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Repossession and Mortgage Arrears

I do not have those details with me, but I shall check. If we can make them available, we will do so. Financial help is available from local authorities, with the £20 million for the preventing repossession fund that was announced at the last Budget. It will enable local authorities to offer households small loans to prevent repossession or eviction. The fund is available to anyone threatened with homelessness through repossession or eviction. For example, it could be used to clear mortgage or second-charge arrears in appropriate cases if it prevented repossession. Financial assistance through small loans will allow money to be recycled, which can help other households in the local authority area. Homelessness prevention funds have played an integral part since 2003 in the fall of over 60 per cent. in the number of households being accepted as homeless. We also launched the homeowners mortgage support in April, to help homeowners remain in their homes if they fall on difficult times. The scheme enables eligible borrowers to reduce their monthly interest payments to affordable levels for up to two years to help them get back on track with their finances if they suffer a temporary income shock. All lenders offering HMS will have the financial backing of a Government-backed guarantee that will protect the lender if the customer ultimately defaults on the mortgage. The hon. Member for Twickenham asked for details of the lenders involved in that scheme. Lenders covering about 80 per cent. of the mortgage market are now providing enhanced support for those of their customers who may be facing difficulties. Lenders offering HMS from 21 April include the major high-street lenders Lloyds banking group, which includes HBOS and Northern Rock; the Royal Bank of Scotland, which includes NatWest, the Ulster Bank and Bradford and Bingley; Cumberland building society; and the National Australia Bank Group, which includes Clydesdale and Yorkshire banks and Standard Life. A number of other major banks, building societies and specialist lenders have confirmed that they will offer their customers HMS as soon as possible. They include the Bank of Ireland, which includes Bristol and West and the Post Office; GMAC Financial Services; GE Money, which was referred to by the hon. Gentleman; and Kensington Mortgage company. All lenders offering HMS will have the backing of a Government guarantee to protect the lender if the customer ultimately defaults. Four other high-street lenders—Barclays, HSBC, Nationwide and Santander—are now offering comparable arrangements to their customers. I hope that I have answered the hon. Gentleman's question. The scheme is still in its early days, but more that 17,000 households have accessed information on HMS since its launch. We want to see lenders offering the scheme to help as many households as possible, in order to avoid repossession, and we are working with lenders to ensure that all households for whom HMS is the most appropriate option are able to gain access to it. These difficult times are affecting not only home owners but tenants, as was pointed out by the hon. Members for Twickenham and for Brent, East. The present difficulties also affect tenants renting from borrowers who default on the mortgage. That affects only a small number of households, but that does not make it any less just. We have therefore taken measures to address the problem. Civil procedure rules were changed so that, from April, buy-to-let tenants get up to seven weeks' notice, which is up from the present two weeks, if their landlord's mortgage defaults. We need to do more, however, to ensure that all tenants are better protected, regardless of whether their tenancy has been authorised by the landlord's lender, as is usually the case in a buy-to-let mortgage agreement. Last May, we announced our intention to legislate at the earliest opportunity to fill a gap in legal protection for private tenants whose landlords are repossessed by ensuring that they receive adequate notice to vacate the property, regardless of whether their tenancy has been authorised by the landlord's lender. We shall consult on our proposals over the summer with a view to legislating at the next opportunity. In the meantime, we are working closely with lenders to improve their current practices when they find an unauthorised tenant in a property of which they are seeking possession. Any tenant who is concerned, or who has received notification of a court possession hearing, should seek advice immediately. They should contact the mortgage lender taking repossession action and attend the hearing so that the judge is aware that there is a tenant in the property. The hon. Member for Brent, East asked about HRA reform. Later today, when the Minister for Housing, my right hon. Friend the Member for Wentworth (John Healey) announces the outcome of the review of council housing finance, he will also outline proposals to allow councils to keep all the proceeds from their own council house sales, as well as their rent.