Extra help needed to assist those facing repossession says Welsh Liberal Democrat

12.00.00am BST (GMT +0100) Mon 13th Oct 2008

The Welsh Liberal Democrats have backed a motion calling for a fully developed strategy to help people who need assistance and guidance when faced with having their house repossessed

The motion called on the government to extend the legal redemption date on mortgages from three to six months so as to allow homeowners more flexibility to manage their arrears and the opportunity to resolve their financial position. This means that the lender will have to wait longer before pursuing repossession. The motion also called on lenders to have a duty to insist borrowers seek independent financial advice after they have defaulted for two months.

Welsh Liberal Democrat Housing Spokesperson, Peter Black, said: "The credit crunch is starting to hit homeowners very hard indeed and I expect the number of repossessions to rise. My fear is that banks and other lenders will seek to recoup their losses by being harder on families struggling to pay all their bills. That must be avoided at all costs and that is why we want better and more accessible advice services and checks on the powers of lenders."

The party's Parliamentary Spokesperson for Gower, Simon Arthur, who moved the motion, added: "These ideas are largely self-financing but are crucial if we are to avert a homelessness crisis. A number of new initiatives have recently been announced by the Assembly Government which are very welcome, but most people have no idea how to access them. There needs to be better publicity for these initiatives, a better funded advice service and more flexibility from lenders."