|TOP|Charity campaigners have joined with the Church of Scotland in voicing opposition to proposals by the Scottish Executive which could see householders lose their homes for running up as little as £1501 in debt.

Under the planned law, Scottish creditors would be allowed to acquire security over a property and could even force a sale if the debt is not repaid in six months, reports the Scottish Herald.

The new “land attachment” proposals in the Bankruptcy and Diligence Bill are likely to apply to a wide range of outstanding debts including mortgage payments, unsecured loans, credit cards and store cards.

A spokesman for the Church of Scotland expressed his serious concern over the announcement of the proposed changes: “The idea that a new law might compel people to sell their homes for a debt as little as £1501 seems very extreme.”

|AD|The news has caused outcry as the national average debt in Scotland stands at almost £8,000 per head. It is feared that vulnerable families and individuals will feel the most strain under the proposed changes in the law and could even find themselves homeless.

“This seems to be a recipe for making people homeless,” said Alistair Cameron, chief executive of Scottish Churches Housing Action.

A number of pressure groups have voiced their opposition to what Scottish Tory deputy leader Murdo Fraser described as “draconian” measures and are calling upon MSPs to exclude a debtor’s main home from the “heritable property” a creditor will be able to claim under land attachment if a debtor cannot or will not pay.

Shelter Scotland director, Archie Stoddart, said: “These proposals will put many homeowners at risk of losing their home.”

He added: “No one should lose their home for a debt of £1501.”

Kaliani Lyle, chief executive of Citizens Advice Scotland (CAS), warned that if the changes are approved any unsecured loan will effectively become a secured one.

“Land attachments will allow creditors to charge high levels of interest, because there is no collateral, yet still get their risk secured through the back door by using a land attachment in the event of default,” said Lyle.





Daniel Blake
Christian Today Correspondent