Repossessions - Only Half of Householders Attend Court
New research has highlighted that only half of households facing repossession orders actually attend their court hearings. There is also an indication that repossessions are not being considered the option of last resort by the courts.
The research, undertaken by the Chartered Institute of Housing’s consultancy arm – ConsultCIH – looked at hundreds of repossession orders made in 2008. The research found that many households are in denial about losing their homes. Conversely, others believe the loss of their home is a foregone conclusion by the time their case gets to court.
In addition, the research indicates that the letter of the pre-action protocol is being followed more than the spirit, and that judges are not being sufficiently proactive in seeking clarity and depth in the actions undertaken by lenders.
The research supports yesterday’s decision by Government to extend debt advice services to help avoid repossession3. ConsultCIH’s research identified some significant problems in the way that many households respond in general to falling behind with their mortgage payments and responding to repossession orders. The research confirmed that advice services have a high success rate in defending repossession cases. However, it identified that:
- Many households have not sought or received advice before they get to court.
- Households have a low awareness of the options to prevent repossessions.
- Completion of defence forms is remarkably low.
Richard Medley, Director of ConsultCIH, said: "Many people faced with repossession have never used advice services before, nor been faced with attending court. Therefore, it’s not surprising that what might appear to be basic steps to avoid losing the family home - such as seeking advice, filling in defence forms and attending court hearings - are proving to be a significant barrier for some to keep their own homes.
"In general housing advice services need to become more widely available to help people make the right decision for them in the first place – not just when things go wrong. We also need to start planning now for when the housing market picks up and interest rates start to rise. This is when homeownership will again become unaffordable for many marginal homeowners and it is presumptuous to assume that the need for good housing advice is only a temporary measure."
*ENDS*
News release issued on behalf of the CIH by Jill Dwyer, CIH Press Office, Octavia House, Westwood Way, Coventry CV4 8JP. Telephone: 02476 851780 or 07786 716961. Email:
Notes to Editors:
1. ConsultCIH Limited is a wholly-owned company of the Chartered Institute of Housing providing consultancy services to organisations in the housing and regeneration sectors. ConsultCIH has a large team of qualified professionals with over 25 years experience of providing high quality consultancy services throughout the UK. Further information is available at: www.consultcih.co.uk
2. The Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH) is the professional body for people involved in housing and communities. We are a registered charity and not-for-profit organisation. We have a diverse and growing membership of over 22,000 – both in the public and private sectors – living and working in over 20 countries on five continents across the world. Our members work for local authorities, housing associations, Arms Length Management Organisations, Government bodies, educational establishments and the private sector. Many tenants and residents are also members. We exist to maximise the contribution that housing professionals make to the wellbeing of communities. Further information is available at: www.cih.org
3. Government release on housing advice: http://www.communities.gov.uk/news/corporate/1413592
4. The research was undertaken on behalf of Government Office for the South West and South West Councils. A summary of the findings can be found at: http://www.consultcih.co.uk/documents/summary-repossession-nov09.pdf. The full report is available from: http://www.consultcih.co.uk/documents/final-repossession-nov09.pdf
