Homeowners are feeling the pinch with 62% of the working population fretful that they or their partner may lose their job, and over four in ten (43%) joint income households are anxious that they wouldn’t be able to pay their mortgage if the main income earner lost their job.
Meanwhile, a quarter of mortgage holders – 4.2 million people - are worried they may go into negative equity in the next year and seven in ten mortgage holders (73%) believe that the Government should do more to prevent repossessions.
The current economic situation has highlighted the risks of high mortgages to consumers, with over three quarters of people (77%) thinking that 100% mortgages should be banned.
Which? is calling for urgent measures to protect consumers from the effects of the recession and allay their fears about the future. The consumer champion wants a regulatory ban on over 100% mortgages, robust protection against people losing their homes because of unsecured debt, and for the Government to force lenders to become part of the Homeowner Mortgage Support Scheme if they fail to join voluntarily.
Which? personal finance campaigner, Doug Taylor, says: “It’s dreadful that six million people fear losing the roof over their heads. With people spending sleepless nights worrying about job losses and repossessions, the Industry needs to demonstrate that it wants to win back the trust of the British public by fully embracing Government initiatives.”
