Record number of families lose their homes in Halton

11:13am Wednesday 5th November 2008

By Barbara Jordan

DISTRAUGHT families are losing their homes in record numbers as Halton repossessions soar, The World can exclusively reveal.

A staggering 854 homes were repossessed by the courts in the first nine months of this year, as waiting lists rocket to an all-time high.

Hundreds more, overwhelmed with spiralling debt and rising food and fuel prices, are struggling to survive.

“The credit crunch is going to make things worse.,” warned Hitesh Patel, chief executive of Halton Citizens Advice Bureau, whose volunteers have been inundated with worried people facing multiple debt.

“People are going to lose their jobs through no fault of their own and then find they are unable to pay their bills.

“In the first six months of this year, we helped people re-organise 2,500 different debts, totalling nearly £5 million.”

The CAB has such a backlog of people desperate for debt advice, there is now a six-week waiting list.

“We are struggling to see how we can cope with the post-Christmas surge we always face,” said Mr Patel.

“The other worry for me is that as banks become strict about who they lend money to, people are turning to loan sharks.

“Loan sharks thrive where there is deprivation but people don’t realise the extortionate interests they will face.

“We are also seeing people whose fixed rate mortgages are coming up for renewal. Many can’t afford their higher repayments and are stuck in negative equity.”

“Halton needs a properly co-ordinated and resourced plan to beating the credit crunch which helps people through this difficult economic down-turn.”

Halton’s biggest provider of social housing, Halton Housing Trust, fears more home owners will face financial difficulties.

Nick Atkin, chief executive said: “We have already had more repossessions so far this year than for the whole of last year.

“Increasingly, more people are coming to us for housing advice because their homes are being repossessed or they are facing difficulties in meeting their housing bills.”

The trust has launched a new welfare support service, offering practical advice on benefit entitlement to its 6,200 customers.

“We are exploring a number of different options, including mortgage rescue schemes.

“For those in financial difficulties, we are looking at ways in which we could buy back a stake in their homes and reduce their mortgage. but we could only buy back properties in areas where we have an existing presence.”