Joanna Tuffy (Labour)

I move amendment No. 48:

In page 58, subsection (1), line 4, after "unless" to insert the following:

", not more than one year before such taking of possession,".

This amendment is designed to make clear that a bank or building society cannot take possession without a court order merely because it induced a homeowner to sign a consent when taking out a mortgage. The consent, to be valid, must be in contemplation of the specific taking of possession.

There may be another way to amend this section to try to deal with this issue. However, unless the mortgagor consents in writing to such a taking, if some kind of consent exists in the mortgage itself, this section as it stands could allow it to kick in.