Landlords 'putting tenants at risk' of repossession

Posted: 27 Mar 2009 12:29:27 GMT

The second-largest group of rental tenants in the UK are renting their property from landlords who have owner-occupier mortgages, recent research has found.

Figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) show that tenants are exposed to the risk of repossession as a result of landlords who fail to keep up with payments on a mortgage.

Tenants renting a property from a landlord who has a buy-to-let mortgage are offered some form of protection from repossession if a landlord defaults, but many others could face eviction in the event of a landlord who fails to keep up with mortgage repayments.

CML director general Michael Coogan said of the high rate of repossessions: "There seems to be a sharp rise in cases where borrowers are handing back their keys or abandoning their properties."

With up to 75,000 repossessions predicted this year, according to CML research, there will be significant downward pressure on house prices throughout 2009.

Such a phenomenon could mean that the opportunity to buy a property this year becomes more attractive than ever, as low interest and low prices lead to cheap deals.

Buying a house online, however, could offer even more savings as buyers could avoid expensive estate agents' fees.



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