ROOF Blog

New research has highlighted that only half of households facing repossession orders actually attend their court hearings. There is also an indication that repossessions are not being considered the option of last resort by the courts. The research, undertaken by CIH’s consultancy arm, ConsultCIH, looked at hundreds of repossession orders made in 2008. The research found that many households are in denial about losing their homes. Conversely, others believe the loss of their home is a foregone conclusion by the time their case gets to court.

Mortgage lenders are failing to follow rules designed to help people avoid repossession, according to a damning report published today.

The joint report by AdviceUK, Citizens Advice and Shelter found that in a third of recorded cases mortgage lenders had failed to comply with new rules – known as the ‘pre-action protocol’ – requiring them to take court action as a last resort only.

Before starting legal action, lenders should offer borrowers other options for dealing with their arrears – however, judges only verified they had done so in a handful of cases.

Published on the same day as new repossession figures are expected from the Financial Services Authority (FSA), the ‘Turning the Tide?’ report is based on research into hundreds of cases seen by advisers who give last-minute advice to people at court on the day of their repossession hearings.