Mortgage arrears crisis 'to worsen'

The mortgage arrears crisis is worse than portrayed in the latest figures as they don't take into account the impact of the universal social charge and recent interest rate increases, the housing charity Respond has said.

Central Bank figures released yesterday show that at the end of last year, 5.7 per cent of residential mortgages were in arrears of 90 days or more. Some 106 homes were repossessed in the past three months of last year with most of them being voluntarily surrendered or abandoned.

Respond spokeswoman Aoife Walsh said the number of families in difficulty would only increase in the coming months as the impact of the universal social charge was felt and the cost of repaying a mortgage increased.

"As tough as it is now, the problem is only going to get worse as further rate increases are expected from both lenders and the European Central Bank," she said.

She urged the incoming Government to prioritise the issue of mortgage arrears and said economic recovery wouldn't be possible without solving this issue as struggling households did not spend or invest.

Respond has called for the reform of the personal bankruptcy laws and the introduction of a non-judicial debt settlement regime.

Ms Walsh said the increase in the number of new repossession cases being brought by lenders was very worrying.

"It reflects concerns held by Respond that following the expiration of the agreed 12 month moratorium with borrowers, lenders are commencing legal proceedings," she added.