Shelter Scotland response to Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) figures showing the number of homes repossessed in the first half of 2008 now stands at 18,900, a 48 per cent increase since the same time last year.

Graeme Brown, Director of Shelter Scotland, housing and homelessness charity, said:

'One year into the credit crunch, the number of people being repossessed is rapidly rising, with these figures showing the biggest number of repossessions in a half year period since 1996. While these figures are not broken down for Scotland, our figures show more and more people are coming to Shelter for advice about repossession. (1)

'Behind these figures are thousands of families facing sleepless nights worrying about how to make their next mortgage payment, and many thousands more will be waking up to the frightening reality of repossession.

'Eviction must always be a measure of last resort. We urge lenders to ensure all other avenues have been addressed first and that people who find themselves with problems seek help immediately.'

Anyone struggling with the cost of their mortgages or with any other housing problem should go to http://scotland.shelter.org.uk/getadvice or call Shelter’s free housing advice line on 0808 800 4444.

Notes to Editor 

1. Figures released by Shelter Scotland showed, when comparing October to January 2006/7 and 2007/8, that the number of page views rose by 42 per cent year on year. Throughout 2007, Shelter Scotland’s web pages that provide advice on repossession were viewed nearly 35,000 times.