Minister should follow England on repossession advice

12.00.00am BST (GMT +0100) Mon 29th Jun 2009

Welsh Liberal Democrat Shadow Minister for Housing, Peter Black, has said that the Welsh Minister for Housing should follow the example of her English counterpart on funding for repossession advice.

The Westminster Housing Minister, John Healey MP, has announced that the funding for independent financial advisors in courts will be doubled in England this year. These advisors will allow free and independent advice to be given to those who are in court as their mortgage lender is taking action to repossess their property. At present, many banks do not refer customers to independent advice when they are in difficulty with their payments, giving them advice themselves. This advice is at risk of being clouded by their financial interest in the property.

In Wales there was a 137% increase in the number of Repossession Orders made between 2004 and 2007. Mr Black has written to the Minister for Housing asking what plans she has to implement a similar service in Wales.

"The system of repossessions and mortgages is so complex that it is little surprise that many people struggle to know what to do when they find themselves at risk of repossession." said Mr Black. "This is why independent advice is so important. Many banks are more interested in protecting themselves from loss than they are in keeping families in their homes. I have even heard of banks referring people to their own advisers and charging them for the help."

"Independent advice services are a cost effective way of helping people stay in their homes. They can help people understand the options that are available to them and give them advice to stabilise their financial situation and keep their home."

"The Minister must look at following the example of the Westminster government by putting advisers into courts to help people at serious risk of repossession. This could be funded by using money that is still unspent from the mortgage rescue scheme."

"The Welsh Liberal Democrats would also change the Legal Redemption Date to make lenders have to wait longer before bringing about a possession claim, and require all lenders to have to refer customers for independent advice."