Council discuss offering mortgages

boingsaidzebedee

Portsmouth City Council are talking about offering to take over mortgages to hopefully reduce the number of repossessions.
Would seem to be a good move toward social responsibility and offer a lifeline to those in mortgage difficulty.

The Council suggest that it would be a more cost effective long term solution than having to house repossessed families in private rented accomodation.Possibly reduce Housing Benefit costs and strain on the social services but more importantly keep families together.

Many people face repossession following the loss of jobs rather than running up unsustainable credit card and loan debt.Would this initiative not be a good move to help people through what could be a hopefully relatively short term downturn in the economy.Are people not worth Local Councils investing in the future and local economy or are they wasting rate payers money?

Seeing as many families would have to be re-homed at Council cost in the private sector,bed and breakfast,short term social housing etc.would you consider the Council taking over mortgages to be a viable alternative.Is keeping children in their own homes and supporting families worth it?

Zagu

Is it really within the councils jurisdiction to take the council tax money, and lend it out to people who have failed to satisfy the banks that they are creditworthy?

Without being able to accurately predict what the future holds, I think this is a slightly wreckless move by Portsmouth CC.

kitschkitty

Especially seeing as last year Portsmouth CC raised council tax by 5% and got in trouble, and this year to avoid trouble they've raised it by 4.95% instead!