By IRNA,
London : UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown Wednesday intervened to reduce the social fallout of the credit squeeze on housing by announcing new guidance for the courts on repossessions.
The judiciary should halt action to repossess homes due to non- payment unless all alternatives have been “fully examined,” Brown told parliament.
“We have to do everything we can to help homeowners avoid repossession,” he said.
His intervention comes after 18,900 people lost their homes during the first half of this year, 48 per cent up from the same period of 2007.
The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) estimates that the level of repossessions is expected to continue rising during the second half of the year to reach 45,000 for the whole of 2008, up from 26,200 last year.
Housing charity Shelter has said that escalating bills mean many households now fear losing their homes, but has argued that they could be offered more support with mortgage repayments.
CML has reported a slump in mortgage lending, falling to just Pnds 17.7 billion (Dlrs 27 bn) in September, down 10 per from August and 42 per cent lower than in September last year. It has estimated that new lending in 2008 will be just 37 per cent of 2007’s level.