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John Healey: It's your home - let's keep it that way

New campaign offers practical support for struggling homeowners

Housing Minister John Healey today launched a new national campaign to help struggling homeowners take control of their finances and make the most of the support available for them to avoid repossessions and stay in their homes.

A series of press, online and billboard advertisements will highlight the measures the Government has put in place at every stage for homeowners to avoid repossession. Over 300,000 people have received help and advice in paying their mortgage since April 2008.

The advertisements will point people to an advice line and a new website illustrating the practical steps they can take to resolve their mortgage repayment worries, as well as contacts for the wide range of support available.

Concerned homeowners will be able to go to www.direct.gov.uk/mortgagehelp (external link), or contact the National Debtline on 0808 808 4000 for impartial advice, real life examples of people who have already benefited from support, and to develop a personal action plan tailored to their particular circumstances. People concerned about meeting their mortgage payments, those already in arrears or threatened with repossession action from their lender, and homeowners facing a court hearing will be given guidance on the steps they can take to keep their home.

While this will be a national campaign, extra advertisements will appear in 22 "hotspots" - areas facing a greater risk of increased repossessions due to higher levels of unemployment and numbers of court orders.

John Healey said:

"When homeowners are under pressure and feel their finances are spiralling out of control, the worst thing they can do is bury their heads in the sand. I want them to know that sensible, impartial advice is available online or over the phone so they are able to arm themselves with the facts and take control.

"In most cases where people seek help they are able to keep their home, so we have made sure a range of support is available to them - whether free debt advice or help with interest payments, a request for lenders to show greater tolerance and understanding to those in arrears, on-the-day legal advice for those facing court hearings or, for the most vulnerable households, the Mortgage Rescue Scheme.

"The action we've taken means we've seen recent drops in the numbers of repossessions, but there's no room for complacency. The message of today's campaign is clear: it's your home - let's keep it that way. The adverts will appear across the country, and particularly in those 22 most at risk, to reassure people that they are not alone, and that help is out there at every step of the way."

Latest figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders show there were 11,400 repossessions between April and June this year, a 10 per cent drop on the previous quarter. But over a quarter of these repossessions were voluntary - homeowners who have fallen into mortgage arrears but rather than seek help available from Government or their lender, have instead handed in the keys or abandoned their home.

Notes to editors

1. Steps have been taken to ensure help is available at every stage of the repossession process. This includes:

• Action on advice: The Government is investing £130m in providing free face-to-face debt advice services between 2006 and 2011, and over the past year more than 100,000 families have received information and advice about their mortgages from councils and Citizens Advice Bureaux
• Action on lenders: We have taken action so homeowners are treated fairly with tolerance and understanding from lenders for those in mortgage arrears - 116,000 struggling households are now benefiting from special arrangements agreed with their lender
• Action in the courts: Lenders must prove they have exhausted every possible option before applying for a repossession order. Government has continued to put funding into Court Desks offering free, on-the-day legal advice and representation for those threatened with repossession. CLG recently doubled the extra funding to support this service. There is now universal access to this service for people attending repossession hearings at county courts in England. Even on the day of a repossession hearing, around four in five repossessions can still be stopped if the households attend court and access free advice
• Action to provide direct support: Through special Government schemes like Support for Mortgage Interest and Homeowners Mortgage Support over 200,000 families are now getting help with their mortgage interest payments - with another 88,000 expected to benefit over the next two years. And for the most vulnerable households facing the immediate threat of repossession, there is the safety net of the Mortgage Rescue Scheme.

2. The 22 areas identified as having a higher proportion of homeowners at risk of repossession are:

• Barking and Dagenham
• Corby
• Knowsley
• Salford
• Newham
• Walsall
• Redditch
• Halton
• Sandwell
• Wolverhampton
• Nottingham
• Birmingham
• Manchester
• Bolton
• Liverpool
• Sunderland
• Reading
• Wigan
• Swindon
• Northampton
• Kingston-upon-Hull
• Cannock Chase

4. The National Debtline is one of a number of organisations that are backing the "It's Your Home" campaign - others include the Council of Mortgage Lenders, Shelter, and the nationwide network of Citizens Advice Bureaux.

5. The advertisements will appear in national newspapers and on billboards across the country, from today, and will shortly also appear in local newspapers. A copy of an advertisement can be found at: www.communities.gov.uk/documents/housing/pdf/1327067.pdf

6. Latest figures on the numbers of court orders and repossessions were published on Friday 14 August, 2009, by the Ministry of Justice and Council for Mortgage Lenders. Details can be found at: www.justice.gov.uk/publications/mortgatelandlordpossession.htm (external link).

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