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Council selected for mortgage scheme test
SCARBOROUGH Council is one of only two local authorities in Yorkshire and Humberside to pilot the Government's new Mortgage Rescue Scheme.
The scheme has been set up by the chancellor Alistair Darling in the hope of reducing the number of homes lost to repossessions as a result of the credit crash.
It was originally planned to be introduced in early 2009, however its start date was brought forward to December as part of a group of recession-battling initiatives in the chancellor’s pre budget report.
The town is one of more than 60 councils throughout England which will be fast tracking the scheme and will start taking applications from the beginning of December. The scheme aims to help up to 6,000 of the most vulnerable households avoid the trauma of repossession over the next two years.
Depending on their specific circumstances, eligible home owners will be offered one of three options:
l Shared ownership: under which a registered social landlord – such as a housing association – buys a share of the property enabling the purchaser to pay off some of their mortgage and converts the property to shared ownership by issuing a shared ownership lease
l Shared equity: a RSL provides an equity loan enabling the householders’ mortgage payments to be reduced or sale
l Rent back – were a registered social landlord clears the secured debt completely and the applicant pays rent to them at a level they can afford.
Housing minister Margaret Beckett said: “We are determined to do everything possible to provide real help now to homeowners facing tough times, and that means doing all we can to ensure repossession is always a last resort.
“It is our priority to make sure that hard working homeowners who suffer a loss of income through no fault of their own have the option to stay in their homes.
“The new measures announced today will expand the support available to those who need it most.
“Everyone needs to do their bit to help families avoid the traumatic impact of repossession, and we expect lenders to do more to build on work already underway to help their customers.”
Andrew Rowe, Scarborough Borough Council’s Housing Manager said that an increase in the number of home owners approaching the authority for help and advice because they are struggling with their mortgage repayments had been decisive in their joining the scheme.
He told the Evening News: “Last year we ran our own mortgage rescue scheme in partnership with the Housing Advice Resource Project and Home Housing Association.
“This scheme worked by the Housing Association paying off all or a proportion of the homeowner’s mortgage debt and offering them an assured tenancy at an affordable rent. They are also provided with a package of advice and support to manage their debts.
“Last year three families in the Borough who were threatened with eviction due to mortgage arrears were prevented from becoming homeless this way. The number of families we were able to help was however limited due to a lack of funding.
“The Government has recently announced 200m nationally to extend and support mortgage rescue schemes.
“We are very pleased to have been selected as one of the authorities that is to be fast tracked to benefit from this funding.
“This is a positive reflection of the work we have already done. While some details still need to be agreed, we hope to have the scheme up and running in the new year.”
Local authority involvement in the Mortgage Rescue scheme is voluntary – the other Yorkshire council taking part is Doncaster.
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Weather for Scarborough
Saturday 26 May 2012
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Temperature: 10 C to 15 C
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Temperature: 9 C to 16 C
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