Extra protection may be enforced for debt-laden homeowners
- Friday, 5 February 2010Homeowners struggling with
debt management and facing the prospect of losing their homes may receive greater protection.
The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has released a consultation paper on whether consumers who have failed to repay credit debts can be forced to sell their home.
The document addresses whether a minimum level of consumer credit debt should be introduced before the order for sale can be issued.
Justice Minister Bridget Prentice said there were already a number of safeguards in place to protect homeowners in this instance, and that only a small number of orders actually resulted in the property being sold.
"But it's important that the government consider whether there is a risk that the numbers will increase due to the current economic situation, and whether this could result in more people losing their homes because of relatively low levels of debt which they are unable to pay," she said.
According to the consultation paper there has been a significant rise in the number of charging orders issued over the last decade.
Applications for charging orders reached their peak in 2008 at 165,000, which was 25 per cent higher than the previous year and over 1,000 per cent higher than 1998 figures.
