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More needed to boost UK mortgage uptake

Date: Thu, 23 Jun 2005

The government needs to do more to encourage people to take up mortgage offers.

The National Housing Federation (NHF) believes that the general public must be given help to step on to the property ladder and boost homeownership figures in the UK.

The latest government initiative, HomeBuy, focuses on assisted homeownership and is aimed at promoting asset-based wealth creation in lower income households.

However, the NHF has raised concerns that the scheme does little to help those who are not eligible for a mortgage and does not offer consumers the best deal.

NHF's Danny Friedman, director of policy, said: "At present these plans are unworkable and are a real missed opportunity. The figures don't stack up for residents, housing associations, lenders, and, ultimately, the public purse.

"Government plans to promote a new asset owning section of lower income households will fail unless the scheme is made more accessible and sustainable for low income households."

The federation believes that the HomeBuy scheme needs to be inclusive and that additional policies are needed to ensure the inclusion of all potential home owners.

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