Call for financial help for flood victims

LONDON, Aug 9 (Reuters) Mortgage lenders and landlords were urged today to help ease the financial burden on people driven out of their homes by recent flooding.

Citizens Advice called on mortgage lenders to give borrowers a payment break, and councils to offer a rebate on council tax for the length of time when people's homes are uninhabitable, following the worst floods in Britain in 60 years.

Two bouts of flooding ravaged parts of England in June and July, killing nine people and damaging houses and crops.

The charity urged councils, housing associations and private landlords to either waive rent while the clean-up operation continues or pay for alternative accommodation.

Citizens Advice also asked lenders and landlords to be lenient on people who fall into arrears with mortgage payments or rent due to the impact of the flooding on their finances.

Head of housing Ruth Bamford said many people had been seeking the organisation's advice on housing problems in the wake of the floods.

''Even though the water levels have subsided, people are faced with the prospect of heavy repair bills or the fact that they won't be able to return to their homes for many months,'' she said.

''People need to know what rights they have in this situation and whether they are liable to pay rent, mortgage or council tax on a property that they cannot effectively live in.'' Catastrophe-exposure modelling firm Risk Management Solutions has estimated the total cost damage at 3.3 billion pounds.

Some of Britain's biggest insurers said last week they would hike insurance premiums following the damage.

Norwich Union, the UK's largest general insurer, increase premiums on home buildings and contents insurance by an average of 10 per cent from the start of this week, while Royal Bank of Scotland, Britain's second largest provider, said it would raise its premiums, but declined to say by how much.

The company owns well-known insurance brands Direct Line, Churchill, Privilege and Tesco Personal Finance.

Citizens Advice has published a factsheet for tenants affected by the floods on its Web site, www.adviceguide.org.uk.

REUTERS AE MSJ RAI2130