Time Limits For Mortgage Debt Recovery

EDM number 844 in 1999-00, proposed by Geraint Davies on 13/06/2000.

That this House welcomes the decision of the Council of Mortgage Lenders and the Association of British Insurers that their members should begin all recovery action of outstanding debt from properties that have been repossessed within the first six years following the sale of a property; welcomes the fact that the Law Commission is reviewing the Limitation Act 1980 which legally entitles mortgage lenders to demand repayment of 12 year old debts; believes that the six-year rule should apply after the date of default on the property and not after the date of sale of the property, that mortgage lenders should take all reasonable steps to provide affordable arrangements for debt repayment, that all cases of debts which are being pursued that did not abide by the six-year rule should be reconsidered and that the legal duty to sell the property for the best price should not be unduly compromised by immediate sale; and requires that all mortgage lenders and insurers which do not adopt the six-year voluntary code should make this clear to their clients and calls on the Government to legally enforce the six-year rule.

This motion has been signed by a total of 122 MPs.