Government 'needs to protect tenants'

By Jonathan Dawes, Wed 27 Aug 2008 - Published in Mortgages

People in rented accommodation are just as prone to repossessions as homeowners, according to Shelter.

The housing and homelessness charity is highlighting figures released today which reveal the number of buy-to-let repossessions has increased at twice the rate of repossessions across the entire mortgage market.

Between the first half of 2007 and the first half of this year, the number of buy-to-let mortgage repossessions increased by 100 per cent, in comparison to a rise of 48 per cent across the home loan market as a whole.

Commenting on the findings, Adam Sampson, chief executive of Shelter, said: "The shadow of repossession is no longer just cast over homeowners but also thousands of innocent renters who have no idea how close they are to eviction."

He said the first thing some renters know about a repossession is when the bailiffs start banging on the door.

Mr Sampson added the government needed to take steps to ensure tenants were given sufficient time to find a new home.

Elsewhere, iammoving.com claims speculation that the government may scrap stamp duty has caused a lot of anxiety in the housing market.

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