Mortgage lenders said yesterday that 75,000 people could lose their homes next year, despite government measures intended to prevent the number of repossessions.

The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) has forecast that repossessions will reach 45,000 this year and rise by 67 per cent in 2009. In the last recession in the early Nineties, repossessions peaked at 75,500 in 1991.

The number of people expected to fall behind with their mortgage payments is also expected to at least double. About 500,000 people are expected to fall at least three months in arrears, compared with 210,000 this year.

Government figures released yesterday showed that the number of people claiming unemployment benefit passed one million for the first time in eight years, after rising by 75,700 to 1.07million last month.

Margaret Beckett, the Housing Minister, said: “We are determined to do everything possible to provide real help to homeowners who may face difficulties during the downturn, and that means doing all we can to ensure repossession is always a last resort. We have already introduced a £200million mortgage rescue scheme to help vulnerable families remain in their homes, expanded free debt and legal advice, and are working urgently on the recently announced new support to help hard-working households if they suffer a loss of income.”

The Homeowner Mortgage Support Scheme offers homeowners with a temporary loss of income the chance to defer interest payments for up to two years if they have a mortgage of £400,000 or less.

Sarah Teather, the Liberal Democrat housing spokeswoman, described the moves as inadequate. “So far the Government has only taken action to help a few people. With tens of thousands of families set to lose their homes, ministers must act urgently to protect them,” she said.

The homeless charity Shelter said that with a million more mortgages held now than in the previous recession, the number of repossessions could increase. It described the initiatives as “too little too late”.

The charity said that the number of viewings of the repossessions advice pages on its website had increased by 54 per cent in the past year. There was a 167 per cent increase in calls about arrears and repossessions over the past six months, compared with the same period last year.

Melanie Bien, of the mortgage broker Savills Private Finance, said: “The most recent rescue package will only help about 9,000 people. Most mortgage holidays and payment plan restructuring is still organised on a case-by-case basis, so if you have missed payments in the past or you aren't likely to regain employment in the next few months, there is very little you can do. Banks must be clear about what their repossession policies are so that borrowers can negotiate in advance.”

The Royal Bank of Scotland and Northern Rock have agreed to give borrowers at least six months before initiating repossession proceedings.

Mortgage lending fell by 51 per cent in November, compared with the same period last year, according to the CML. Gross lending fell to £14.6billion in November, down 22 per cent from October. Michael Coogan, the director-general of the CML, said that net mortgage lending - the difference between money lent to new homeowners and repayments from existing homeowners - is likely to drop below £25billion.

Money Central: 10 tips to avoid reposession

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