Government decision to support homeowners gets positive feedback

The government's decision to support homeowners to meet repayments on their properties has been backed by the Citizens Advice Bureau.

Head of consumer policy Sue Edwards spoke after housing minister Grant Shapps announced that there will be a comprehensive package of measures to assist borrowers to meet mortgage payments so their houses do not become repossessed.

She said: "Lenders, the voluntary advice sector, local and national government have collectively worked hard to minimise repossessions since the start of the economic downturn."

Ms Edwards added that the Citizens Advice Bureau dealt with more than 115,000 people concerned about their mortgage in the last year - a rise of 21 per cent compared with 2009.

She advised homeowners struggling to repay their mortgages to seek independent advice about their options.

This comes after the Consumer Credit Counselling Service's Delroy Corinaldi suggested that there could be a rise in the number of houses repossessed as more houses for sale come on to the property market.