The government plan to introduce a new law that will allow lenders to secure debts against peoples homes even when their customer is keeping up their repayments. The new law is to stop people selling their house, pocketing the cash and not paying off their unsecured debts.
Previously the lenders had to secure a county court judgement before they could secure debts against a house. Many people were selling their houses before this happened, many with the intention of paying off all their debts in full but a few to avoid repaying the unsecured debts.
The new law outlined in the Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement bill will mean that unsecured loans can in effect be secured against a customer's property at the first sign of trouble. Currently the lenders have to get a County Court Judgement to do this, which are harder to get than the new Charging Order.
People supporting the bill argue that it means that people have to honour their commitments as they will face repossession if they do not pay. However critics worry that more people will now be under threat of repossession rather then the debtor reaching an agreement with their unsecured lenders. Critics also see the lenders trying to avoid their customers arranging IVA's or debt management plans where they sometimes have to write off large proportions of their debt.
Another worry is that if previously unsecured debts are now secured against peoples homes then it makes it more difficult for them to move house. If they wanted to downsize they would be faced with paying a larger amount on the sale of their home. These people may have wanted to pay off their secured debts reduced and reduce outgoings before they tackle the unsecured debts.
If the bill comes in it will be lenders 1 Homeowners 0.
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