Government must help thousands on verge of repossession

10.28.00pm BST (GMT +0100) Mon 1st Sep 2008

Liberal Democrat Shadow Chancellor Vince Cable MP has called on the government to do more to protect those at risk of repossession in the current economic climate. Dr Cable's proposals include introducing regulated Mortgage Rescue Schemes. These would allow families struggling with repayments to sell all or part of the equity in their house, and then rent it back from a housing association or private firm to help keep them in their home

Vince Cable said, "The Government seems obsessed with fighting a losing battle to artificially prop up the housing market, rather than finding ways to deal with its worst effects.

"The Government should allow councils and housing associations to buy up land as well as empty homes to help replenish Britain's much depleted stock of social housing.

Chelmsford Parliamentary Candidate Stephen Robinson has backed Vince Cable's calls, as repossessions in our area reach levels last seen in the early 1990s. Said Stephen Robinson:

"I fully support the sensible proposals set out by Dr. Cable. These plans could be funded using money already committed to social housing but currently unspent because of the collapse of new building. They would also save taxpayers the cost of re-housing the homeless without going down the disastrous route of giving open-ended guarantees for new mortgage lending.

"Ministers must also tighten up repossession rules, to ensure that people's homes are only ever repossessed as a last resort, making the mortgage lenders' voluntary code binding on all lenders."