Emergency legal-aid schemes for homeowners facing repossession will be set up at a further 20 county courts in response to the rising number of people losing their homes.

The Council of Mortgage Lenders said yesterday that the number of repossessions rose almost 50 per cent in the first half of the year to 18,900, the highest level for 12 years. Shelter, the housing charity, described the figures as “shocking”. The Legal Services Commission, which runs the legal-aid system, funds emergency schemes so that homeowners faced with eviction or having their property repossessed can obtain free legal advice and representation. The expansion will bring to 174 the number of county courts with schemes funded by the commission or the Department for Communities and Local Government.

Caroline Flint, the Housing Minister, said yesterday that lenders had a duty to make sure that all other alternatives were exhausted before repossessing a home “to ensure that above all else we try to make sure people do not lose the roof over their heads”.