Monster Debts
31st August 2009
Lynn Jolly
PAISLEY lawyer Jon Kiddie has warned Buddies that the “debt monster” is spiralling out of control.
Mr Kiddie, principal solicitor at Renfrewshire Law Centre in George Street, said the fastest-growing financial problem people face is home owners being hammered with unaffordable mortgage bills.
The centre is holding its annual general meeting at its headquarters on Friday.
And, in his speech, Jon will warn: “By far the worst escalating problem is home owners hit with unaffordable mortgage bills, often in the face of job loss on the part of one or more household breadwinner.
“In Scotland about 1.6 million households are owner-occupied. That is about two-thirds.
“Meanwhile another 250,000 or thereabouts are occupied by tenants with private tenancies funded by mortgages, which is about another 15 per cent.
“In other words, in total over 80 per cent of households in this country rely on mortgages is some way.
“During the last year we at the Law Centre have seen this debt monster sprout arms and legs like never before.
“As businesses are forced to make cuts by reducing pay and making redundancies, not only are more and more owner-occupiers and their families facing eviction as a result of household debt, but a fast-increasing number of private landlords can no longer sustain their mortgage commitments either.
“And this in turn leads to their tenants facing eviction, usually through no fault of their own.
“And as the credit crunch bites yet harder, we are seeing a growth in ordinary personal debt as well.
“These include the likes of bankruptcies, trust deeds, vehicle repossession.
“Similarly, we are also seeing a surge in the number of employment disputes as desperate, cash-strapped employers take liberties with their employee’s rights.”
Anyone who has a valid interest in the centre’s activities, fundraising and management is welcome to attend the AGM which will be getting underway at 1pm.
The community law centre gets a grant from the Scottish Government to dish out legal advice.
And it also operates legal aid cases.
It has four lawyers, two paralegals, three clerical staff.
And it volunteers offering free advice on everything from housing and tenants’ rights to bankruptcy and employment law
The team will help, on a pro bono basis, where they can.
But Scotland’s system of law centres is starting to buckle under the strain of high demand.
Mr Kiddie added: “Make no mistake that law centres are now even more important to society now than ever before in the history of their movement. And funding is more important to them and their clients than ever before.
“On the road out of recession, law centres are essential ordnance in the war against the crunch.”