ABSTRACT

This chapter examines the analysis of qualitative data obtained as result of a primary research study involving lenders and district judges, the extent to which the regulatory framework introduced by the Conservative governments, which still operates, achieves a balance between the interests of the mortgagee and the mortgagor. It describes whether those assurances have been satisfied within the context of home ownership. The chapter argues that the vulnerability of the mortgagor derives not from the legal process itself, but from a complete failure by central government to regulate the activities of mortgagees. The transference of a greater degree of authority for the provision of housing to the mortgage market, achieved through the introduction of policy initiatives such as the council tenants ‘right to buy’, created a new and more powerful role for mortgagees. In practice, mortgagees offer standard terms which are similar throughout the mortgage market.