Two Hampshire families a day face eviction in Christmas sorrow, says Huhne

4.53.31pm UTC (GMT +0000) Mon 5th Dec 2005

The number of Hampshire people whose homes are being repossessed by mortgage lenders because they cannot keep up their payments is soaring, according to Government figures.

In Hampshire, the number of actions entered into by lenders in the three months to September 2005 was 773, up from 525 at the same time the year before. This is a rise of 47 per cent in just one year, broadly in line with the national increase, according to Eastleigh MP Chris Huhne who is also a member of the Liberal Democrats' Treasury team.

"Two Hampshire families a day are now facing eviction from their homes in the run-up to Christmas as they struggle to meet repayments. This is a tragedy as the winter begins to bite" said Mr Huhne.

After the county courts consider the actions, they can give an order for repossession, allowing the lender to sell the property to recover their debt. The number of orders given in the three months to September in Hampshire was 220, up by 83 per cent on the 120 given a year before. The figures cover all the Hampshire county courts, including Southampton, Portsmouth and Winchester.

The analysis of the figures by the Liberal Democrats shows that nationally there were 29,991 new actions in the third quarter, up from 19,359 a year before. The number of orders made in the three months to September 2005 rose to 19,687 from 11,682.

Chris Huhne MP said: "These figures mean that in England and Wales a repossession order is made every seven minutes and an action is entered into every four minutes, which is very disturbing. While they are still at low levels compared to the early 1990's, there are clearly big problems ahead.

"It is particularly worrying that total repayments on debt - not just interest but also the capital repayments - are nearly back to the same proportion of income as in the early nineties.

"Banks and building societies need to ensure that when individuals take out mortgages they are fully aware of the risks that are involved and of the relevant insurance products.

"At long last the Chancellor has now accepted there is a bubble in the housing market. Now he needs to recognise that for many homeowners the air is escaping from the bubble, and he needs to take action.

"These figures demonstrate the complete absence of an adequate safety net in the mortgage market. The government needs to urgently look at the payment protection insurance markets as products are often over-priced and contain too many exemptions."

Related Link:

Figures for repossession orders from the Department of Constitutional Affairs