own home.