Council signs up to housing support scheme » Housing » 24dash.com

Selby District Council has agreed to offer locally a national scheme to help people who are struggling with their mortgage payments during the current economic downturn.

The national Mortgage Rescue Scheme offers support to the most vulnerable households to reduce the chance of them becoming homeless. It is one of a number of measures Selby District Council is putting in place to help residents during the current recession.

The Council signed up to the national scheme earlier this month. It offers a lifeline to some households where people are at risk of becoming homeless because they are unable to meet the payments on their mortgage. Under the scheme there are two options that can be offered to householders in need, according to their individual circumstances: ‘shared equity’, in which a Housing Association takes a stake in the property, or ‘sale and rent back’, in which the homeowner sells the property to a Housing Association, which then rents it back to them at an affordable price.

Before any eligible mortgage payer gets to this stage, however, they must go through a rigorous series of checks, including a comprehensive financial review looking at all their debts and outgoings along with checks on the property and their personal circumstances.

The national scheme is coordinated by the local authorities who have agreed to take part – this now includes Selby District Council. In Selby, it also has the support of the Citizens’ Advice Bureau and the Yorkshire Housing Group. Funding for the scheme is allocated regionally, with each local authority able to apply to the Government for this fund.

Chair of Selby District Council’s Social Board, Cllr Gillian Ivey, said, “This scheme is designed to support those vulnerable households who cannot pay their mortgage, not those who won’t pay their mortgage. This is very much a last resort and will only be considered if agreement cannot first be reached between homeowners and their mortgage providers. If it’s appropriate to offer this help, it’s then up to the organisations involved which option to go for – whether that’s shared equity or sale and rent-back.”

“It’s really important that we’re able to give people support during these unprecedented economic times. In purely financial terms, it’s more cost-effective to support people to remain in their own homes compared to having to deal with an increased number of homeless cases. We want to help the most vulnerable in our community in a way that meets their needs. If you think you might need help, then please contact us as soon as possible rather than leaving it until it may be too late.

“Across the authority we’ve been looking at what we can do to offer support to people suffering because of the current recession. We recently hosted an event to bring together all the agencies that offer local support and advice to see how we can work together more effectively to benefit everyone in the district. This is a difficult time for many people and their families.”

Anyone wishing to find out more about the scheme should contact Selby District Council’s Housing Options team or the Citizens’ Advice Bureau. Referrals to the Council may also be made from other agencies offering advice and support in the Selby district. The national scheme is coordinated by the Department for Communities and Local Government and more information can be found on-line: www.communities.gov.uk/mortgagerescue.

An information booklet with advice about the actions to take and support available should you be in difficulty with your mortgage is available from the Access Selby office in Selby town centre.