Homes repossessions rise by a quarter

8:25pm Friday 16th May 2008

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A growing number of Oxfordshire families face losing their homes as the credit crunch pushes up mortgage payments.

Records published by the Ministry of Justice show mortgage providers started legal action against 191 households at Oxford County Court in the first three months of this year.

That was a 22 per cent increase on the number of repossession claims during the same period in 2007 and six per cent higher than the national average.

A claim, usually made by a bank or building society, is the first stage of an action to repossess a property and is followed by the granting of a repossession order, which can eventually lead to eviction.

The number of repossession orders granted by the Oxford court in the first quarter was 112 - up two per cent on last year. Dave Lansley, of the Oxford Citizens' Advice Bureau, said: "Debt is our main issue now and we are seeing an increase in households with mortgage arrears.

"This used to be because of illness or unemployment, but now we have the situation where people have been given mortgages where in the past they would not have been."

Mr Lansley urged home owners to analyse their debts and make mortgage payments a priority to avoid the risk of losing their home.

He added: "Eviction should be the last resort. Courts will award repossession only if nothing else can be done to rectify the sit- uation."

Solicitor John McNulty, of Cowley law firm Turpin Miller, anticipated a big rise in repossession cases later in the year as the impact of the credit crunch filtered through to home owners.

He said: "There are an increasing number of repossession proceedings because people have extended themselves too much.

"And mortgage companies are now wanting to get their loans back and the properties sold whereas before they were willing to do deals which allowed people to stay in their homes."

Andrew Smith, chief executive of the Oxford Citizen's Housing Association, said: "We are seeing issues with shared ownership properties.

"We had three people in last month asking if they could reduce the shares they own. That is a significant change."

The Government recently announced a £10m package of measures to support home owners facing difficulties with their mortgage, such as free legal representation for those at risk of repossession and more funding for debt advice.