Families in North East Property Buyers homes given fresh hope

Aug 21 2009 by Sophie Doughty, The Journal

THE innocent victims of an alleged property scam have been given fresh hope in their fight to keep their homes.

Hundreds of families facing eviction from homes belonging to North East Property Buyers have now been told that court repossession hearings, about the future of their properties, will no longer go ahead.

A judge at Newcastle County Court has agreed to shelve all proceedings connected to the company, and instead just hear a handful of test cases to determine the outcome for all other tenants.

Tenants renting properties from the Gateshead-based company were stunned earlier this year to discover that their landlords were at the centre of a major fraud probe.

They were informed that their homes were at risk amid allegations that payments for mortgages secured on them had not been paid.

Detectives launched an investigation in March after raiding homes and offices connected to North East Property Buyers and Newcastle Home Loans.

The matter was referred to Northumbria Police’s economic crime unit following an investigation by the Financial Services Authority.

It is alleged the Gateshead-based firms, which offered people suffering from financial problems the chance to stay in their own homes by buying their property and renting it back to them, had defaulted on mortgages.

And it is feared 2,000 properties belonging to the companies could now be repossessed.

Five people have now been arrested in connection with the alleged scam, which detectives say could turn out to be the biggest the country has ever seen.

But solicitor Sue Grebby, who is acting on behalf of hundreds of families who fear their days in their homes are numbered, said it is unlikely that any cases will be heard before the New Year, meaning worried tenants should at least be at home at Christmas.

Ms Grebby, of David Gray solicitors in Newcastle, explained: “The judge has agreed that all cases involving North East Property Buyers will be put on hold until we have identified some test cases.

“They will determine what happens to the rest of the cases. It is good news because it means we will not have to deal with them all on a case by case basis. This means that a lot of our clients who can’t get legal aid or who don’t want to go through the courts won’t have to.”

Ms Grebby said hearing just a few test cases will not only save clients money, it will also give them a bigger chance of success. The hearings will now be heard before a higher court judge and the solicitors will employ a specialist QC to look after the tenants’ interests.

“Obviously the judge wants to hear as few of these cases as possible, so we are looking for four or five cases with different facts.

“There will then be a trial on those test cases,” Ms Grebby said.

“The cases will all be heard by a specialist judge, rather than just ad-hoc.

“And it will be a judge who is a specialist in that area.

“And we are looking for cases that are publicly funded.

“We have tried to keep our costs low, but the clients that cannot get legal aid could still have to spend a lot of money.”