ROOF Blog

Barclays and HBOS were given notice yesterday that they would be sued by up to 8,000 homeowners who took out shared appreciation mortgages in the late 1990s. Solicitors claim the mortgages were ‘unfair’ and that information in the marketing was ‘misleading’. The mortgages allowed older borrowers to release cash from the equity in their properties without paying interest or loan payment during their lifetime. Many homeowners who took out these deals are now unable to sell their properties as they will not have enough left to buy a replacement home.

The government is considering forcing mortgage lenders to give more notice to tenants who could be evicted if their buy-to-let landlord faces repossession. Currently lenders must send a letter to tenants at least two weeks in advance of a repossession hearing involving their landlord, but changes are planed to increase this to seven weeks. Lenders argue that they already make every effort to contact tenants who could be evicted. Landlords with buy-to-let mortgages are now falling behind on their repayments more quickly than owner-occupiers according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders’ latest figures.