South Wales Evening Post - 4 September 2008
The number of homeowners facing eviction for failing to keep up their mortgage repayments in Swansea has risen by 13 per cent in the past year, new figures have revealed.
Worrying official figures show that Swansea County Court issued 154 repossession orders between April and June this year, up 13 per cent on the same period last year.
The statistics released by the Ministry of Justice also show repossession claims — the first stage of the process — have risen by 22 per cent to 211 compared with the same period last year.
In Neath Port Talbot, the number of repossession claims have risen by 34 per cent to 158
compared to the same three-month period, between April and June last year, while the number of repossession claims in Llanelli has risen by 29 per cent to 98 during the same time period.
The credit crunch has led to more expensive mortgages, which people have been struggling to pay as other household costs rise. Across England and Wales, there were 38,786 claims made to the courts for the three month period, up 17 per cent and the number of repossession orders made rose by 31 per cent to 30,220.
Housing Minister Caroline Flint said: "While we are not seeing repossessions on the same scale as the early 1990s, we are making sure the right advice and support is available for the minority of borrowers who may need it at the moment."
Earlier this year, Ms Flint announced a package of measures to help those who face losing their homes, including free legal representation at county court.
Philip Hammond, shadow chief secretary to the Treasury, said: "Lenders must now act responsibly — even if our Prime Minister has not done so — to minimise the number of people losing their homes."
The figures do not reveal the actual number of repossessions, because even after an order has been made, a person can still settle debts and save their home after reaching an agreement with the lender.
A Swansea Citizens Advice Bureau spokeswoman said Cabs in England and Wales saw mortgage arrears problems increase by 35 per cent in the first few months of 2008, compared with the same period in 2007.
She said: "We are continuing to see high numbers of people with mortgage and secured loan arrears. Yet some lenders are still not doing everything they can to help borrowers in trouble.
"They are piling on extra charges, refusing to negotiate with borrowers to come to a workable solution over repayment arrangements and using court action as a first rather than last resort."
