Householders taken to court for mortgage arrears need ongoing support to resolve their debt and money problems. Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council has stepped in to fill a gap in provision for such support.
Keeping the bailiffs at bay
Householders taken to court for mortgage arrears need ongoing support to resolve their debt and money problems. Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council has stepped in to fill a gap in provision for such support.
Falling into arrears with a mortgage is a frightening experience. The situation can quickly spiral out of control, leaving householders and their families facing the threat of repossession. Up to 65,000 repossessions could take place throughout the UK during 2009, according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders. Another 360,000 mortgage holders are likely to go into arrears.
For householders, being taken to court does not mean that repossession is inevitable. Although it is a frightening process, in most cases arrangements are made to pay off the debt over a set period of time.
Filling the gap
In Welwyn Hatfield, people being taken to court for mortgage arrears receive on-the-day support from the housing charity Shelter. While Shelter can provide immediate and some ongoing support for households, it does not have the resources to work with all families in the longer-term to try to solve the underlying debt and money problems.
As a result of the growing number of repossession cases, this gap in provision was identified, and in the summer of 2009 Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council stepped in to fill the gap.
Making contact with families
Sian Chambers, Head of Housing Needs, explains that the council has agreed to start up a new service. This will be a partnership with the local Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB). It will provide ongoing support to people who have fallen into arrears with their mortgage.
"We are funding additional money advice, and as part of this new service the money adviser will attend repossession hearings at court, to make contact with families who may not be aware of the help they can receive. Some people may not visit the council offices or the CAB and will not know about the help that is available."
Increase in demand for advice
Debbie Rixon manages the CAB branch in Welwyn Hatfield. She says they have seen an increase in demand for money advice since the recession took hold. She adds that the new service will be "an excellent way of identifying those most in need".
Councillor Roger Trigg is Welwyn Hatfield's Executive Member for Housing. He says the council has been keen to do all it can to prevent homelessness during the recession.
"I am really pleased that we have been able to make this extra funding available to help people with their housing finances in this difficult time," he adds.
Information from the courts
Chambers believes that it would be helpful if local authorities could be provided with information about mortgage arrears cases by the local courts, ideally in advance. "We could then contact the householder directly and try to offer support, perhaps even prior to the actual court date."
The borough council discussed this idea with the local court service. But unfortunately the court confirmed that information could not be released at an early stage.
"There are clearly issues around information sharing," says Chambers, "but we wonder if this is something that can be considered at a national level."
Contact
Sian Chambers, Head of Housing Needs
Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council
email: [email protected]
Published in July 2009.