Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-xbtfd Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-04T19:25:38.465Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

‘Feels like I'm doing it on my own’: Examining the Synchronicity between Policy Responses and the Circumstances and Experiences of Mortgage Borrowers in Arrears

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 December 2011

Alison Wallace
Alison Wallace*
Affiliation:
Centre for Housing Policy, University of York E-mail: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The previous administration introduced several measures to prevent mortgage possessions, some of which were modestly effective. However, these hastily introduced initiatives were insufficient to bridge the gap between a fragmented policy framework and borrowers’ circumstances and experiences of managing mortgage debt. The present restructuring of welfare and regulation represents a unique window to address these long-standing policy omissions in relation to sustainable homeownership in the UK. However, in the context of weakening state support, it is uncertain how or indeed whether, the opportunity to reform mortgage safety nets will be grasped. This article reflects upon the continuing misalignment of policy with borrowers’ circumstances and experiences of mortgage arrears using new evidence from this downturn.

Keywords

Debthomeownershipregulationmortgagearrears
Type
Themed Section on Household Finances under Pressure: What is the Role of Social Policy?
Information
Social Policy and Society , Volume 11 , Issue 1 , January 2012 , pp. 117 - 129
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2011

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Burrows, R. (1998) ‘Mortgage indebtedness in England: an “epidemiology”’, Housing Studies, 13, 1, 5–22.Google Scholar
Burrows, R. and Ford, J. (1998) ‘Self-employment and homeownership after the enterprise culture’, Work, Employment and Society, 12, 1, 97–119.Google Scholar
Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) (2007) Set up to Fail, London: Citizens Advice Bureau.Google Scholar
Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) (2010) Mortgage Market Review: Response by Citizens Advice to the Financial Services Authority, London: Citizens Advice Bureau.Google Scholar
Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) (2010a) ‘CML publishes 2011 market forecasts’, News and Views, 15 December 2010.Google Scholar
Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) (2010b) ‘Mortgage Market Review − response by the Council of Mortgage Lenders to the Financial Service Authority's discussion paper 09/3’, Council of Mortgage Lenders, London.Google Scholar
Crouch, C. (2009) ‘Privatised Keynesianism: an unacknowledged policy regime’, The British Journal of Politics and International Relations, 11, 3, 382–99.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) (2010) Universal Credit: Welfare that Works, London: Department for Work and Pensions.Google Scholar
Ford, J., Munro, M., Smith, S., Sprigings, N. and Wallace, A. (2011) Review of the 2009 and 2010 Changes to Support for Mortgage Interest, London: Department of Work and Pensions.Google Scholar
Ford, J. and Wilcox, S. (1998) Reducing Mortgage Arrears and Possessions: An Evaluation of the Initiatives, York: Joseph Rowntree Foundation.Google Scholar
Ford, J., Burrows, R. and Nettleton, S. (2001) Homeownership in a Risk Society: A Social Analysis of Mortgage Arrears and Possessions, Bristol: The Policy Press.Google Scholar
Ford, J. and Wallace, A. (2009) Uncharted Territory? Managing Mortgage Arrears and Possessions, London: Shelter.Google Scholar
Ford, J., Bretherton, J., Jones, A. and Rhodes, D. (2010) Giving Up Home Ownership: A Qualitative Study of Voluntary Possession and Selling Because of Financial Difficulties, London: Communities and Local Government.Google Scholar
Ford, J., Quilgars, D., Burrows, R. and Rhodes, D. (2004) Homeowners Risk and Safety-Nets: Mortgage Payment Protection Insurance (MPPI) and Beyond, London: ODPM.Google Scholar
Ford, J. and Quilgars, D. (2000) Financial Intermediaries and Mortgage Payment Protection Insurance, York: Centre for Housing Policy.Google Scholar
Froud, J., Johal, S., Montgomerie, J. and Williams, K. (2010) ‘Escaping the tyranny of earned income? The failure of finance as social innovation’, New Political Economy, 15, 1, 147–64.Google Scholar
FSA (2009) Mortgage Market Review: DP 03/09, London: Financial Services Authority.Google Scholar
FSA (2010) CP10/16: Mortgage Market Review – Responsible Lending, London: Financial Services Authority.Google Scholar
FSA (2011a) Statistics on Mortgage Lending: December 2010 Edition, London: Financial Services Authority.Google Scholar
FSA (2011b) Forbearance and Impairment Provisions – ‘Mortgages’, London: Financial Services Authority.Google Scholar
Gall, A. (2009) Understanding Mortgage Arrears, London: Building Societies Association.Google Scholar
Hamnett, C. (2009) The Madness of Mortgage Lenders, London: Institute for Public Policy Research.Google Scholar
Howard, J. (2010) Long Term Safety Nets to Protect Mortgage Borrowers, London: Building Societies Association.Google Scholar
Inside Housing (2010) ‘Sector angry at FSA mortgage proposal’, Inside Housing, 19 November.Google Scholar
Kempson, E., Ford, J. and Quilgars, D. (1999) Unsafe Safety Nets, York: Centre for Housing Policy.Google Scholar
Kohlberg, K. and Johnson, J. (2009) Has MCOB Regulation Affected the Suitability of Mortgage Sales to Borrowers with Impaired Credit Histories? Occasional Paper Series No. 35, London: Financial Services Authority.Google Scholar
Munro, M., Leishman, C., Kofi, K. N. and Ford, J. (2005) Lending to Higher Risk Borrowers: Sub-Prime Credit and Sustainable Home Ownership, York: Joseph Rowntree Foundation.Google Scholar
Munro, M., Smith, S. and Ford, J. (2010) An Evaluation of the January 2009 Arrangements for Support for Mortgage Interest, London: Department for Work and Pensions.Google Scholar
Nettleton, S., Burrows, R., England, J. and Seavers, J. (1999) Losing the Family Home: Understanding the Social Consequences of Mortgage Repossession, York: Joseph Rowntree Foundation.Google Scholar
Office of Fair Trading (OFT) (2008) Sale and Rent Back – An OFT Market Study, London: Office of Fair Trading.Google Scholar
Office for National Statistics (ONS) (2010a) ‘Labour market statistics, 2010’, http://www.statistics.gov.uk/pdfdir/lmsuk1210.pdf [accessed on 11.01. 2011]Google Scholar
Office for National Statistics (ONS) (2010b) ‘Labour market statistics: regional monthly data’, www.statistics.gov.uk/StatBase/Product.asp?vlnk=15084 [accessed on 11.01. 2011]Google Scholar
Office for National Statistics (ONS) (2010c) Economic and Labour Market Review, London: Office for National Statistics. www.statistics.gov.uk/elmr/09_10/downloads/ELMR_Sep10.pdf accessed 20/12/2010.Google Scholar
Pevalin, D. J. (2009) ‘Housing repossessions, evictions and common mental illness in the UK: results from a household panel study’, Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 63, 949–51.Google Scholar
Policis (2010) New Approaches to Mortgage Market Regulation: The Impact of the MMR and the Risks and Benefits for Consumers, Society and the Wider Economy, London: Council of Mortgage Lenders.Google Scholar
Robins, J. (ed.) (2011) Unequal before the Law: The Future Of Legal Aid, London: Solicitors Journal.Google Scholar
Shelter, CAB and Advice, UK (2009) Turning the Tide, London: Shelter, Citizens Advice Bureau and Advice UK.Google Scholar
Shelter (2010a) Summary: Outcomes of Advice for Struggling Homeowners, London: Shelter.Google Scholar
Shelter (2010b) FSA Mortgage Market Review: Responsible Lending, London: Shelter.Google Scholar
Smith, S., Munro, M. and Ford, J. (2002) Flexible Mortgages, London: Council of Mortgage Lenders.Google Scholar
Stephens, M. (2011) Tackling Housing Market Volatility in the UK, York, Joseph Rowntree Foundation.Google Scholar
Stephens, M., Dailly, M. and Wilcox, S. (2008b) Developing Safety Nets for Homeowners, York: Joseph Rowntree Foundation.Google Scholar
Stephens, M. and Quilgars, D. (2008) ‘Sub-prime mortgage lending in the UK’, European Journal of Housing Policy, 8, 2, 197–215.Google Scholar
Whitehouse, L. (2009) ‘The mortgage arrears pre-action protocol: an opportunity lost’, Modern Law Review, 72, 5, 793–814.Google Scholar
Wilcox, S. (2003) Giving Credit Where It's Due: Home Owners and Tax Credits, London: Council of Mortgage Lenders.Google Scholar
Wilcox, S. (2005) Home-Ownership Risks and Sustainability in the Medium Term, York: Joseph Rowntree Foundation.Google Scholar
Wilcox, S., Wallace, A., Bramley, G., Morgan, J., Sosenko, F. and Ford, J. (2010) Evaluation of the Mortgage Rescue Scheme and Homeowners Mortgage Support: Interim Report, London: Department for Communities and Local Government.Google Scholar