| "Unfair Contract Terms" Defences to Possession Claims  The FSA’s Final Notice (12 April 2010) to Kensington Mortgage Company Limited includes a finding that its returned and cancelled direct debit charges were unfair. This may give encouragement to borrowers to defend possession claims on the basis that fixed monthly arrears charges are unfair. Kensington joins GMAC in receiving a substantial final penalty in respect of breaches of MCOB and, like GMAC, incurred the FSA’s censure for applying fixed monthly arrears charges that did not reflect the associated administrative cost to the lender.
 | 
Banking & Finance Spring Update
The Mortgage Repossessions (Protection of Tenants etc) Act 2010 has just received Royal Assent and is awaiting an in-force date. It has been introduced to provide protection for a tenant in circumstances where his tenancy has been created without the consent of his landlord’s mortgagee.
Following the publication of The Mortgage Market Review discussion paper, in January 2010 the FSA published a consultation paper on strengthening its arrears rules and extending its approved persons regime. The deadline for consultees to respond is 30 April 2010.
