Housing Minister Caroline Flint MP has visited a Shelter Housing Aid Centre in Leeds to find out how staff on the frontline are coping with the repossessions crisis.

The Minister met with Shelter advisers and county court desk workers, who use their legal expertise to fight for a fairer deal from mortgage lenders. They help people keep their homes by persuading the court to allow a longer period for debts to be paid off.

The visit came after new figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) show the number of homes repossessed in the first half of 2008 now stands at 18,900, a 48 per cent increase since the same time last year.


Shelter Chief Executive Adam Sampson, said: "These figures are shocking, but the real horror is that today struggling homeowners have less protection than in the 90s, but most people don't even realise it.

"New research released by Shelter shows 23% of mortgage payers think they would receive prompt state help if they could not pay their mortgage. In reality, because financial help for homeowners in difficulty was cut after the last housing crash, nothing would kick in for 9 months, which is too late.

"One year into the credit crunch, the number of people being repossessed is rapidly rising, with these figures showing the biggest number of repossessions in a half year period since 1996. With current fears that unemployment is set to grow, there is no doubt we are inching ever closer to the dark days of the last repossession crisis.

"We know that behind these figures are thousands of families facing sleepless nights worrying about how to make their next mortgage payment, and many thousands more will be waking up to the frightening reality of repossession.

"Government urgently needs to step in to prevent thousands more families from losing their homes and provide the significant financial support troubled homeowners need to keep a roof over their head."

(CD/JM)