Property Update: Stemming the tide

FEWER people would be made homeless if lenders issued advance notices to local authorities. Yet nine out of 10 are rarely or ever informed, despite recommendations by the Council of Mortgage Lenders to provide early warning, says a study of English councils. Most local authorities can help keep people in their homes through advice or rescue schemes. 'But in the vast majority of cases they do not find out until it is too late to help,' says Robert Frew of the London Research Centre, which was backed by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation.

Tackling Mortgage Default: The Local Authority Role, pounds 15 from LRC, 81 Black Prince Road, London SE1 7SZ.