Focus on support for struggling homeowners.
13 December 2011
Views are being sought on whether people who lose their jobs should have their mortgages paid indefinitely by the state. Under current arrangements, a government scheme offers support to certain benefit recipients who are struggling to keep up payments on their home. The scheme prevents many houses from being repossessed.
Support is restricted to home loans of no more than £200,000 or £139 per week.
Stormont’s social development minister is seeking opinions on the Support for Mortgage Interest (SMI) scheme. Nelson McCausland said there were 14,400 recipients of SMI in Northern Ireland in February this year. The DUP MLA said: “Without that help these people might have been forced to sell their homes or have it repossessed because they simply would not have been able to keep up with mortgage payments.
“However, the future of this scheme is now being looked at closely. The role of the SMI scheme was never intended to be a long-term solution to homeownership, instead it is in place to provide help to those people who, through an unfortunate change in circumstances, are having short-term problems with their mortgage payments.”
Those who receive Income Support, Jobseeker’s Allowance, income-related Employment and Support Allowance, or Pension Credit may be entitled to help through the SMI.
Mr McCausland encouraged anyone in Northern Ireland with an interest in the scheme to make their views known, which will be passed to the Department for Work and Pensions in Great Britain.
Source: http://www.newsletter.co.uk/news/local/support_for_struggling_homeowners_in_focus_1_3317973
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